International Game Fishing Tournaments, Fishing Competitions, Cash Prizes, Saltwater Fishing Tournaments

Billfish Division: Winners will be awarded their prizes on the basis of heaviest qualifying Blue or Black Marlin weighed; determined by weight only. The Tournament has established a minimum weight of 300 pounds for a qualifying Blue or Black Marlin. Only Blue and Black Marlin weighing 300-pounds or more shall qualify in the tournament. A team is allowed to use only its largest weighed fish for the tournament in determining the winners. A penalty for weighing an undersized Marlin will be assessed based on the following formula. For each Marlin weighing less than the minimum 300-pounds, a penalty of 75 pounds plus two pounds for every pound the Marlin is less than 300 pounds. For example, a 275 lb. Black or Blue marlin would be penalized 75 pounds plus 2 pounds for the 25 pounds underweight for a total of a 125 pound penalty. The negative pounds will be deducted from the weight of the largest qualifying Blue or Black Marlin weighed by the team for the Tournament’s 1st through 5th place cash prizes. A single team can claim only one of the Tournament’s 1st through 5th Place Cash Prize Places. Cash prizes are; 1st place team 25% of total entry fees; 2nd place team 11% of total entry fees; 3rd place team 7% of total entry fees, and 4th place team 5% of total entry fees. In the event of a tie, places involved will divide prizes evenly.
Gamefish Division: The Gamefish Division includes dorado, tuna and wahoo only. Each team may enter the official weight of their catch in this division on a daily basis. The two heaviest catches recorded during the three days of fishing will win. Cash prizes are; 1st place team 5% of total entry fees; 2nd place team 2% of total entry fees. All IGT Tournament, Angling and Equipment rules apply to the Gamefish Division. The minimum weight necessary to qualify in this Division is 30 pounds. All cash prizes are based on a 125-team quota. Should there be more or less teams all cash prizes will be adjusted accordingly.

SPECIAL BILLFISH RULES
Only two boated Marlin of any combination of Blue & Black Marlin per day per boat is permitted. Without exception, all boated billfish are required to be weighed on the day caught at the Official Weigh Station at Puerto Los Cabos. Once a billfish has been brought into the boat's cockpit or secured to the swim step it shall be deemed boated. Failure to weigh a boated fish will result in tournament disqualification and forfeiture of any previous claimed prizes and daily jackpots. Any fish brought to the weigh station may have its mouth taped closed. However, once the Weigh Master has raised the fish the team captain will be required to remove whatever is sealing the mouth closed (tape, string, etc.), and clip any external leader material to the outer edge of the mouth. Except for artificial lures, nothing will be pulled from the mouth; however, whatever falls from the fish due to gravity will remain out when determining the fish’s weight. There is a weigh-in deadline of 9:00 p.m. each day. The rod, reel, line, lure, gaff and leader with hook must be presented to the tournament judges for inspection at the weigh station during time of weigh-in. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of the fish. The hook(s), jig and leader must be retired and placed in a plastic zip loc for inspection by tournament officials for any qualifying billfish.

OPTIONAL DAILY JACKPOTS
Optional Daily Jackpots are available to interested teams. Daily Jackpots pay 85% of the gross entry fees back to the winners of the respective categories. The Optional Daily Jackpots are a winner-take-all format with a minimum qualifying weight of 300-pounds for Blue and Black Marlin only. Only the team’s heaviest fish will be used in determining the winners. Optional Daily Jackpot prizes will roll forward and backward if there are no qualifying fish weighed on one or more days by an Optional Daily Jackpot entrant. Example: If on the second day of fishing no qualifying fish are weighed, or released to claim one or more of the Optional Daily Jackpots then the prize or prizes will roll forward to the third day and will be added to that days respective Optional Daily Jackpot prizes. If the Optional Daily Jackpot prizes are claimed on the first and second day of the Tournament but not the third day, the prizes will roll backward to the team which weighed the largest Marlin on the first or second day. Penalty points assessed for weighing an undersized fish on the second day of fishing will not affect a team's Daily Jackpot winnings on the first day of fishing. Once a Daily Jackpot prize has been earned it cannot be lost for assessed penalty points for weighing an undersized fish on a different day. However, a team which weighs a qualifying fish and an undersized fish on the same day shall have any penalty points deducted from the weight of their qualifying fish in determining any Optional Daily Jackpot winnings on that day.

