OFFICIAL F.I.P.S.e.d. RULES

CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL "FOR NATIONS" COMPETITIONS

"CARNIVOROUS ARTIFICIAL BAIT BOAT ANGLING"

ORGANIZATION

-1-     Official international competitions must be organized by national federations affiliated to C.I.P.S.. The organizing federation will be officially responsible for the competition in question.

-2-     Only those who are members of a national federation affiliated to C.I.P.S. with their full annual fee paid for shall be admitted; they are to be nominated by the federations they are members of; the anglers who make up the teams of national federations must hold the nationality of the latter.

An angler, who has already participated in a World Championship or in an international competition representing a nation, cannot compete for another nation.

The competitors must always be able to prove their nationality by means of ID cards, passports or other documents to attest their identity. The identifying document shall be presented at the 1^st team managers' meeting.

Only teams that are members of the national federations shall be admitted to World Championships.

In order to apply for the organization of a championship, the nation in question must have participated at least once, during the past three years, in the championship that it proposes to organize.

A preview programme must absolutely be sent to the secretary of F.I.P.S.e.d. before the end of November in the preceding year.

With the exception of the World Fishing Games, F.I.P.S.e.d. can be responsible for providing the software program and all certificates and classifications for prize-giving for all the championships; in this case, the organising Nation shall meet all board and lodging expenses (room, meals and closing gala dinner) for the person undertaking this work; the stay may begin on the eve of the first day of practice and end on the day after the closing dinner; F.I.P.S.e.d. will be responsible for travel costs.

For all F.I.P.S.e.d. championships, the organising Nation shall meet all board and lodging expenses (room, meals and closing gala dinner) for two members of the F.I.P.S.e.d. directive committee; the stay may begin on the eve of the first day of practice and end on the day after the closing dinner.

A championship cannot be awarded to a nation if the nation does not undertake to put live fish back into the water after they have been counted and weighed (it is forbidden to kill fish).

The nation which organises a World championship will be responsible for acquiring the trophies which will be paid for by F.I.P.S.e.d.; the nation must provide 3 trophies for the team trials and 6 trophies for the individual trials; these trophies must have a plaque, on which will be inscribed "F.I.P.S.e.d." as well as the place and date of the championship. The maximum amount that F.I.P.S.e.d. will reimburse will be 450 € for 9 trophies. F.I.P.S.e.d. will continue to provide the medallions.

Programmes and invitations for all championships should only be given to nations which are members of F.I.P.S.e.d. (no invitations should be given to clubs or individuals).

-3-     Each nation that is a C.I.P.S. member will be allowed to present only one team of 4 anglers composed of 2 "couples" and according to the capacity of the boats, the competitors of a "couple" must fish together on one boat or separately on two different boats). No competitor will be allowed to participate as an individual. Only 2 reserves (1 "couple") are allowed for each Nation; the performed change will remain definite.

-4-     The competitions must be organised at watercourses, such as rivers or channels or in suitable water basins, such as lakes etc.; it must be possible to fish along the entire width of the venue.

-5-     The venue must not present any dangers for the competitors or the spectators.

One or more members of the technical commission shall perform an inspection of the venue, which may be selected for a championship, and this inspection must take place at the time of year corresponding to that proposed for the organization of the competition in question; the report of the inspection shall be submitted to the Executive Committee of F.I.P.S.e.d. for evaluation and decision; this decision will then be sent to C.I.P.S. for information. The final approval or rejection of a venue by F.I.P.S.e.d. will be transmitted to the candidate nation.

With regard to accommodation, participating Nations will have two possibilities:

1-    To choose the official accommodation proposed by the organising Nation (optional).

In this case the conditions of the stay will have to be made clear, i.e.:

                          - the price per night per person for half board, depending on the number of persons sharing each room, whatever the duration of the chosen stay (full board cannot be mandatory); the participating Nation shall specify the dates of its stay (the term "official stay" used by many Nations, starting on the Thursday, has never appeared in any regulations, and therefore must not be used);

- the price of the closing gala dinner.

The accommodation terms proposed to Nations must be approved by the Technical Commission.

2- To find one's own accommodation.

In this case participating Nations are required to communicate this choice to the organising nation at the time of entry (on ad hoc entry form).

