1. Getting Started

A. March Madness is an online tournament run through Angler’s Atlas website and their mobile app MyCatch.
B. Anyone can participate in March Madness and it is for all ages. Registration is currently only able to support individual registration. For those participants sharing a mobile device, participants must login to their own account to submit their catches.
C. There is a $35 registration fee to enter the tournament. 
D. Catches must be submitted through the MyCatch app for judging anytime during that period.
E. In order for catches to be sent properly, you must use the same login email and password for both the Angler’s Atlas website and the MyCatch app.
F. All contestants must register for the tournament via this URL: https://www.anglersatlas.com/tournament/
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
G. You will receive an automatic email confirming that you have entered the tournament and that your payment has gone through.
H. Once accepted into the tournament, download the free MyCatch mobile app which is available for both iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store) and login to activate the tournament on the app again using the same login email and password that you used to register in the tournament. (https://www.anglersatlas.com/mycatch). 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.
I. Protecting anglers’ privacy is a 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 below for further details.

2. Catch Reporting Rules

A. This event is catch and release only. Eligible species include Northern Pike, Burbot, and Walleye.
B. In order for each catch to qualify, a photograph of the fish on a measuring device must be taken using the MyCatch app (ie. photos cannot be uploaded from a photo gallery or other source).
C. All contestants must have GPS/location services enabled on your cell phone for their catches to qualify. Your location data will be protected. For more information, see details below.
D. This is a total length measurement tournament. NOT fork length. See pic for reference. The total length of a fish is measured from the tip of the nose or jaw to the tip of the tail with the tail pinched.
E. The nose of the fish must be at the start or zero mark on all measuring devices and the total length is taken where the longest length of the tail crosses the measurements on the measuring device
F. If you measure your fish entry on a commercially produced bumpboard, the measurement rules are as follows. The nose of the fish must be visibly touching the bump end of the board, the fish must be placed on top of the board and the entire fish showing the head and tail and past the tail must be visible in the measurement photo.
G. If you measure your fish entry on a homemade bumpboard, the measurement rules are the same as above BUT you must provide a photo to the organizer of the empty board to verify proof of measurement accuracy. Unverified boards will NOT be accepted.
H. If you measure your fish using a tape measure, the measurement rules are as follows. The fish nose must be aligned with the zero mark on the tape, the fish cannot be on top of the tape measure or cover it in any way, and the entire fish showing the head and tail and past the tail must be visible in the measurement photo.
I. The photo must be taken from a birds-eye view looking down on the fish.
J. Fish must be measured right side down (the right side of the fish must be touching the board)
K. A photo that does not clearly show the overall length of the fish, including head and tail, on the ruler WILL NOT BE SCORED. More than one attempt to get a valid scoring photo is allowed. The app will prompt you to either accept the photo or retake a photo.
L. The mouth is allowed to be open, closed, or anywhere in between, so long as the fish meets the other above requirements.
M. 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.
N. The app works out of cell range, and catches will synchronize with the server once the user opens the app when back in cell range, or via a wifi signal. Photos are date, time, and location stamped to the moment that they are taken. If the catches are not synced by the prizing deadline, they will not qualify for prizes.
O. Catches that are submitted will be reviewed for approval at least once per day during the week. Once the submissions are reviewed and approved, they appear immediately on the appropriate leaderboard(s). DO NOT EXPECT to see entries show up immediately after you log them.
P. A great resource is the MyCatch video that shows how to complete an entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqwbAFFQE-w&list=PL1Yp9OqZ6saBgaKklT5jh6DkuTbai3NeJ&index=1

3. Tournament Location and Times

A. Tournament boundaries are within the limits of the Province 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. The tournament runs from:
Saturday, Feb 26 at 6am to Sunday, Mar 13 at 6pm
C. All catches made within the start and end times must be synchronized with the Angler’s Atlas server by 8 am on March 14th. To see how to manually sync your catch logs, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU-AwLc8OLY&t=10s
D. At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, postponed or cancelled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.

4. Awards & Prizes

A. Proceeds from the tournament will be distributed as prizes in accordance with the prizing categories below. Prize payouts will be adjusted if the event does not fill to the expected number of participants - see 4B

Longest Northern Pike
1st - $2000
2nd - $1000
3rd - $500
Longest Burbot 1st - $1000
Longest Walleye 1st - $1000
Best Release Video Prizes

• Tournament anglers take a video of the fish release using the "Add a Release Video" feature on the app when reporting your catch.
• Our Catch Team will review all videos submitted and those that pass our internal review for good fish handling will be posted to our Facebook page on Mondays.
• Once on our Facebook page, anyone can review the videos and like their favourite video.
• At the end of each week (ie. the following Monday), the video with the most likes will win a prize, as listed in the tournament prize section.
• Only one conservation prize can be won per participant.

