Regulations 2017

1. General

1:01. Violation results in disqualification.

If a participant has broken the rules, a panel consisting of the local host and organizer takes a joint decision on the disqualification of the entire team and further decide on the ban on future participation. Disqualification can not be appealed. On suspicion of cheating, fraud or foul play please report it to the organiser immediately and if possible try to get a photo or video. The organiser needs solid proof to take action and the team that reports may submit a protest with photo/video evidence on returning for the price ceremony. Decisions on disqualification is taken per day of competition, and the case is closed on the same day.

1:02. 50% of the starting teams qualifies to the semifinal. No reserv backups.

In case of odd number of starting teams we round up, 19 teams on a qualifier send 10 teams to the semifinal. Your team still needs at least one approved catch.

1:03. Team winning is based on the five longest fishes per team.

If the team catches more fishes we only count the top five. If two teams have the same result we measure longest individual fish.

1:04. Individual price for longest fish.

We award a participant for the longest fish on every qualifier and semi/final.

1:05. Collective start.

From 2016 we start everyone at the same place and time for all qualifiers. It's not allowed to travel to another location where the boat is waiting and start fishing there or pulling the boat and dragging it to another location after the start.

2. Sign up

2:01. Signup fee

The signup fee per participant is 350 SEK per qualifier, and an additional 350 SEK for the semifinal if you qualify.

2:02. En boat per team, two-three participants per team.

Every team must have a boat, and a team must consist of minimum two, maximum three participants.

2:03. All participants must be signed up with complete and correct name.

The name entered in the sign up must match that of your national ID in case of ID check. Participants whom, regardless of reason, have been signed up with an incorrect or incomplete name must request to have it changed before their first qualifier to avoid being disqualified at the semifinals.

2:04. Changing team name.

Changing your team name is allowed up until the first qualifier. After that the system prevents editing of team details.

2:05. Changing participants

One (1) change per team is allowed before the team participates in their first qualifier and that the new participant is not signed up to another team in the same qualifier. It is not allowed to change teams before the semi/final unless previously qualified in that team line up.

2:06. Payment.

For swedish teams, we only accept up front payments. Foreign teams may contact us at account@sportfish.se for more details if BankGiro is not a feasible option. Payment is made to Swedish BankGiro 685-2529.
Don't forget to provide your signup code in the payment message area or we will not be able to register your payment! Note that BankGirot lags one (1) day so your payment must be sent 2 working days before the qualifier.

2:07. Prepaid.

If you have bought a prepaid season pass, you enter the same phone number on sign up and the system will deduct your fee.

2:08. Check-in before competing

Once we have registered your payment an email is sent to the team captain containing a check-in link.
Before the contest each team captain must read, understand and accept the regulations on behalf of the team to be able to check-in. This means that the team captain henceforth is responsible for making sure their team understands and accepts the regulations before and during the competing. Team who have checked-in are green lighted on the website team line up. Any teams who hasn't checked in before the competition starts will have to wait by the competition HQ until check-in is completed.

3. Photography

3:01. You may only use a smartphone camera.

Due to our new web based LIvereporting you need a smartphone with a web-browser, mobile data plan and GPS activated to be able to send in your catch reports during the competition day.

3:02. All catches must be documented with three (3) clear photos.

Catches must be photographed on the measuring board with the board number tag, the fishes jaws tightly against the stop and the total length clearly visible in the photo at the same time. We need two (3) photos against the measuring board taken from above and one (1) posing photo with the catcher and the land/islands/known reference point in the background so we can verify your position. Catches that cant be verified in case of dispute will be disqualified.

3:03. Time and date on the photos must be correct.

This applies both to filedate and any visual date in the phots. Do yourselves a favor, double check before the contest starts. Check timezone etc as well. Photos with incorrect time and/or date will be disqualified. Hard but fair.

3:04. Photo material.

By sending or handing in your photos to the organiser you grant the organiser a license to use your photos for marketing purposes You still own the photo and only give us the right to use it in our marketing. The organiser also has the right to pass photos on to Sportfiskarna for documentation.

3:05. The team captain signs out the measuring board at the morning meeting.

Only fishes photographed on the signed out measuring board is valid in the competition.
The measing board is returned to the organiser after the contest. Lost measure board is charged to the team captain at 1000 SEK incl VAT.

3:06. Showing photos.

The team is responsible for their photos being easily accessible and displayed after any technical difficulties with the Livereporting webapp.

4. Catches and reporting

4:01. All catches must be catch & release.

The fish must be returned immediately after measuring and photography with minimal effect on the fish. We prefer that you use landing mat and rubber net to minimize the stress on the fish.

