WALLEYE WARS VIII: Heatwave - OFFICIAL RULES

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Date: August 14, 2021 - August 23, 2021
Location: Province of Saskatchewan
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1. Getting Started

A. Walleye Wars is an online Catch-Photo-Release tournament run through the Angler’s Atlas

website and mobile app MyCatch.

B. Anyone who pays entry can participate. Registration is per individual, and not per team. Under no circumstance may you “share” fish with any other tournament or non-tournament angler. You may submit ONLY fish caught by yourself via hook/line (no trapping, netting, etc)

C. There is a $250 registration fee to enter the tournament, per angler.

D. In order for catches to be recorded and received properly, you must use the same login and password for both the online registration (on the Walleye Wars tournament page of the Angler’s Atlas website) and the MyCatch app.

E. All contestants must register for the tournament via this URL: www.walleywars.com. If this is your first MyCatch Tournament, be sure to watch this video on How to Register for a MyCatch Tournament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o3PzcIoGo4

F. You will receive an automatic email confirming that you have entered the tournament and that your payment has gone through.

G. Once accepted into the tournament, download the free MyCatch mobile app [available for both iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store)] and login to activate the tournament on the app, being sure to use the same login email and password that you used to register in the tournament. It’s recommended that you do this prior to the tournament starting, so that you’re not learning this for the first time out on the water. You can use the MyCatch app at any time, and it will only record tournament fish for you once the event starts. Any fish you record prior to the tournament starting will only be personal catch logs, and have no bearing on the event (so feel free to play with it and familiarize yourself with the app prior to the event starting).

H. Protecting anglers’ privacy is a main priority, and any location data collected during the tournament will not be released to the public. Our promise to anglers is “Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret”. See Section 6 below for further details.

I. Anglers MUST practice catch and release for this tournament. Any participating angler caught keeping fish that were entered into the tournament will be DQ’d, regardless of legal possession limits.

J. Every angler must register independently, as well as use their own app login to record catches. In the case of anglers fishing together, each registered tournament angler will need to use their own app to record his/her own catches, no exceptions.

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2. Catch Reporting Rules

A. In order for each catch to qualify, a photograph of the fish must be taken within the MyCatch app. A photo cannot be uploaded from your phone’s Gallery/Camera Roll or any other source. Photos submitted via the app are time, date, and GPS stamped to verify the validity of the photo.

B. All contestants must have GPS/Location Data enabled on their cell phone for their catches to qualify. All location data will be protected. For more information, see Section 6 below.

C. All length-based prize categories require the use of a commercially available ‘bump board’ (no homemade boards with hand-written markings, no measuring tapes) that clearly shows the length of the fish. The board must have the “bump” at the 0cm end. The recommended board is the Judge Tournament Ruler, but other popular boards such as our MyCatch Bumpboard, or the Cabela’s Canada Fish Measure Board are also acceptable. If you are unsure about your board being acceptable, please contact Dallas at [email protected] to verify.

The mouth and nose of the fish must be aligned with the start (ie. 0cm) of the measuring device, with both the ends of the fish clearly visible in the photograph. The fish must be measured right-side-down (ie. right side of the fish against the board). Measurement is based on the tip of the tail and not fork length. A pinched tail to the width of the board is allowed, but not required. Both the nose and mouth (ie. upper AND lower jaw) of the fish must clearly be touching the bump of the board. If only the bottom lip is touching the bump, we will have to reject the fish’s length measurement. No guess-measurements will be made, so if your fish exceeds the length of the board, only the board’s maximum legible length will be recorded as the length of the fish submission.

D. The photo must be taken from directly above looking down on the fish (birds-eye view)

E. Fish must be placed on the bump board (not beside)

F. There are to be no fingers placed in the gills or mouth of the fish. Any fingers in the gills or mouth of the fish will disqualify that fish, no exceptions. This rule applies to the “measurement photo” submitted on the app.

G. NEW RULE: The mouth of the fish is allowed to be closed, open, or anywhere in between, so long as the fish submission meets all of the requirements outlined in this section and BOTH the nose and mouth (ie. lower and upper jaw) of the fish are touching the bump of the board.

Note: For all fish under 70cm, quickly put the fish on the measureboard, take a photo, and release the fish. Fish under 70cm will be judged less harshly as they will not affect paid positions in the tournament. The goal is to get these fish back in the water as quickly as possible. For all fish 70cm and over, make sure to be very careful and follow all of the measurement rules for a valid submission (birds-eye-view photo, both ends if the fish visible, no hands/fingers in the gills, tail pinched no more than the width of the board, BOTH the nose and mouth of the fish clearly touching the “bump” on the board)

Our Catch Approval Team made up of trained biology students from across Canada will be reviewing and approving all fish up to 70cm in length. Fish 70cm or longer will be reviewed and approved by Walleye Wars Tournament Director Dallas Kirkpatrick. Fish 70cm or larger may take longer to approve, as they will be judged much more thoroughly.

IMPORTANT: Arguing against or trying to attribute reason as to why any of the above rules could not be followed will have ZERO bearing on the rejection ruling of a rejected fish. “It was cold/windy” or “My buddy can verify...” will not be considered, and NO exceptions will be made. It is on the angler to submit an acceptable photo based on the above rules.

H. All anglers must fish in water shallower than 9 metres (ie. 30ft) as per Saskatchewan Fisheries best practices. Any angler caught fishing in more than 9 metres of water will be DQ’d from the event. This is to prevent barotrauma to any fish and potential damage to the resource.

