Rules

1. Participation and Eligibility: Events are open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Minors may however participate with a family member. TBX reserves the right to deny membership or to remove anyone from participating at any time.

2. Membership Requirements: To be eligible to participate in any TBX event, each participant must fully and legibly complete a TBX membership form and pay the mandatory yearly membership fee. Anglers may participate in any T.B.X. event. No memberships accepted after June 1st.

Membership fee’s for Team Bass Xtreme are as follows

Team Bass Xtreme membership fee = $35.00 per person if paid by March 15THt. After this date , membership costs will be $45.00

Team Series substitute angler fee = $25

Membership forms and payments should be sent directly to the T.B.X. headquarters located at 6595 Saylor Ct. - Canal Winchester , Ohio 43110 one week prior to the first regular season event in the division anglers wish to participate in. All participants who would like to apply at an event must pay membership fee's in cash only.

In addition to the above requirements, EACH PARTICIPANT IS REQUIRED TO READ AND SIGN THE TEAM BASS XTREME WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK FORM, a copy of which can be obtained by visiting the TBX website at www.teambassxtreme.com, or by contacting a TBX tournament director. TBX must have in its possession an original signed copy of this form before any participant will be eligible to participate in any event.

3. Entry Fees: Entry fees are $125 per event unless otherwise noted on a divisions page. ,All entry fee 's include the Big Bass pot.

. All entry fee's are to be paid to division directors only.

Participants may buy into up to "2" events and receive show up points for classic qualification but must be paid prior to the events taking place.

Entry fee's can be paid by the following methods. If you would like to pay for the entire season, a check or money order will be accepted within one week of the first event. All other entry fee's must be paid via cash at the ramp during registration or by check or money order at the previous event.

We also offer the following side pots which cost $10 each. If no one wins these pots the money will roll over to the next event. You must have been included in the prior tournaments pots to be eligible to win the carried over monies. If no one wins the pots at the last season of the event, the funds will be carried over to the following seaon.

12# Pot

5# Bass pot

4. Teams and Substitutes: Each team event will consist of a one or two person team. Each team is allowed to use Two additional people as an substitute to take place of a team member during the regular tournament season. Teams may only use an substitute angler for up to two (2) events during the season and must be listed on your membership form when submitted at the beginning of the season. Anglers must notify the director of the use of a substitute at registration of the event in which one will be used. Alternates must read and sign the Team Bass Xtreme Waiver of Liability and Assumption of Risk form mentioned above. Substitutes are not eligible to participate in events alone nor the classic fish-off . Substitutes are only allowed to participate for the team they are listed under.

Members may pair up with a member of a different team if they would like to participate in an event outside of the division that they are fishing for points. When participating in this manner they will need to acknowlede to the event director as to which team the event is going to count toward for the classic qualification .

Teams must participate in a minimum of 2 events before eligible to participate in Lake Erie events (Effective 1-1-24)

5. Weigh in. Weigh in will start at 3:15 for each regular season event. The local director will announce boat numbers that they are ready for fish to be brought to the scales to allow for shorter lines at the weigh in and to ensure better fish handling.

6. Big Bass: The big bass pot will pay one (1) place at every regular season event, and will pay 2 places each day of the classics. Ties for big bass will split the pot. Dead fish will not be weighed for big bass.

7. Tournament Hours: Tournament hours are safe light until 3pm . The times listed on our website are approximate. The tournament director reserves the right to change any tournament's start time in the event that weather or other circumstances do not allow for a safe launch . All events will be a minimum of 8 hours. All decisions regarding start and end times due to weather conditions will be made exclusively by the tournament director.

8. Tournament Registration: There will be a registration area set up at the tournament site starting approximately one hour prior to the tournament's scheduled launch time. All participating teams are required to register at the registration table before each event. Registration will close fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled start time of each event. It is the responsibility of each participant to read and understand all Rules and Regulations governing the TBX tournaments, and to understand all tournament briefing information before the start of each tournament.

9. Limit: There is a five (5) fish limit per event. Any participants bringing in more than five (5) fish to the scales will disqualified. All culling must be done as soon as the sixth fish has been caught. Participants may only possess 5 fish in their live well at any time. Once on the trailer , all Bass that are in the boat must be brought to the scales. Fish that appear to be altered or mangled will only be weighed at the discretion of the tournament director. Fish brought to the scale with an artificial lure in it will not be weighed. TBX strives to be a 100% catch and release circuit. Therefore, all live fish must be returned to the water from which they were taken.