OPTIONAL DAILY GAMEFISH JACKPOTS
Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpots are available to interested teams. Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpots pay 85% of the gross daily entry fees back to the winners of the respective categories. The Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpots are a winner-take-all format with a minimum qualifying weight of 30-pounds. Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpot prizes will roll forward and backward if there are no qualifying fish weighed on one or more days by an Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpot entrant. Example: If on the second day of fishing no qualifying fish are weighed, or released to claim one or more of the Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpots then the prize or prizes will roll forward to the third day and will be added to that days respective Optional Daily Jackpot prizes. If the Optional Daily Jackpot prizes are claimed on the first and second day of the Tournament but not the third day, the prizes will roll backward to the team which weighed the largest Gamefish on the first or second day. All IGT Tournament, Angling and Equipment rules apply to the Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpots.

DUAL STARTING LOCATIONS

Puerto Los Cabos will have temporary slips available for the Tournament. However, Tournament boats will be allowed to start from either the Cabo Marina or Puerto Los Cabos Marina. Team captains must inform Tournament Officials which location they will start from when they register on October 14th. The shotgun starts will take place ½ miles straight out from the Olamar Residential Resort for the Cabo Marina and ½ mile straight outside the harbor entrance of Puerto Los Cabos Marina. Regardless of the teams choice of starting locations they cannot leave their respective marinas/harbors prior to 6:00 a.m. each day if they want to make bait. All teams must be behind the Tournaments Committee Boat(s) before 7:40 a.m. CAUTION: Safety is one of our main concerns during roll call and the shotgun start. Please watch your speed and boat wake when approaching the committee boat and all other boats. If this unsafe condition occurs, a one hour delay in your starting time will be assessed to the vessel(s) causing the incident. At precisely 7:40 a.m. the roll call will begin for all three days of fishing, Teams are required to stay behind their respective Committee boat(s) until the roll call. All Tournament Boats will proceed past the committee boat(s) in an orderly fashion after they have answered the roll call. Only teams asked by Tournament control will have to show their assigned team number signs as they proceed past the committee boat(s). All teams will then line up in an east west orientation for the shotgun start. If you are making bait and do not make it back behind the Committee boat(s) by 7:40 a.m. it will result in a one hour starting time penalty. This means you will not be allowed to leave the shot gun start location until 9 a.m. If a boat returns after the 8:00 a.m. start, that boat will be allowed to depart exactly one hour from the time it is checked in by a committee boat or by tournament control. The team will be allowed to depart exactly one hour after returning. Failure to arrive at your pre-selected starting Harbor/Marina location on time will also result in a 1 hour delay starting penalty. The Tournament will begin with a simultaneous shotgun start at precisely 8:00 a.m. Vessels with mechanical or other problems may contact tournament control with an estimated departure time; however there must be a visual check-in and their assigned team number must be shown to a tournament official prior to departure and are also subject to an inspection by a Tournament Official. Teams will be allowed to reposition themselves for the start on day 2 and day 3 as long as Tournament Control has been advised and acknowledges the change in starting location. It is the team captain’s responsibility to advise Tournament Control of their intentions of changing starting marinas/harbors prior to the closing of the scales at 9:00 p.m. each day.