I. Blatant abuse to fish or the resource is reason for disqualification.

J. The app can record catches out of cell range, and the catch submissions will synchronize with the server once the user opens the app when back in cell range, or via a wifi signal. If the catches are not synced by 6am the day following the end of the tournament, they will not qualify for prizes. To see how to manually sync your catch logs, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU-AwLc8OLY&t=10s

K. Catches will be reviewed within 12 hours of submission. Catches do not appear on the Live Leaderboards on the Tournament Webpage until the Catch Approval Team has approved them, so do not expect to see your fish on a leaderboard immediately after entering it.

L. If a length is rejected, the catch itself will still be approved.

M. A great resource is the MyCatch video that shows how to complete an entry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqwbAFFQE-w

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3. Tournament Location and Times

A. Tournament boundaries are the provincial borders of Saskatchewan. Any fish recorded within the provincial boundaries will be allowed. (NOTE: for border fisheries, you MUST be on the SK side of the border, or your fish will be rejected)

B. Official rules are posted on the tournament page at www.walleyewars.com, as well as on the Walleye Wars Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WalleyeWars)

C. The tournament starts August 14, 6:00am.

D. The tournament ends August 23, 6:00pm.

E. All catches made within the start and end times must be synchronized with the MyCatch server by 6am on August 24th to qualify.

Awards will be announced on August 24th at 11am on the Walleye Wars Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WalleyeWars)

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4. Awards & Prizes

A. Prizing

$7,500 - 1st Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$4,000 - 2nd Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$3,000 - 3rd Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$2,000 - 4th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$1000 - 5th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$500 - 6th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$250 - 7th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$250 - 8th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$250 - 9th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)
$250 - 10th Largest Walleye (total length in cm)

$100 - Big Fish Day 1
$100 - Big Fish Day 2
$100 - Big Fish Day 3
$100 - Big Fish Day 4
$100 - Big Fish Day 5
$100 - Big Fish Day 6
$100 - Big Fish Day 7
$100 - Big Fish Day 8
$100 - Big Fish Day 9
$100 - Big Fish Day 10

Various other sponsor prizes may be presented for categories of the sponsor’s choice (Hidden Length, etc.)

Sponsor prizing may substitute for cash at equal-to or greater-than value for paid positions 2-10.

Above prize amounts are based on a full field of 100 anglers. If the tournament doesn’t fill, the payouts will be adjusted evenly based on percentage up or down from 100.

B. More prizes/giveaways may be added as they become available.

C. A single participant can win multiple prizes (Leaderboard is Top 10 fish, not angler)

D. Winning anglers will be contacted directly using the contact information provided in the tournament registration process (email address)

E. In the case of a tie, the tie break will go to the person who submitted the tied fish first. In the highly unlikely event that there is still a tie, the pot for the two tied positions will be combined and split between the tied anglers. Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries.

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5. Additional Rules

A. By registering and participating in the tournament, all participants agree to abide by the rules and

regulations they have received as set out in the Walleye Wars event rules.

B. Anglers can only submit catches that they have caught themselves. Anglers are free to fish alone or with other tournament or non-tournament anglers (as long as it is in accordance with current local and provincial Covid restrictions), but each registered angler may only enter their own fish.

C. Each contestant must have in their possession a valid fishing license for their area or be exempt under regulations of their jurisdiction.

D. Each contestant must conform to the fishing rules and regulations that are in place for the jurisdiction in which they are fishing.

E. Promoters, organizers or sponsors assisting in the tournament operation are not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any contestants.

F. Any angler found to be cheating will be disqualified from the tournament. MyCatch also reserves the right to ban anglers from competing in future events.

G. In the event of disqualification, any entry fees will be forfeited and not refunded.

H. All rules have loopholes. It is our intention to provide an honest sportsmanlike tournament. In the interest of good sportsmanship, contestants are reminded the spirit of the rule will prevail in all judgments.

I. All questions or problems relating to the rules of this tournament are to be referred to Dallas Kirkpatrick (Director of Sales and Tournament Director, Angler’s Atlas). His decision will be final in all cases. No other person can be considered a spokesman for the rules during the tournament.

J. Any contestant has the right to make a protest against another contestant by contacting the MyCatch Catch Approval Team via email ([email protected]) prior to the close of the tournament. The team’s decision will be final in all cases.

K. All Covid-19 Public Health orders and Gathering Restrictions at the time of the event must be followed by all participants

L. Practice safety at all times!

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6. Data Privacy and Fisheries Research

A. “Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret” — This is our primary commitment to anglers who report their catches through MyCatch. So what does this mean in practice? See below.

B. Angler’s Atlas does not release MyCatch GPS data (latitude and longitude) to the public. It is treated as confidential and is provided to fisheries researchers under strict conditions.

C. Every research team we work with must sign a data sharing agreement that sets the terms of use for the data.

D. Data is anonymized before it is provided to the researcher. E. Researchers agree not to share the data with anyone else.

F. Researchers cannot use the data for any purpose other than the research specified in the agreement.

G. Exact location data cannot be published as part of the scientific research. Instead, it has to be generalized to a larger region so the location cannot be reverse engineered.

H. These data privacy rules are designed to protect our angler’s private data, to conserve the fisheries, and to make sure we maintain a trusting relationship with our anglers into the future. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to Angler’s Atlas President directly via email ([email protected])