WALLEYE WARS XI: Ontario - OFFICIAL RULES

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Date: June 24, 2022 - July 3, 2022
Location: Province of Ontario
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1. Getting Started

A. Walleye Wars is an online Catch-Photo-Release tournament hosted on the Angler’s Atlas website

and ran using the mobile app MyCatch (available on iOS and Android).

B. Any individual who pays the entry fee 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 ONLY submit 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 received and recorded 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.

If you’ve participated in a Walleye Wars tournament (or any other MyCatch tournament) in the past, you will already have an account with login and password. Please use this same account during registration. If you have not fished a MyCatch tournament before and do not already have an Angler’s Atlas online account, you will be prompted to create one after selecting the “Enter Tournament” button on the tournament page. After you create a new account, you must first verify the account by going to your email. Once the account is verified, you can continue with your registration for the tournament. You will only be considered “entered” once your entry has been paid in full. There are 100 spots available per tournament, which will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

E. All contestants must register for the tournament via this URL: www.walleywars.com. Make sure you have selected the correct Walleye Wars event that you want to enter. 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 highly 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). Please do not delete any of your fish logs, especially during a tournament. If you accidentally delete the wrong fish from your log, it cannot be recovered.

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 account to record his/her own catches, no exceptions.

In the case of fishing with a child or another registered tournament participant who does not have their own phone, you can run multiple MyCatch accounts on the same app/device using the app’s Account Switch feature, although it is recommended that each angler use their own device wherever possible. Switching back and forth between accounts multiple times in a day can be tedious and time consuming.

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2. Measurement 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 0 cm 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 if your board is acceptable, please contact Dallas at [email protected] to verify prior to the event starting.

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FOR ALL FISH 60cm AND LARGER:

(all fish 60cm and larger will be judged by Dallas Kirkpatrick, Walleye Wars tournament director)

D. The head of the fish must be aligned with the start (ie. 0 cm) of the measuring device, with either or both of the upper and lower jaw aligning with the start of the bump board. Both ends of the fish (head and tail) must be 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. 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.

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

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

G. 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 only to the “measurement photo” submitted on the app.

H. The mouth of the fish is allowed to be closed, open, or anywhere in between, so long as the upper and/or lower jaw of the head of the fish is clearly touching the bump of the board at 0 cm and the fish submission meets all of the requirements outlined in this section.

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 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 review their photo thoroughly and submit an acceptable photo based on the above rules.

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FOR ALL FISH UNDER 60cm:

(all fish under 60cm will be judged by the Angler’s Atlas Catch Approvals Team)

I. For fish under 60cm, quickly put the fish on the measureboard, take a photo, and release the fish. Fish under 60cm 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.

Our Catch Approval Team made up of trained biology students from across Canada will be reviewing and approving all fish up to 60cm in length. Fish 60cm or longer will be reviewed and approved by Walleye Wars tournament director Dallas Kirkpatrick. Fish 60cm or larger may take longer to approve, as they will be judged much more thoroughly.

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J. All anglers must fish in water shallower than 9 metres (ie. 30ft). Any angler proven to be fishing in more than 9 metres of water will be DQ’d from the event. This rule is in place to prevent barotrauma to any fish and potential damage to the resource.

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

L. 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

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

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

O. 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 Ontario. Any fish recorded within the provincial boundaries will be allowed. (NOTE: for border fisheries, you MUST be on the ON 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 June 24, 6:00am.

D. The tournament ends July 3, 6:00pm.

E. All catches made within the start and end times must be synchronized with the MyCatch server by 6am on July 4th to qualify.

Awards will be announced on Tuesday, July 5th at around noon on the Walleye Wars Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WalleyeWars)

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4. Awards & Prizes

A. Prizing

$7500 + Garmin LiveScope ($2000 value) - 1st Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$3000 - 2nd Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$2000 - 3rd Largest Walleye (length in cm)

Garmin Echomap 75sv UHD + Transducer ($1360 value) - 4th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$500 - 5th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$500 - 6th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$250 - 7th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$250 - 8th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$250 - 9th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$250 - 10th Largest Walleye (length in cm)

$250 - Big Fish Day 1

$100 Radioworld Giftcard + $150 - Big Fish Day 2

$250 - Big Fish Day 3

$250 - Big Fish Day 4

$250 - Big Fish Day 5

$250 - Big Fish Day 6

$250 - Big Fish Day 7

$250 - Big Fish Day 8

$100 Radioworld Giftcard + $150 - Big Fish Day 9

$250 - Big Fish Day 10

NOTE: If at the time of the tournament start, if there is less than 34 paid anglers, the Garmin Echomap 75 SV unit will become the 2nd place prize.
             If at the time of the tournament start, if there is between 34 and 49 paid anglers, the Garmin Echomap 75 SV unit will become the 3rd place prize.
             If the Tournaemt has 50 or more paid anglers, the Garmin Echomap 75 SV unit will be the 4th place prize as indicated above.
 
Various other sponsor prizes may be presented for categories of the sponsor’s choice (Hidden Length, etc.). These prizes will be announced to the anglers via email, and also on the Walleye Wars Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WalleyeWars).

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

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

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

C. A single participant can only win ONE Longest Walleye prize. Only each angler’s largest recorded

fish will appear on the Longest Fish Leaderboard (Leaderboard is Top 10 anglers, not fish).

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. All registered participants must follow any and all provincial safety standards for PFD and boating safety.

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) via email at [email protected]. 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. All photo submissions submitted via the MyCatch app may be used by MyCatch/Angler’s Atlas for future use.

M. 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])