In the two cases (participation through or without the help of the official organisation), the contribution for the entry fee is € 1000 including 7 closing gala dinners and 5 fishing permits for the whole duration of the Championship (the period of practice and the competition itself), insurance and sundry expenses such as gifts, cups, trophies, etc..

With reference to the closing gala dinner, be it a dinner with table service or a buffet dinner, participating Nations shall have at their disposal a number of seats corresponding to the number of gala dinner places reserved for them.

If no details about the accommodation have been specified by the deadline set up by the organization, the participating nations will have to deal with their own accommodation and then they have to pay 1000 € to the organization.

Any Nation that fills in an entry form and undertakes to participate in a championship but then does not take part must in all cases pay to the organising Nation the contribution of 1000 €. Nations failing to observe this rule shall be forbidden from taking part in and organising future championships.

Organising Nations shall specify in the programme of the event a list of hotels, lodgings, rooms and campsites situated within a radius of 20 km.

All participating nations have the obligation to inform the organizing nation about their arrival date at least one week before the start of the competition. Any absent nation (yet to arrive) on the first team managers' meeting shall be considered as WITHDRAWN and may not participate in the championship.

"CARNIVOROUS ARTIFICIAL BAIT BOAT ANGLING" World Championship will take place in October.

-6-     The necessary surface of the watercourse or water basin must be at least 10,000 m²/boat (e.g.: 10 Nations, 10 boats = water basin of at least 100,000 m² (10 hectares); 10 Nations, 20 boats = water basin of at least 200,000 m² (20 hectares).

 

TEAM MANAGERS' OR DELEGATES MEETING

-7-     It would be preferable for Stewards and General Stewards to attend the Team Managers or Delegates meetings.

In the case a team manager or a delegate from a nation is absent, the President of F.I.P.S.e.d. or his delegate will carry out the operation of drawing lots.

This meeting has a strictly informative nature and shall place on Thursday afternoon.

         During this first meeting, an international JURY will be appointed, in conformity with article 35 of the present Official Rules. Subsequently, the following operations shall be carried out:

1-    Roll call of nations.

2-    Various pieces of information about the progress of the championship.

 

GENERAL RULES

-8-     The competitors may reach the venue by their personal means of transport.

         Team managers or delegates will receive a back number for each one of their competitors.

One Steward shall be present on each boat; three General Stewards will be on a special boat. The stewards must have full knowledge of the rules of the competition. The Stewards of the "couples" of the organizing Nation must be foreigners (this Stewards shall eventually be also Delegates).

Only the boats of the General Stewards shall be authorised to tow and rescue boats.

Only the stewards of the "couples" may:

-      Verify that the catch is live and in perfect condition, and corresponding to regulation sizes (measurement of fish);

-      Weigh each catch, record the weight and have the competitor sign the catch document; no complaints regarding the catch will be accepted after the signing of this document has been made;

-      Authorise during the competition the change of the boat or motor in case of breakage.

-9-     The competitors must observe all legal fish size limits, if they are in force for the competition (national rules). This measure must be indicated in the program prepared by the organization and be mentioned during the team managers or delegates meeting (the latter have the task of informing their own anglers).

-10-   The competition shall take place in two legs of 6 hours each; in case of a forced interruption (e.g. a thunderstorm), the leg will be considered valid providing it has lasted for at least 2 hours.

-11-   Each competitor is expected to follow rules of the competition integrally.

-12-   The angling must be exclusively no-kill. Only live fish will be considered for the classification. Only artificial bait shall be allowed ("fly" imitations will not be allowed). In order to weigh down the artificial elastic (e.g. silicon) bait, lead-headed hooks only may be used. It is forbidden to use leads of any kind on the line. Apart from head leads, the hooks must be barb-free and "bare". Artificial bait may have a single, double or triple hook, with up to 3 hooks (pork rind is allowed).

-13-   All other forms of fish feeding are forbidden. Only alluring substances and surface oils are allowed on the artificial.

-14-   The competitors must be able to swim and to row.

-15-   The usage of eco scanning and GPS is allowed.

-16-   The usage of landing nets is allowed only for the competitors. The use of a landing net is obligatory for catching the fish; hooks are prohibited.

