Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge 2023

Schedule

Fri Jun 23 2023 at 07:00 pm

Location

OCC Road House | Largo, FL

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TOURNAMENT RULES & REGULATIONS
Dates: June 24th & 25th (Rain Dates: July 8th & 9th )

Big Change for 2023. We are moving our Weigh-in and Awards Party on Sunday under the cool temperatures of OCC Roadhouse and Museum at 10575 49th St. North, Clearwater, Florida 33762 (Look for the GIANT American flag out front). This new and super clean restaurant has multiple bars and room to roam. This is a great place to host our tournament. Everything we do on weigh-in day is done under the insulated massive roof system and under the giant fans of OCC. Everyone will be temperature comfortable at this modern venue. Great food, drinks & comfortable fun!

Safety First: This is a recreational event. Do not push your training limits or violate safe practice. The TBSC & the FSDA recommend that competitors don’t exceed the recreational diving limit of 130 feet of salt water.
Contact us at www.tampabayspearfishing.org or on Facebook for updates.

1. Early Registration: Early Registration may be completed online at Event Registration or in person at OCC Roadhouse on June 7th or mailed to Aquatic Obsessions Scuba (6193 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33710). All Early registration forms must be completed with accompanying Tournament Waiver & Registration and tournament fees and if mailed must be postmarked by or hand-delivered by Wed. June 7th at 11:59pm to be eligible for Early Registration discount.
Early Registration Bonus: A FREE Tournament Deluxe short sleeve shirt is provided to participants who register early (see Early Registration form, page 2).
Early Registration by US Mail Confirmation: If you mail entry you can confirm mailed Early Registration form was properly received, each participant may call (727) 344-3483 from June 8th to June 21st to confirm receipt of your mailed registration. This confirmation will allow every participant with Early Registration to rest assured that his/her paperwork has been received and is in proper order.
opportunity for participants to complete Early Registration. Free beer & prizes.
2. Regular Registration: The Regular Registration is from June 8th through June 21st .The Regular online registration will be open from June 8th to June 21st on our Event Registration site. If turning in a paper Registration Form for another person at the in -person Captain’s meeting, please ensure every part of the Tournament Waiver & Registration Form is accurately completed (No Exceptions)!
3. On Friday June 23rd, we will host our Final Late Registration, Captain’s Meeting and Mandatory Diver’s Check-In: This registration, meeting and check-in will be held at Aquatic Obsessions (St. Pete, FL).
​They start at approximately 7:15pm, June, 23rd and end with the Captain’s Meeting at approximately 8:00pm. The TBSC may host satellite Captain’s Meetings in other locations throughout the southeast USA. For additional information on satellite locations contact the TBSC at (727) 656-9714.
For the Diver Check-In a Representative Diver (at least one registered diver from each boat) must be present at the Diver’s Check-In Meeting to represent himself and his dive buddies. This allows the attending participant from each boat to: a) verify his buddies paperwork b) acquire their mystery tickets for him and teammates c) receive tournament shirts (for Early Registrants) of his team, collect shooter’s bags for teammates, to witness the official tournament time, and be privy to any last-minute rule changes. Any Late registrations hand submitted at this meeting must be fully completed with the registrants’ Driver’s License, full address, phone number etc. No exceptions.
4. Tournament Kickoff Party: The Kickoff Party will be held Wednesday, June 7th, from 7:00pm until 9:30 at Bert’s Barracuda (Clearwater, FL). This is an open event hosted by the Tampa Bay Spearfishing Club to welcome all participants and guests for some fun and festivities prior to the competition. This is also the last, in person opportunity, to get your Early Registration completed.
5. Official Entry & Eligibility: No diver is officially entered in the tournament until the TBSC has received a properly filled out Waiver and Registration, and all fees have been paid. Waiver & Registration are completed by using this form and submitting to the TBSC by mail or in person, or online at TampaBaySpearfishingClub.Org . All participants must possess a valid Florida Saltwater Fishing License.
6. Rule Changes: The TBSC reserves the right to make any last-minute rule changes at the Captain’s Meeting. This is one reason why at least one Representative Diver is required to attend the mandatory Captain’s Meeting.
7. Tournament Spearfishing Day: The Spearfishing Day is Saturday, June 24th, with the tournament officially beginning at sunrise and concluding at sunset. The Rain Date for the tournament spearfishing day is Saturday, July 8th, sunrise to sunset. There will only be one Rain Date for this tournament. If the original date is moved to the Rain Date and the Rain Date is deemed unsafe, the TBSC will still host the prize selection, raffles, and festivities on Sunday July 9th
8. Scoring/Points: The tournament participant must choose which fish to weigh-in prior to arriving at the Weigh-In stage. Tournament officials will not weigh fish individually, to determine for the participant, which fish is the largest. Each participant will receive one (1) point per pound and five (5) points per fish weighed. There is a point limit per fish of twenty (20) points for weight and the five (5) points awarded for the fish, with a maximum total point limit per fish of twenty-five (25) points. Lionfish receive only five (5) bonus points per fish weighed with a maximum of ten (10) total bonus points for Lionfish. Tied scores will be broken by dividing the participant’s total fish weight by the number of fish with the winning honors going to the higher score. Any further requirements for the resolution of tied scores will be at the sole discretion of the TBSC Officers.
9. Weigh-In: The Weigh-In will take place on Sunday, June 25th at OCC Roadhouse and Museum). All participants’ fish must be in the Weigh-In line no later than 12:00pm. No Exceptions. The Weigh-In will open at approximately 11:00am. Once a participant has accepted his/her weigh-in results and the fish are returned to the participant all his/her weights are final and there is no re-entry to the scale for that participant.
10. Awards: For participants
1st Place Shooter (participant with the highest aggregate score) will get the 1st Place Trophy and the next subsequent four top-finishers will receive trophies for 2nd through 5th place. All participants, can turn in their stringer of fish species for the Aggregate/Top spearfishing trophies, Largest fish species, Mixed Couple, Junior, Freediver & Women/s trophies. Participants who are tied, the tiebreaker will go to the participant with the highest aggregate tournament score. Any further requirements for the resolution of tied scores will be at the sole discretion of the current TBSC Officers. Trophies and prizes will be awarded, following the weigh-in on Sunday, June 25th, and once the scoring calculations are completed.
11. Junior Division: This division is comprised of participants under 18 years old. Junior participants cannot exceed any conditions that they are not trained or certified to handle. Furthermore, to participate, all Junior participants must be properly supervised by an Adult diver who is also a participant in this tournament. A trophy will be awarded to the Junior participant with the highest combined aggregate score: however, Juniors participants compete for all other awards with the adults.
New for 2023…Top Three Junior shooters will be awarded a new speargun!
12. Mixed Pair Division: This division is comprised of a “two participant team” who are diving from the same boat or the same shore dive area. Two types of dive teams may constitute a Mixed Pair, either an adult male and adult female or an adult of any gender and a Junior of any gender. Trophies will be awarded to Mixed Pair team with the highest combined aggregate score.
13. Eligible fish: Categories, size, and quantity allowed as follows:
Category
Minimum Size
Maximum Quantity
Grouper / Mackerel /
Mullet


