Article II - Participant Requirements
Section 1 - Teen's
In order for a Teen to be eligible to participate in a Teen Sportfishing
Tournament he/she must:
A. Registration fee of $20.00, to include a free TSA shirt.
B. Be enrolled in a certified Teen Sportfishing Program.
C. Have a minimum of a 2.0 grade average for the current grading period, not accumulative. This requirement will continue throughout all tournaments including the state qualifier and state tournament. If you have an F in an academic core class, you will be ineligible to fish regardless of your grade point average.
Grades- report cards and progress reports:
You must choose between the following ways to show proof of your grades.
1. Parents give Teen Sportfishing access to the parent portal.
2. E-mail grades directly from the parent portal to:
Orange County Students octsagrades@yahoo.com
Seminole County Studentssctsagrades@yahoo.com
Volusia County Students vctsagrades@yahoo.com
3. Original document must be turned in prior to tournament. NO COPIES will be accepted. Only qualifies if your school does not use parent portal, or if you are home schooled. You will have to show proof before fishing.
D. Must have completed the Boater Safety Course, passed the Test and shown proof to your county.
F. Must provide your own, well fitted life jacket.
G. Meet the minimum classroom attendance requirements set forth by the classroom instructor and attend the class prior to the tournament. Teen's that fall below the 2.0 grade minimum are still eligible to participate in the classroom activities.
H. Sign, along with parents or legal guardians, a Release of Claims/Covenant Not to Sue form (waiver) certified by the Teen Sportfishing Association Program.
I. Sign, along with parents or legal guardians, a by-law acknowledgement form certified by the Teen Sportfishing Association Program.
J. Must have a valid fishing license if applicable according to the state laws.
K. Community Service: Teen must complete one community service event set & defined by Teen Sportfishing Association in order to qualify for state qualifier.
Section 2 - Boaters/Captains
A. Any captain that supplies a vessel for use in the Teen Sportfishing Tournaments must be able to do so according to the requirements set forth by the state laws. We also require a valid state driver’s license to operate the tow vehicle and or vessel. Teens may in certain circumstances be able to operate their own vessels if all state laws are adhered to. The classroom instructor along with the Teen's parents has the authority to limit or allow the use of a Teen's own vessel.
B. All captains must also have a valid fishing license according to the state laws as fish may be on board during a Teen Sportfishing tournament.
C. No guides or captains will be allowed in a Teen Sportfishing tournament that will collect any commission for the services provided. Any Teen caught paying a guide for the service of catching fish will be disqualified and expelled from further participation in the Teen Sportfishing program. Paying for services doesn't include the compensation for expenses.
D. Boat captains that are offering a vessel for use during a Teen Sportfishing tournament must be aware and in compliance with all state and local laws pertaining to the vessel and safety equipment requirements for the said vessel.
E. Boat captains are also required to be aware of all the Teen Sportfishing tournament rules and by-laws pertaining to the tournaments. See Captain's guidelines for further Captain's information.
F. All captains may be subjected to a background check in order to maintain the integrity of the program.
G. A teen may captain their own boat if they are 16 years old with a valid driver’s license. There must be an adult (18 years of age or older & graduated from high school) observer on board. Teen is responsible for providing adult observer.
H. Teen Sportfishing Association has the right to disqualify any captain.
Section 3 - Tournament size
The classroom instructor along with the county Board of Directors has the right to limit the tournament size according to the boats and equipment available for use. If there happens to be more Teen's than equipment available, the Teen's who are providing their own vessels have the first priority in participating in the tournaments. A fair and unbiased draw of names will then be used to fill any open vacancies that are available.
State qualifying and state tournaments will be run by the State Board of Directors and the Corporate Board of Directors of the Teen Sportfishing Program. They have the sole right to limit the size of the said tournaments according to the Board of Directors votes.
State Qualifier:
The top 5 teens after the final Points tournament of the season will automatically proceed to the State tournament and Will Not fish the State Qualifier.
50% of the remaining active members (active members will be decided at the last regular scheduled tournament prior to the State Qualifier) will proceed to the State Qualifier.
The top 50% (this is a correction as of 4/10/2010 your packet is incorrect packet reads as 25%) from the state qualifier will proceed to the State Tournament
(Any fraction will be rounded up to the next number)