10. Short Fish Penalties: All fish must be of legal size for the body of water from which they are taken. All participants are responsible for checking the length of their fish before bringing them to the scales. A courtesy board will be available at the weigh-in . Teams may check only 2 fish on their own at the directors bump board and must be asked to use before dumping fish into sink. Ounce you place your fish into the T.B.X official at the weigh in sink , it is up to the directors discretion to make sure that the fish measure to the correct size limit and make a decision. Short fish will be culled from participants’ sack. A 1 pound penalty will be assessed for the first short fish. Disqualification will result in 2 or more short fish. (staff will not look at the participants checking fish and will only make a decision on measuring the fish themselves)

11. Dead Fish Penalty: Any bass brought to the scales in which the gills are not working properly on their own will be considered a dead fish. The directors will make this decision and it will not be argued. A 1 pound penalty will be assessed to a team’s total weight for each dead fish brought to the scales by the violating team. If a team brings 2 dead fish to the scales at an event, the team will be disqualified. Dead fish are to be taken with the angler and are to be disposed of properly. If the angler puts the dead fish back into the lake after weighing it, they will be disqualified!!!

12. Permitted Fishing Methods: All bass must be caught alive and in a conventional sporting manner by the participant. Only one (1) rod may be used at a time by each participant. Trolling as a method of fishing is absolutely prohibited. Only artificial lures can be used in all tournaments. The use of pork trailers is permitted. The use of 3-arm A-rigs are the only ones allowed to be used,

13. Late Check-Ins: A one (1) pound per minute penalty will be assessed to any team that is late to check-in at the end of a tournament. Teams arriving more than five (5) minutes past the check-in time will automatically be disqualified. Check-in time will be announced prior to the launch of each tournament.

14. Scoring: Only largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass can be weighed-in by participants. All tournaments are scored in pounds and hundredths of pounds, with points awarded to teams by order of their place of finish. Points will start at one hundred (100) for first place. There will be a one (1) point difference between places of finish for teams weighing-in fish at each tournament. Teams that do not weigh-in any fish will receive points equal to ten (10) points less than the last place team weighing-in any fish. All total weight ties will be broken by the following. 1st by number of fish 2nd by the weight of the teams big bass. If a team is disqualified during a tournament, for any reason, show points will be awarded and no money will be refunded. Whether a team is disqualified is the sole decision of the tournament director. All points remain within the division that they were scored in.

15. Series Points Champions: The points champion in each series will be figured by totaling all the participants points from each regular season event in each division. All events on that series schedule will be used. There will be no dropping of any scores for this calculation. If by chance there is a points champion tie in a division after the last event , the tie will be broken by classic finish for the season. The seasons points champion for each division/series will receive A special award at the end of the season and fish for free the following season with the exception of the side pots.

16. Year End Classic Fish-Offs:

The Classic fish off for TBX will be a two (2) day event. The event location will be announced prior to starting the season and all details can be obtained on the classic page link of the website.

1)All teams who participate in all of a divisions scheduled events will advance to the classic fish-off.

2) The top 50% The top 50 percent (50%) of the average participating field in each division as well but must participate in or buy into the last divisional event.

3) Any Team who participates in a total of 6 events (4 in the division registered in and up to 2 in different divisions) of Team Series divisions will automatically qualify the year end championship. (Rule change was revised on 6-27-234 and will be in effect for 2024 season)

4) Each member of the team must have been present at a minimum of 4 division events.

4) Division points champions will need to have paid for the big bass side pot in advance to miss an event.

There will be an entry fee of $225.00 to participate in the Team Series Classic fish-off which includes the big bass side pots . A big bass award will be paid each day of the fish-off as well as big bass of the event. Take-off position for the fish-off will be determined by draw at pre tournament meeting.

17. Take-Off: Take-off position will be assigned by draw at the registration location for all participants. All participants that pay for the entire season prior to the start of the first event as well as the previous season points champions who pay for the seasons big bass side pots will receive "Double Draw status" and the better of the two numbers drawn will be their starting position. There will be no shot-gun starts. Participants must be in line and prepared to take-off when their number is called or the next starting position will be called.

18. Boat Inspection: All live wells will be checked on the water by idling past the bull horn boat with livewells empty and lids open.

19. Safety: Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each participant is required to wear a chest type life preserver and have the safety kill switch lanyard attached to their person at all times while the boat is on plane. The tournament directors reserve the right to refuse any rig which is extremely overpowered or deemed dangerous. During poor weather, participants may take to the closest shelter. During any emergency, participants must return to the tournament launch ramp if possible. Participants must remain with their partners in their boat at all times during the tournament, except in the event of: sickness; brief restroom breaks; severe weather; or other harmful or threatening events or emergencies. If for any reason a team must leave the water early, they must first notify the tournament director. The tournament director(s) shall have the sole authority in making rulings pertaining to this section.

