03 July, 2008

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Sharkathon 2007 Rules
 
•Payments
Potential winners may be subject to a polygraph test prior to collecting prizes. Polygraph services will be used at the discretion of tournament directors.
1. Credit card/PayPal payments will be accepted during online registration via www.sharkathon.com. The cut off for online registration will be August 31, 2007 8:00pm or when 400 participants have signed up. Participants must print out a receipt of payment and registration to present at check in.
 
•On-Site Registration & Final Check In
1. Registration will be held at the four-wheel drive sign on Padre Island National Seashore from 12:00pm on Friday, September 12th through 12:00pm on Saturday, September 13th.
2. Check-in deadline is at 1:00pm on Sunday, September 14th at the Malaquite visitor’s center beach parking area. LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
3. All contestants must sign and return a liability release prior to beginning the event. Each release must include name, phone, address and email (if applicable)
 
•Tournament rules
1. Participants and fishermen must abide by State of Texas Rules and Regulations and agree to be bound by the terms of the Sharkathon Tournament rules.
2. All fish must be caught by rod and reel. No gigging, spearing, cast nets, gill nets, gaffs or other methods that may cause injury to fish may be used to capture fish or to aid in landing fish during this tournament.
3. Tournament boundaries are from the entrance of Padre Island National Seashore to the beach just north of the Port Mansfield Jetties. All fish must be hooked, fought and landed from the beach. No fish caught from piers, jetties, or any other structure will be allowed for entry. No fish caught while in a kayak or motorized craft will be accepted as a valid entry.
4. All baits must be deployed by “human power.” No motorboats, jet skis, PWC, kite surfing or remote control devices will be allowed. All baits must be deployed by casting, swimming, kayak, hammer throw or surf board.
5. The registered angler, without assistance must catch all fish. This includes the entire fighting process, from hook set to the final feet of the battle. Contestants may have help landing, tagging, photographing, measuring and releasing all eligible species.
6. To increase the chances for survival of all fish, the use of circle hooks is recommended. All TPW regulations apply, including size and length limitations. Game fish may not be used for bait.
7. This tournament is a Catch-Photo-Release tournament. Any angler caught or reported to be wasting game will be disqualified from the event. Any fish caught and not successfully released will NOT count for entry into this tournament. Fish that are harvested will NOT be counted for entry.
8. Any contestant cited by park officials or other law enforcement personnel for breaking the law during the tournament will be disqualified from the event and deemed ineligible for awards to include raffle, door prizes and division prizes.
9. The angler must be in the picture with the fish being entered, and must be touching the fish to show scale. All photos must be taken at a 90-degree angle from the fish and the angler with the ruler stretched straight FROM the nose TO the tail of the fish. Any photo that does not meet the requirements will be disqualified and removed from consideration for prizes. Each angler will be given a ruler to place in the picture to show scale. Anglers must also take a measurement with a tape measure for exact scale.
10. Each contestant will be given a data sheet to log his or her catches. This log will be returned to tournament officials prior to the awards ceremony. Incomplete or inaccurate logs will result in disqualification of the contestant. To be eligible, all data must be completed.
11. Any protests must be submitted in writing to tournament officials within 20 minutes of prize announcements.
12. All photos submitted become property of Sharkathon, and may be used in future promotional material.
 
•Tournament Divisions
1. Shark Division: Longest shark as measured from point of nose to tip of tail.
a. Awards will be given for the top three longest sharks caught and released.
b. All sharks, regardless of species or size count within this division.
c. In case of a tie, the angler with the most successfully released sharks will be the winner. In case of an
absolute tie, the top entries will split the award equally.
2. “Running of the Bulls” Redfish Division: Longest redfish as measured from the point of nose to the tip of tail.
a. Awards will be given for the top three longest redfish caught and released.
b. In case of a tie, the angler with the most successfully released redfish will be the winner. In case of an
absolute tie, the top entries will split the award equally.
3. Speckled Trout Division: Longest trout as measured from the point of nose to tip of tail.
a. Awards will be given for the top three longest trout caught and released.
b. In case of a tie, the angler with the most successfully released trout will be the winner. In case of an
absolute tie, the top entries will split the award equally.
4. Tarpon Division: Longest tarpon as measured from the point of nose to tip of tail.
a. Award will be given for the longest tarpon caught and released.
b. In case of a tie, the angler with the most successfully released tarpon will be the winner. In case of an
absolute tie, the top entries will split the award equally.
5. Kids Division: Longest fish of any species as measured from the point of nose to tip of tail with one exception, stingrays will be measured from wingtip to wingtip.
a. Awards will be given for the top three largest fish caught and released.
b. In case of a tie, the angler with the most successfully released fish will be the winner. In case of an absolute tie, the top entries will split the award equally.
c. The age limit for this division is 15. Kids of all ages may enter the adult divisions, but may not enter both adult and children’s divisions. Each child must have an adult sign a release allowing them to participate in the event.
 
•Door Prizes
Each person who turns in a catch log will receive ticket(s) for door prizes. Participants must be present to win door prizes.
 
•Raffle Ticket Rules
1. Raffle tickets will be available for sale for $5 each, with no limit on the number of tickets purchased by each person.
2. The drawing will be held during the check-in of the tournament, Sept. 14th, 2007, at approximately 3:00pm.
You DO NOT have to be present to win.
3. Winners who are not present will be notified by phone and/or e-mail within 3 days of tournament end, and will be required to schedule pickup or shipment of prize. Winners will be required to cover all shipping costs.
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Photo Requirements
 
1)      Measurements needed for Shark submissions are total length and fork length.
2)      All measurements must be taken with the 120 inch ruler which is in the packet provided. The Sharkathon ruler is for providing scale in the photographs only do not attempt to measure a shark with the 4 foot Sharkathon ruler.
3)      The measurements must be as accurate as possible and all winning entries will be verified. Keep the ruler straight at all times and do not follow the curve of the shark while measuring. Hold the ruler straight and tight while measuring.
4)      If the fork length cannot be verified in the photo within one inch of the reported length it will be disqualified so make sure that your measurements are as accurate as possible there will be no exceptions.
5)      The total length will be verified within the photo and must be as accurate as possible. If at all possible try to take photos of the shark being measured, if you catch a good sized shark take photos of the whole process to help verification.

6)      When taking the catch photo of a shark make sure that the Sharkathon ruler is held straight and tight and lined up on the length of the shark. Hold the ruler in front of the dorsal fin but be careful not to flex the ruler against it. Please refer to the illustration below for an example of what we expect the photo to look like. 

 
7)      There is a new addition to the picture requirements this year as you can see in the illustration above. Provided with the Sharkathon ruler is a 12 inch square that must be placed onto the side of the shark prior to the photo. Simply place the square on the shark somewhere in the middle. As long as the square is clean on the back it will stick to the shark with a splash of water applied prior to placing the square on the shark.
 
Redfish, Trout, and Tarpon and kids division entries under 48 inches use the Sharkathon ruler to measure the catch and take a photo of the fish either on top of the ruler or with the ruler held tight to provide scale in the photograph. Anything over 48 inches use the 120 inch ruler which was provided within your packet.
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