-17-   Apart from the fishing licence, the competitors must also fulfil the rules regarding navigation, ownership of the boat and the fishing law in force in the nation where the competition takes place. According to the type of boat used, the pilot or pilots must have a due permit or certification. The presentation of all documentation regarding the authorization to navigate will be requested before putting the boat into the water. The organizers must have all administrative authorizations that allow the boats to navigate.

-18-   The fishing area and the area reserved for the departure and arrival of the boats (no fishing allowed) must be signalled and fully visible. The competitors may navigate and fish on the entire surface of the water basin in question.

-19-   During all movements performed using the thermal motor, it is obligatory to use the life-vest; it must also be worn when fishing in bad weather conditions (rain, wind). The thermal engine is not allowed during the angling (an electric engine may be used).

-20-   The distance between the boats during the angling must be at least 50 metres. If a boat is fishing in a position where the width of the water surface is less than 50 metres, the competitor shall stop fishing to let another boat pass.

-21-   Angling through hauling and from the river bank is forbidden.

-22-   The catching of a fish is valid only if it is hooked in the mouth (or in an adjacent area).

-23-   Fly-fishing with mouse-tail end is forbidden.

-24-   The boats for the Jury, the Stewards and the Security staff shall be rendered available by the Organization.

-25-   If a boat does not appear at the time established for his departure, the boat in question will be authorised to start; however, the return time will remain unchanged.

         The departure zone shall be set up and the competitors shall be informed about it. At the first signal, 30 minutes before the boats start, the competitors shall gather near the departure zone. After the roll call, the General Steward shall specify the time so that the competitors can synchronise their watches. The competitors may then take their place on the boats and line up at the departure zone. The second signal shall indicate the departure of the boats for the fishing zone.

-26-   If a boat returns with a delay of less than 15 minutes in relation to the established return time, the "couple" shall have a penalty of 2 positions. The "couple" that arrives with a delay of 15 minutes will not be classified in the leg in question.

-27-   The boats will be numbered (two adhesive numbers will be fastened on each side of the boats and they must be clearly visible).

-28-   The boats may move both using thermal engines and electric ones, but the safety norms and the local speed norms must be obeyed at all times.

-29-   All boats must have obligatory equipment on board, in conformity with local regulations. Without this equipment, the boats are not authorized for navigation.

-30-   All boats must offer their help to any boat near them in difficulty or danger.

-31-   The deliberate foul hooking of fish is prohibited.

-32-   Competitors may keep and assemble as many rods as they wish, but they are allowed to fish only with one rod at the time. Anglers may cast exclusively by holding the rod in their hands. The length of the rods is limited to 2.70 meters (9 feet).

-33-   The competitors are not allowed to be helped by anybody.

-34-   Only the following species of fish will be accepted: shad, asp, black-bass, pike, white fish, sturgeon, grayling ("chevalier", common or fountain), perch, zander, salmon, sheat-fish and trout (rainbow, brown trout and sea trout). This list may be completed by the F.I.P.S.e.d. jury if necessary.

 

THE JURY

-35-   An international JURY will be appointed to examine any complaints lodged and to apply sanctions as per the rules; the JURY will be made official during the first team managers' or delegates' meeting.

The JURY will be composed of the subsequent members:

-     The President of F.I.P.S.e.d. or the substitute nominated by him

-     The General Secretary of F.I.P.S.e.d.

-     The members of the Executive Committee of F.I.P.S.e.d. and of the technical, young and environmental commissions that are present at the championships

-     The delegate representing the organizing nation, unless he is of the same nationality as the above mentioned members, apart from the President of F.I.P.S.e.d. (or his substitute) who will automatically be the President of the Jury.

If an infringement is made by a "couple" of the same nationality as a member of the JURY, the latter may not vote (except if he is the President of the JURY).

The members of the JURY must wear a "JURY" badge and they must be present on the competition venue to be able to receive any complaints. A place where one or more members of the JURY always can be found must be indicated.

-36-   Any complaints, except for those regarding the classifications, must be submitted to the JURY within 1 hour after the end of the leg. The complaints may be presented verbally, but they must immediately be confirmed in writing.

Complaints concerning the classification must be made within 30 minutes after the official results have been published. The time of publishing will be noted on the official result list. A deposit of 55 € must accompany every written complaint submitted to the JURY. If the JURY does not uphold the complaint, the deposit will be forfeited into the account of F.I.P.S.e.d..