GENERAL RULES
A team shall consist of one to six team members with one team member designated as the team captain. Only six anglers may be active at any time. Only one angler change per day is permitted. Angler changes will be recorded by and documented by the team's onboard observer, if one has been assigned or by contacting tournament control by VHF radio each day prior to the start of fishing. There is no limit to the number of persons that can be on-board during fishing hours. Team captains will be responsible for all correspondence and payments to the Puerto Los Cabos World Cup and distribution of all prize money to their team. A grid map will be provided to all team captains. Tournament Control shall be notified immediately by radio when a fish is hooked-up and then again when it has been released, lost, or boated. The team must indicate their location according to the grid map, name of the angler and the type of fish hooked, (not required on Gamefish). If tournament control has been notified at the time of hook-up, any fish hooked prior to the "stop fishing" time may be played until boated, lost or released but the team still must be back inside the Harbor before each day’s deadline. Tournament Control will conduct a roll call each day at 12 noon. Each team, without exception, must report its position according to the grid map, any fish on-board and/or any fish released when called by Tournament Control. Any misrepresentation on the team's signed entry form, signed release or weigh master affidavits, or violation of any tournament rule will be cause for disqualification and forfeiture of any prize money and merchandise won in the tournament. Decisions by the Rules Committee of the Puerto Los Cabos World Cup, on any question of tournament rules or interpretation, shall be final. Tournament boats shall be required to have a VHF radio in good working condition for communication purposes. Radio silence must be observed, unless there is an emergency or a hookup, during the last 30 minutes prior to stop fishing. Radio communications between Tournament boats will be permitted, but not on the official Tournament channel. All boats must fly the official Tournament flag during the Tournament. Committee boats, chase boats, aircraft, radio frequency scanning technology, tracking, camera boats, polygraph tests, official observers and a marine biologist may be utilized by Tournament officials to aid in the enforcement of all Tournament rules. All Tournament boats are subject to inspection by Tournament officials at any time. IGT has a mandatory TV camera rule. IGT reserves the right to place an IGT Special TV Event Camera team on any Tournament boat during Tournament fishing hours that IGT decides at its sole discretion.

SPECIAL RULE
If there are insufficient numbers of Blue or Black Marlin weighed to claim the Four Tournament Cash Prizes, the unclaimed cash prizes will be added to the claimed prizes on a pro-rata basis. If there are insufficient numbers of Gamefish weighed to claim the Two Tournament Cash Prizes, the unclaimed cash prizes will be added to the claimed prizes on a pro-rata basis. If no qualifying Blue or Black Marlin are weighed during the Tournament, or if weather causes a cancellation, the Tournament will be extended to include Saturday the 19th of October. One day of fishing will constitute a Tournament. If no qualifying Optional Daily Jackpot Blue or Black Marlin are weighed-in during the Tournament, all respective Optional Daily Jackpot entry fees will be refunded less the 15% tournament share, which shall be considered earned by the Tournament. If after Saturday, there are any unclaimed Blue or Black Marlin First through Fifth place cash prizes or Gamefish First through Second place cash prizes they will be added to and carried forward to next year's respective cash prizes. If after Sunday, there are any unclaimed Optional Daily Jackpot or Optional Daily Gamefish Jackpot Cash Prizes, the respective Optional Daily Jackpot entry fees will be refunded less the 15% tournament share, which shall be considered earned by the Tournament. Earliest time released will be used as the tiebreaker for any teams tied for any prizes to be awarded for any "released billfish" Tournament prizes or awards.

DISQUALIFICATION
The following acts or situations will disqualify a team or its catch:
1. Fishing before "start fishing" or after "stop fishing" will disqualify all fish caught that day.
2. Any foreign substances (for example: lead weights, ice, metal objects, etc.) found inside the fish results in disqualification of the fish.
3. Mutilation of the fish by propellers, sharks or other marine species will disqualify the fish.
4. Teams caught communicating in any manner with spotter planes, non-tournament vessels, or commercial boats during tournament fishing hours will be disqualified. Boats are not allowed to come in contact with or hand off anything to another vessel during fishing hours unless given permission from tournament control. (Exceptions are navigational hazards or any other safety issues.)
5. Only team members shall participate. Any fish boated with non-team member assistance will be disqualified. The only exception is the leadering and gaffing of a fish by a deckhand or mate.
6. Any other act not in strict compliance with the intent of the rules set forth herein.
7. Failure to weigh any boated billfish will disqualify the team from the tournament and result in forfeiture of any and all prizes and prize money.

8. The use of firearms is strictly prohibited.

9. Un-sportsmanship conduct can lead up to and include disqualification of a team in the current tournament and all future IGT sponsored events. Items such as physical or excessive verbal abuse directed towards any tournament official or participant of the tournament and excessive profanity on the radio are covered under this rule.