B. Prize amounts are based on a full field of 250 anglers. If the tournament doesn’t fill, the payout percentages for each paid position will remain the same and will be adjusted accordingly. Prizes may be awarded through either E-transfer, cheque or entry fee refund.
C. A participant can only win one prize placing per Leaderboard.
D. Awards will be announced on or by March 15th and anglers will be contacted directly using the contact information provided in the tournament registration process.
E. In the case of a tie, the tie break will go to the person who logged their fish first.
F. Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries.
G. Anglers have up to 60 days to claim their prize. Anglers that do not claim their prize within this period forfeit their prize

5. Other 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 March Madness Event Rules
B. This tournament is catch and release ONLY. 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. Harvesting fish will result in disqualification. The goal is to achieve a 0% mortality rate.
C. Anglers can only submit catches that they have caught themselves. This is an individual tournament, so you cannot enter as a partnership or team, and under no circumstances can you share fish with any other angler. Anglers are free to fish alone or with other tournament or non-tournament anglers, but each registered angler may only enter their own fish on their own app.
D. All fish entered for this event must be caught via angling i.e. using hook, line, rod and reel. At no time will fish caught by non angling (i.e. use of traps, trap nets or cages) be allowed to be entered. Usage of a landing net to land a hooked fish is allowed.
E. Each contestant must have in their possession a valid fishing license for their respective jurisdiction or be exempt under regulations of their jurisdiction.
F. Each contestant must conform to the fishing rules and regulations that are in place for the jurisdiction in which they are fishing.
G. All anglers must fish in water shallower than 9 meter (ie 30ft). As per Saskatchewan Fisheries recommended best practices. Any angler caught fishing in more than 9 meters of water will be disqualified. This is to prevent barotrauma to fish and prevent potential damage to the resource.
H. Promoters and organizers assisting in the tournament operation are not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any contestants.
I. Any angler found to be cheating will be disqualified from the tournament. Angler’s Atlas also reserves the right to ban anglers from competing in future events.
J. In the event of disqualification, any paid entry fees will be forfeited and not refunded.
K. 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.
L. All questions or concerns relating to the rules of this tournament are to be referred to the Organizer or their designated Authorized Tournament Protest and Appeals Committee.
Their decision will be final in all cases. No other person can be considered a spokesman for the rules during the tournament. The contact person for this event is Shayna Hamilton and can be reached by email at [email protected]
M. Any contestant has the right to make a protest against another contestant by contacting an Organizer through email and must be completed and presented within 1 hour of the close of the tournament. Their decision will be final in all cases. A $50.00 dollar protest fee may need to accompany the protest. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid.
N. To ensure the best chances of survival for the fish, all participants are to handle fish safely. Blatant abuse to fish or the resource is reason for disqualification
O. This is a catch & release tournament. To help limit the impact on the fish and enhance the chances of survival, get all fish back into the water as quickly as possible.
P. This is an ice fishing derby. Practice ice safety at all times! Fishing is only allowed on a minimum of at least 4 inches of ice. Only walk and fish where it is safe to do so. For ice
safety information please see: https://www.lifesaving.org/public-education/water-smart-tips2/ice-safety-tips
Q. Measure fish inside tents or ice shacks whenever possible, specially when temperatures dip below -10 degrees celsius
R. Wet your boards/rulers prior to measuring fish in cold conditions to help prevent freezing the fish to the board, especially if you are using a Judge or other aluminum/metal boards
S. For Ice Fishing events - ice on the eyes or in the gills etc are a reason for disqualification.
T. All COVID-19 Public Health orders and Gathering Restrictions at the time of the event must be followed by all participants
U. All photo submissions may be used by MyCatch by Angler's Atlas for future use.

6. Data Privacy and Fisheries Research

“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?
A. Angler’s Atlas does not release MyCatch GPS data to the public. It is treated as confidential and is provided to fisheries researchers under strict conditions.
B. Every research team we work with must sign a data sharing agreement that sets the terms of use for the data.
C. Data is anonymized before it is provided to the researcher.
D. Researchers agree not to share the data with anyone else.
E. Researchers cannot use the data for any purpose other than the research specified in the agreement.
F. 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.
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 by email ([email protected])