All infractions and warnings must be communicated to the JURY, which is the only authority with powers to decide for or inflict disqualifications. A competitor who is the object of a sanction, must be informed about this immediately.

The JURY members and all general stewards must make sure the rules are followed and they must have perfect knowledge about their contents.

-37-   The rules, which are published in the 2 official languages, shall be made available for the JURY and the team managers by the organization of the Championship.

The international JURY will adopt its decisions on a simple majority basis; in the event of a tied vote, the President of F.I.P.S.e.d. or his substitute will have the casting vote.

All members of the Executive Committee of F.I.P.S.e.d. must wear a personal badge and they may circulate in the official corridor for managers and for those responsible for the organization. The badge shall be valid only for the term of office of the Executive Committee (4 years).

 

LIST OF SANCTIONS

-38-   a)   Warning for the infringement of articles 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 23, 29, 31.

b)  Disqualification of the "couple" in the round for the infringement of articles 28, 32, 33, 45 and after a second warning for the infringement of articles 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 23, 29, 31.

c)  Disqualification of the Nation after a second admonition due to the disqualification of a "couple".

d)  If a "couple" is disqualified, a number of points equal to the number of participating nations + 1 will be assigned to him. If a "couple" is disqualified, those which follow him in the classification will keep their original placing (for example: X that was qualified 8^th is disqualified, the subsequent anglers will keep their places and will mark 9 points, 10 points, and so on).

e)  If a nation receives a warning, this will be noted in its file and remain archived for a period of 3 YEARS. In the case of a new infringement during this 3-YEAR period, this will be considered as a relapse and the JURY will make its decision, taking this relapse and the list of sanctions into consideration.

f)   If a "couple" receives a warning, this warning will be noted in his file for a period of 3 YEARS. In the case of a new infringement, this will be considered a relapse, and the JURY will make its decision taking this new infringement and the list of sanctions into account.

g)  The F.I.P.S.e.d. directive committee will have the authority, both during a competition and subsequently, to impose sanctions on fishermen, captains or reserves if they commit infractions or behave in a bad way, also if these infractions are not specified in the official regulations.

-39-   The members of the Executive Committee of F.I.P.S.e.d. are authorized to move about freely on the competition venue and make notes of any infringement of the rules.

 

CLASSIFICATIONS

-40-   CLASSIFICATION OF EACH LEG

         1-     CLASSIFICATION OF THE "COUPLES"

         a)  Taking the fish weight into consideration (addition of weights made by the two competitors forming the "couple").

b)  If a tie on points occurs, the "couples" in question will totalise a number of penalties equalling the average placing they should have had (example No. 1: two "couples" tying for the 4^th place totalise tied weight in a (4+5):2 = 4.5 penalties each; example No. 2: three competitors tying in the 6^th placing, totalise (6+7+8):3 = 7 penalties each).

c)  "Couples" who have not caught any fish will receive a number of points equal to the average value of non-attributed places in their sector (example 1: twenty-four "couples", twelve of whom are classified at the first 12 places with a penalty from 1 to 12, the following "couples" will mark (13+24):2 = 18.5 penalties each; example No. 2: thirty "couples", five of whom have caught fish and mark points 1 - 5 and the twenty-five "couples" who have not caught any fish mark (6+30):2 = 18 penalties. If there is only 1 "couple", who has not caught any fish or a missing "couple" in a sector, he will mark a number of penalties equalling the last position in the sector (example: thirty "couples", twenty-nine of whom have caught fish, whereas one has not, the latter will mark 30 penalties).

2 -    TEAM CLASSIFICATION

A - FIRST LEG

a) Summing up of the placing obtained in each sector by the "couples" belonging to the same national team.

b) The national team with the lowest number of penalties will be classified first and so on.

c) If a tie on points occurs, the teams will be classified first according to the total weight obtained by the "couples" in the same team, then according to the highest weight obtained by a single "couple".

B - 2^nd LEG

The classification is performed in the same way as during the first leg.

-41-     GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1-   CLASSIFICATION OF THE "COUPLES"

a)    Sum of the penalties obtained by each "couple" during the two legs; the "couple" totalling the lowest number of penalties will be declared individual World Champion and so on.

b)    If a tie on points occurs between two or more "couples", then the "couples" with the highest aggregate weight over two legs will be declared the winner. If there still is a tie on points, the "couples" will be classified according to the highest weight in one of the two legs and then according to the highest weight in the 2^nd leg. If there is a further tie on points, the classification will be made according to the total number of fish caught by the "couples" during the two legs.