CAMERAS
Simply Stated: All Teams are required to provide their own DIGITAL CAMERA(S). It is strongly recommended that the team have a back-up camera in the case of primary camera failure. Each team must take a photo of an object which will be announced by the committee boat or tournament control each morning to initialize their camera for that day’s photos. Teams must take a photo to document each boated billfish. Teams must submit their camera memory card and/or appropriate USB cable at the end of each day’s fishing for examination only if they have billfish boated. The camera is to be submitted with the Official Weighmaster affidavit(s) to the appropriate Tournament Official after stop fishing each day. Cameras will be returned that same day. Get acquainted with your camera. Most digital cameras experience “shutter-lag” which is a slight delay from when you press the button to when the photo is actually taken. The filming of the boated fish has become part of the “official rules” procedure. Taking a valid film sequence as directed by Tournament Control is mandatory.

PROCEDURES
It is the team captain's responsibility at the end of the day to make sure that all appropriate tournament affidavits are correct, properly signed by all team members and a copy, if desired, kept for the team's records. It is the team captain’s responsibility to make sure the team’s camera(s) and the appropriate affidavits are turned in each day to the appropriate tournament official before the time deadline for that day. All teams returning to the weigh station with a fish(s) to be weighed must have their Official Weighmaster Affidavit filled out prior to reaching the weigh station.

SCHEDULE
If an observer has been assigned, boats may start loading observers at 5:30 a.m. Boats may depart the marina/harbor at 6:00 a.m. each day if they want to make bait. (Refer to the Dual Start Location rules above as well) All teams must be behind the Tournaments Committee Boat(s) before 7:40 a.m. At precisely 7:40 a.m. a roll call will begin on all three days of fishing. Each day of fishing will begin with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. Teams may not leave the established start line prior to the 8:00 a.m. start time. Boats that have been assigned an observer may not leave the Harbor/Marina without the tournament-authorized observer onboard. Violation of this rule will result in the automatic disqualification of the team. Stop-fishing is at 5:00 p.m. on all three tournament fishing days. All boats must be inside the harbor and checked-in by tournament control by 9:00 p.m. Marina/Harbor is defined by IGT as, when a boat has cleared the marina/harbor navigational lights. Violation of this rule will result in the team's disqualification for that day of fishing. The weigh station will remain open for as long as needed as long as the team makes the 9:00 p.m. deadline. The Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday evening.

RULE CHANGE & PROTEST POLICY
If there are any amendments or additions to the tournament rules they will be announced at the mandatory captain's briefing. If there is any disagreement, controversy or necessary clarification of any tournament rule or result, the final irrevocable decision will be made by the tournament’s rules committee. The violation of any of the rules may result in the automatic disqualification of both the angler and the team unless otherwise noted. All competitors’ protests, if any, must be submitted in writing, accompanied by $300 in cash, by the team captain on the same day that the situation generating the protest occurred. If the team wins the protest they will be refunded the $300 and if they lose the protest the money will be donated to a local charity. Protest regarding weight of a fish must be made before the fish is removed from the scales. It is expressly understood that these protest rules relate to team protests and do not limit the time the tournament has to enforce tournament rules and regulations.

OBSERVER RULES & POLICIES
IGT reserves the right to place a Special Observer on-board any team entered in the Tournament.

MANDATORY & RANDOM BOAT INSPECTIONS
As stated earlier, all tournament boats are subject to inspection at any time by tournament officials. In addition to the possibility of random inspections each day, each team that has an IGT Special Observer on-board will automatically be inspected.

POLYGRAPH POLICY
At the sole discretion of the Puerto Los Cabos World Cup, all team captains and team members may be required to take a polygraph test administered by the tournament's independent polygraph contractor. All team captains, and their team members, agree to be bound by this provision and to be subject to the determination of the examiner and abide by the results thereof.

ALL IGT RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
From time to time it becomes necessary to modify and update our Tournament Rules. The rules posted on our website are to be considered a draft version. We will distribute a final Official version to each team Captain prior to each event. IGT also reserves the right to make changes and modifications at any of the Mandatory Captains meetings proceeding the first day of fishing.

In the case there is a conflict between the English Version and Spanish Version of the Tournament Rules, the English Version will prevail.