4:02. Only catches from the competition date/time and within the competition area is allowed.

It's not allowed to start fishing before the competition start time or after the end time. It's not allowed to report a fish not caught by the team during the competition inside the comptition area and time.

4:03. Minimum size is 50cm.

Fishes shorter than that should not be searched or taken out of the water - to the extent it can be avoided.

4:04. Team results is measured in whole centimeters.

We do not accept decimal points in the catch or team results. The tail fin has to touch the line for it to count up. The exception is the days longest fish which is measured by comparing photos. You are allowed to gently squeeze the tail coil.

4:05. All catches must be reported via our web based Livereporting immediately after returning it.

You can't send text messages or call in your catches. A link to the Livereporting is sent to you in the check-in email after paid signup fee, or you can fetch the link from there with your booking code.

4:06. The Livereporting requires at least one (1) smartphone with camera, mobile data plan and GPS.

4G is recommended for quicker uploads. GPS is required to determine if you are inside the competition area. All GPS-data is anonymised automatically when the result is published and cannot be shared with 3rd parties.

4:07. Reporting deviation in the Livereporting at the end of the competition.

Note: This is not needed if your result in the Liveapp is correct!
On the page Catches in the Livereporting web app there is a link to report deviation, ie if you need to hand in more catches manually. This must be submitted before 4:05pm and you must fetch a Result report from us before 4:20pm and hand it in filled out with your mobile phone(s) before 4:45pm.

4:08. In case of technical difficulties with the Livereporting we fail over to Result reports and handing in mobilephone(s).

This applies to everyone if you have not been able to send in all your teams catches in the Livereporting. Result reports must in this case be fetched before 4:20pm and handed in with your mobile phone(s) before 4:45pm.

4:09. Livereporting is a reference over that days fishing.

The official results will be posted on the Results page once all photos have been processed.

5. Allowed fishing techniques

5:01. The allowed fishing techniques are casting, spinning and fly fishing with artificial lures.

We do not allow live or dead baits, angling, trolling, netting or any other form of non-active rod fishing. Drifting is allowed with a winding reel. Its not allowed to drag the lure behind the boat at gliding speeds.

5:02. Only one active rod per participant.

Participants can bring more than one rod but may only use one at a time.

5:03. Vertical fishing is allowed.

After the lure is dropped, the reel has to be active and the boat must be anchored. Drifting and/or dragging is not allowed.

6. Safety

6:01. All participation is at your own risk.

The organiser is not responsible for accidents and damage to people and equipment occuring to the participants before, during or after the competition. By checking in the team captain approves these regulations on behalf of the team.

6:02. Sobriety.

All participants must be sober at all times. Participants who act inebriated will be questioned and may cause disqualification of the team. The decision is taken that same day.

6:03. Mandatory morning meeting for all participants.

All participants must be present for the morning meeting. See the schedule on the page Time & Place for each respective qualifier. If the entire team is not present, they will be forced to delay their start as the organiser holds another morning meeting.

6:04. Self examination.

Smartphone and safety equipment must be self examined. Unauthorised equipment will prevent the team from participating. Please be careful with your gear.

6:04. Floatation devices.

Working floatation devices or floatation suit must be worn at all times, You are allowed to remove it after landing. Alla floatation devices or suits must be shown to the organisers at the mandatory morning meeting before the start. If a participant is not wearing floatation devices the whole team is disqualified. This applies to all qualifiers and semi/final. This is connected to the organisers Detta har med arrangörens liability insurance.

6:05. Team must bring at least two (2) smart phones.

Valid and working communication devices must be carried with the team or in the boat.

6:06. Dead man's switch.

Must be present and working on factory equipped models.

6:07. Distance between boats must be at least two casting lengths or 50 meters.

Respect each other. In case of conflict see point 1:01.

7. Team line up

7:01. Only the teams original participant may participate in the semi/finals.

A team must consist of minimum two (2) maximum three (3) participants and it's not allowed to bring in new participants for the semi/finals.
It is allowed for a three-participant team to participate with only two (2) participants, but a two-participant team may not participate as a three-participant team (with one (1) additional participant).

7:02. Qualifying with an imcomplete team and participating in the final/semi with the full team.

From 2014 it is allowed to qualify with two out of three participants and participate in the semi/finals with all three participants. Ill or otherwise indisposed participants will no longer be disqualified. However all participants must be payed and correctly named before the qualifier begins.

7:03. Three-participant teams: beginning and ending the competition with different number of participants.