2-   TEAM CLASSIFICATION

a)    The sum of the penalties obtained by the "couples" that are part of a team over the two legs; the team totalling the lowest number of penalties will be classified first and so on.

b)    If a tie on points occurs, the teams concerned will be placed by the highest total aggregate team weight obtained by the "couples" that are part of a team over the two legs. If there is a further tie on points, the classification will be made according to the highest weight obtained by the "couples" that are part of a team, during the 2^nd leg. If there still is a tie on points, the teams will be classified according to the total number of fish caught by the "couples" during the two legs.

-42-   The classification will be carried out by the organization in the presence of the President of F.I.P.S.e.d. or his representative and possibly also together with components of the JURY.

 

"CIVIL LIABILITY" INSURANCE

-43-   IT IS AN OBLIGATION for Organizers to take out a "CIVIL LIABILITY" insurance to cover the organization of all legs; a certificate issued by the insurance company, in which it is certified that all legs are covered by a "CIVIL LIABILITY" contract, must be handed over to the President of F.I.P.S.e.d. two months prior to the competition.

 

TRAINING

-44-   a)      The official training must take place in the official venue.

b)      The official venue must be organized according to the subsequent modalities:

1)     During the 15 days previous the official training period, for all participating countries, practice at the venue is forbidden in the entire area chosen for the championship;

2)      2 days of official training (Thursday and Friday);

3)      2 days of competition (Saturday and Sunday).

 

ELECTRIC POWER LINES AND PLANTS

-45-  It is strictly forbidden for the boats to stop and fish at less than 50 meters on both sides of any electrical plant (electrical lines, transformers, trellises, etc.).

 

RULES IN CASE OF A THUNDERSTORM

-46-   1 - WHEN THE THUNDERSTORM BREAKS OUT BEFORE THE START

The "couples" must get off their boats and the start will be delayed. If the weather conditions so allow, and within the limits of the schedule, the boats may be allowed to depart and the leg may be regularly performed or may be reduced in time (at least 2 hours).

If the weather conditions do not improve or if the schedule of the program does not allow so, the leg will quite simply be annulled.

2 - IF A THUNDERSTORM BREAKS OUT DURING THE ROUND

The leg is immediately interrupted (order of the individual Steward) and the rods will be placed in an upright position in the boat at the end which is opposite the anglers´ position. If the weather conditions so allow, the leg will continue by order of the individual Steward.

 

ADVERTISING ON BACK-NUMBERS

-47-   Advertisements are not obligatory.

The size of the advertisement characters on the back numbers must not exceed a height of 6 cm; this kind of advertisement will be authorized only on the lower part of the back number, both on the front side and on the back side.

 


F.I.P.S.e.d. AND C.I.P.S. fees

-48-   A contribution of 120 € must be made by each participating nation and this fee will remain at the disposal of F.I.P.S.e.d., whereas the sum of 400 € paid to the organizing nation, will remain at the disposal of C.I.P.S. (to be paid to the C.I.P.S. treasurer).

 

OPENING CEREMONY AND PRIZE AWARDING CEREMONY

-49-   The opening ceremony and the presentation of the teams must take place on the eve of the first leg.

         The first 3 teams and first 3 "couples" will officially receive GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE medals. In conformity with the International standards, the awarding of the prizes will be accompanied by the corresponding National Anthems and the raising of the winning nations' National flag. The medals will be offered by F.I.P.S.e.d. and they will be handed over by its official representative.

All other forms of acknowledgement will be distributed equally among the participating nations. All participating nations must bring with them their flag and a cassette with a recording of their anthem.

 

TRANSLATIONS

-50-   In case of controversies about the interpretation of these rules, only the French text will be considered as the original text and as reference text.

 

OBLIGATIONS

-51-  The organizing nation of the World Championship has the obligation to:

a-    engrave trophies of F.I.P.S.e.d.

b-    send out official programs and information about the championship in the 2 official languages (English and French).

 

         The President of F.I.P.S.e.d.                                             The General Secretary of F.I.P.S.e.d.

                                                                                                                               

         Ugo Claudio MATTEOLI                                                                      Jackie DUPUIS