20. Sportsmanship: All participants are required to follow the highest standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Flagrant sportsmanship violations may result in disqualification. Any participant whose conduct reflects unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition or compliance with tournament rules is subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of the tournament director.

21. Alcoholic Beverages or Drug Use: The use of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs before or during tournament hours (extending through the close of weigh-in) is strictly prohibited and is cause for immediate disqualification.

22. Off limits and angling ethics: All tournament waters are off limits after 10pm the day prior to an event. Anglers are not to enter areas that are posted off limits by the state or local agencies. No fishing within fifty (50) feet of a marine gas pump. Public Beaches are off limits and Anglers may not fish the buoy markers. Pulling in front of another participant’s boat fishing a shoreline within 100' will not be permitted. Turning around within 50' of another competitor when fishing toward each other is not permitted unless communicated and agreed upon by both competing boats. Passing another competitor while fishing should be done in a sporting manner. No passing another competitor in a no wake zone unless the angler stops to fish.No fishing within 100' any direction of any competing boat who was first anchored with the trolling motor up. Anchored boats cannot block access to entering any area (creek ,cove etc.) and must allow access to area for all competitors. Participants may not leave their boat except for brief rest room breaks or bad weather. Lake Erie events are restricted to Ohio waters only. The tournament director will also announce all other off limit areas prior to blast off at the event.

23. Cheating: Any participant caught cheating in any tournament event will be immediately barred from all future TBX events. TBX reserves the right to have a random truth verification test (lie detector test) performed at any time. Refusal to take the truth verification test or the failure of such test is grounds for immediate disqualification.

24. Boat and Motors: The boat and motor that each participating team will or may be using during the season must be listed on the membership form. Liability insurance is required for a boat to be eligible. A maximum of two (2) boats may be used during the season, unless otherwise determined by the tournament director. All boats must be equipped with an emergency kill-switch device, securely attached to the driver’s body whenever the boat is on plane. All boats must be a minimum of fourteen (14) feet in length and only console steer outboard motors are permitted to be used in tournament events. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment on board at all times. Boats must contain a properly aerated livewell space that is capable of keeping the day’s catch alive. Maximum horsepower for all motors used in tournament competition shall not exceed the horsepower limitations as set by the U.S. Coast Guard for the vessel. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. Fuel may be carried only in U.S. Coast Guard approved mounted or secured fuel tanks.

25. Protest and Tournament committee : 5 teams will be drawn by boat number to serve as tournament committee if need be to resolve any issues at an event. All protests must be submitted in writing to a tournament director as soon as the protester is on land and before weigh-in has started. Participants can obtain an official protest form from their local director. Verbal protests will not be accepted. Decisions regarding protests will be made solely by the tournament director. Any angler who witnesses a rule violation must try to capture a video to help support their case. We ask that anglers try to resolve personal on the water conflicts pertaining to being cut off etc on their own but understand that things can not always be worked out.

26. Local Director: Participants must allow the local Directors and staff to pull ahead of them in the take out line.

27. Insurance: All members must carry a minimum of a $100,000 liability insurance policy on any boat they register to use during any T.B.X. event, and must register the boat with TBX before participating in any event. Failure to carry the requisite insurance or the reporting of false or misleading information to T.B.X. will result in disqualification. Participants must provide their policy information for any boat that they will be using on their membership form in order to be eligible to participate. If insurance policy changes occur after registering a boat, the participant must notify their director immediately. Random policy checks may be performed by TBX directors, without notice.

28. Unfavorable Conduct: Any act of any participant which reflects unfavorably upon TBX’s efforts to promote fisheries conservation, clean waters, and general courtesy to other competing anglers shall be reason for disqualification. Chemical substance addiction or abuse, conviction of a felony or other crimes involving moral turpitude, or other conduct reflecting unfavorably upon TBX’s efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship and compliance with tournament rules and regulations may be grounds for disqualification, at the sole discretion of the tournament director.

29. Communications: Citizen band radios, marine radios and cellular phones are allowed in the boat for emergency use only. Any transmission of information via any communicative device concerning any aspect of fishing is prohibited during tournament hours.

30. Registration and weigh in areas:

The following are not permitted in the registration or weigh in areas. We ask that participants be courteous and refrain from smoking , and the use of foul language in these areas. Participants will be issued a warning for the first offence and will be disqualified for each offence there after for the rest of the season.

31. Rules and Regulations: Participants are expected to be familiar with these Rules and Regulations as well as all local and state laws before entering any TBX event. These Rules and Regulations are subject to change (with proper notice to participants) at the discretion of the tournament director. Any decision made by the tournament director will be final in all matters.

Team Bass Xtreme Rules and Regulations