Paid three-participant teams may begin a competition with two participants and end with three participants, or begin with three participants and end with two participants. The organiser must be notified in advance if a participant leaves or joins and it can only be done at the starting area after a brief meeting with the organiser.

7:04. Piecing together a team for the semi/final.

Only team line ups that have qualified can participate in the semi/final. It is not allowed to piece together teams from various participants regardless if they have qualified in other teams separately.

7:05. Once a team has participated in a qualifer the team line-up - and teamname - is locked.

The line-up can only be changed by removing participants from a three-person team. No other changes are permitted within a team.

8. Membership and fishing licenses

8:01. All participants must have a Sportfiskarna membership to participate in SM i Gädda - Catch With Care Sportfish Masters 2017.

Teams with participants who doesn't have a valid membership ID cannot check in and risks having their team disqualified for the remainder of the season/finals.
No membership - no participation regardless. Membership must be confirmed at the controls. You must be able to confirm your membership, but you don't need to carry your membership card. In some cases the membership cards are not posted until after the first qualifier. The most important is that your membership was registered and paid in time for your team captain to check in the team using your membership ID. Since the organiser does not sell Sportfiskarna memberships, we referr you to their website.

8:02. Participants must get all required fishing licences up front.

We present available options on the website, but do not sell or administer fishing licenses ourselves. The local host normally arranges selling of licenses on location unless digital licenses are available. Please bring even money if you are purchasing a license on location.

9. Schedule and timing

9:01. The official schedule is valid for all competition days.

On later arrival the team captain must gather the participants for a brief meeting with the organisers. Late teams will be delayed at least one (1) hour from their arrival at the organisers, must recieve a green light from the organisers to begin participating and must notify the organisers by phone when they actually start.

9:02. Team can end their participation and still keep their results.

In case of unforeseen events a team is allowed to end their participation and keep their results as long as they have either confirmed their results in the Livereporting or are available for Result reports and handing in their mobile phone(s) at the end of the competition. We do not accept catches on any other channels but Livereporting and physical presence straight from the mobile phone.

9:03. Boat back at the docks after the competition.

All boats must return to the docks after the competition but the actual fishing is allowed up until the last minute. See the schedule on the page Time & Place for each qualifier and semi/final.

9:04. Launching your boat before the compeition.

You may launch your boat in a different location, but all participants must start in the boat in the water at the starting point at 8:00am.

9:05. Award ceremony.

Award ceremony and semifinalist row call takes place as soon as photos has been analysed. This applies to both Livereporting or Result report and handing in mobile phones. Time varies due to number of teams and catches.

9:06. Test fishing before competition.

Test fishing is allowed up until two days before the semifinal and one day before a qualifier. Participants/teams who are fishing after that point will be disqualified.

10. Finals

10:01 During the final the teams 1-10 commit to having a film producer with camera equipment etc in their boat.

The film producer will be there an arbitrary amount of time.

10:02. Reserves from the semifinal.

If a team gives up their place in the final they will be replace with teams 11 and up respectively. This way we ensure 10 teams are competing for the championship title and the Linder 445 Catch with trailer och 1st place get the i Fly VS Jerk spot in a upcoming season.

10:03. In the semi/final each participant is competing against each others by catching the longest three fishing.

This is only for the semi/finals, not the qualifiers.

11. Other

11:01. Organiser.

SM i Gädda / Sportfish Masters is organised by Sportfish Masters Sweden AB.

11:02. The regulations are constantly updated.

It is up to the team captain to make sure the team is up to date on the regulations during the season. At the bottom of the Regulations page there is an last updated reference date.

11:03. Any taxes are paid by the winners.

It's up to the winners to contact Skatteverket and handle any taxes.

11:04. Nautical charts/depth chart is shown where available on the page Time & Place.

It may only be used for research purposes and not for navigating.

11:05. Semifinal wildcards.

Last years winners (team 1-3) are given a wildcard to the semifinals in the coming season. This means that in 2017 we are welcoming Team Karlskronafiske, Team Jerkoff and Båt & Fiske 1 back to defend their titles The signup fee is paid as per usual.

11:06. Teams that have already qualified can participate again to compete for more spots in the semifinal.

If Team X already have qualified for the semifinal and places on the top half of the start grid, they grab another semifinal spot and reduce the competition at the semifinal.

11:07. Landing is only allowed after approval from the organiser.

To avoid disqualifying the team regardless of reason you always need approval from the organiser to disembark the boat during the competition.

11:08. No refunds.

Payment is binding and non-refundable in part or wholly. Under special circumstances a judgement call can be made where the participant is granted a signup fee credit for a qualifier in this or an upcoming season. The decision is taken freely by the organizer and can not be appealed.