1. B.E.A.T will consist of a boater only format..

2. Participation and Eligibility: Buckeye Elite Anglers Trail (B.E.A.T.) is an amateur bass fishing tournament circuit. Events are open to amateur anglers who have not competed in the following events within the last 2 years on the pro side. B.A.S.S. Elite Series & FLW Tour events. B.E.A.T. reserves the right to deny anyone's membership.

3. Membership Requirements: To be eligible to participate in any B.E.A.T. event, each participant must fully and legibly complete a B.E.A.T. membership form and pay the mandatory B.E.A.T. $35 yearly membership fee. 

Membership forms and payments should be sent to : Phil Carver ~ 6595 Saylor Ct. - Canal Winchester , Ohio 43110 one week prior to the first regular season event. 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 B.E.A.T. 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 B.E.A.T. tournament director. B.E.A.T. must have in its possession an original signed copy of this form before any participant will be eligible to participate in any event. 

4. Entry Fees shall be $210 dollars per event which include Big Bass. Anglers may “guarantee” their entry slot with payment of a $50 deposit per event for the seasons events($250). The $160 event balance is to be paid prior to the Wednesday before the events. A late fee of $20 will be added to all entries starting that Monday prior to each tournament. Event pre-pays (within the deadline) will “draw” for start number. Anglers choosing to pay for the entire season ( $1,050) will be allowed to double-draw for their start number. Single event deposits are allowed with the exception of the last season event but does not guarantee entry. Those anglers who have participated in multiple events will have priority to enter the event. 

5. Weigh in. All fish must be taken from livewell and be placed directly into a bag provided by B.E.A.T. staff, no exceptions! Anglers who bring their catch to the weigh in area in a different bag will be disqualified! 

6. Big Bass: The big bass pot will pay 2 places at every regular season event, 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 tournament director reserves the right to change any tournament's hours in the event that weather or other circumstances do not allow for a safe launch or being to hot in summer months. All events will be a minimum of 8 hours. All decisions regarding start and end times 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 anglers 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. B.E.A.T. 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 courtesy board as to not hold up the weigh in process. Do not ask the staff to look while you measure fish to have them confirm they are legal size. Ounce you give your fish to the B.E.A.T. director at the weigh in sink , it is up to their 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. 

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 anglers total weight for each dead fish brought to the scales by the violating angler. If an angler brings more than 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.  

12. Permitted Fishing Methods: All bass must be caught alive and in a conventional sporting manner. 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. 

13. Late Check-Ins: A one (1) pound per minute penalty will be assessed to any angler that is late to check-in at the end of a tournament. Anglers arriving more than five (5) minutes past the check-in time will automatically be disqualified. Check-in time will be by 3:00 pm and if changed , 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 anglers big bass. If an angler is disqualified during a tournament, for any reason, show points will be awarded and no money will be refunded. Whether an angler is disqualified is the sole decision of the tournament director.

15. Series Points Champion: The points champion will be figured by totaling all the participants points from each regular season event. All events on the 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 after the last event ,the angler who weighed the most fish for the season will become the champion. If there is still a tie , the angler who weighed in the largest bass over the season will become point champion. The points champion will receive paid entry fee’s for the following season. The division point champions must participate in all the events to be eligible to receive points during the season that they fish for free. 

16. Take-Off: Take-off position will be assigned by draw at the registration location for all participants. 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. 

17. Boat Inspection: All live wells will be checked by the bull horn boat during blast off. You must "idle" past the right side bull horn after your number is called.

18. 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 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 an angler 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. 

19. 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. 

20. 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

21. Off limits and angling ethics: All tournament waters are off limits after 7:00pm 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. 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 from opposite directions 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 ancored with the trolling motor up. Ancored 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. The tournament director will also announce all other off limit areas prior to blast off at the event.

22. Cheating: Any participant caught cheating in any tournament event will be immediately barred from all future B.E.A.T. as well as T.B.X. events. B.E.A.T. 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.  

23. 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. 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. Both Tiller and 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. 

24. Protest: 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 pictures and a video to help support their case. 

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

26. Insurance: All members must carry a minimum of a $100,000 liability insurance policy on any boat they register to use during any B.E.A.T. event, and must register the boat with B.E.A.T. before participating in any event. Failure to carry the requisite insurance or the reporting of false or misleading information to B.E.A.T. 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 B.E.A.T. directors, without notice. 

27. 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 B.E.A.T.’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. 

28. 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. 

29. 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. 

30. Events are capped at a 60 boats. Only  the first 60 paid entry fee's will be eligible to participate in an event. Anglers who wish to participate in a certain event may be bumped out by those who have chosen to participate in multiple events.
.
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 B.E.A.T. 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. 


Rules