20” Red (Overall)
16” Scamp (Overall)
22” Other Groupers (Overall)
12” Spanish & Cero (Fork)
24” Kingfish (Fork)
12” Mullet (Overall)
(2) Grouper and/or Mackerel
and/or Mullet

Snapper
10” Grey/Mangrove (Overall)
16” Red, Mutton, Cubera (Overall)
(3) Snapper
Hogfish / Flounder
1214”-Hogfish Fork/Flounder Overall
(3) Hogfish and/or Flounder
Sheepshead/Spadefish
12” (Overall)
(2) Sheeps and/or Spadefish
Jack
24” African Pompano (Fork)
14” Permit (Fork)
14” Jack Crevalle (Fork)
14” Almaco Jack (Fork)
(1) Jack species
Cobia / Barracuda
33” Cobia (Fork)
28” Barracuda (Fork)
(1) Cobia or Barracuda
Lionfish
No minimum size
(2) Lionfish (for points*)
*Despite only two lionfish counting towards tournament points, all participants are encouraged to harvest as many lionfish as possible. The TBSC sponsors various marine conservation organizations and charities whose representatives will be present to take scientific samples and/or accept all lionfish as charitable donations. Additionally, a lionfish trophy will be awarded to the participant who harvests the most lionfish.
14. Fish Eligibility: All participants must follow and abide by all local, State, and Federal laws. All fish must be legally taken and landed by the participant who is awarded the points. The use of Powerheads is prohibited. All fish must be physically present in the Weigh-In line by 12:00pm, on the weigh-in date, for tournament eligibility. Each participant’s fish must be presorted, fully and properly gutted, on individual stringers, and well iced. All fish turned in must be in a clean and whole condition (minus the removal of guts) and have all appearances of freshness. Fish that are shorter than State/Federal size regulations or that do not appear to be well iced and look fresh as per the judgment of the tournament Weigh Master, cannot be weighed, or if already weighed, can be disqualified. Only one participant of a tournament boat is required to weigh-in the fish for any fellow members of his boat. If a participant is weighing-in fish for a teammate, he/she must know the teammate’s full name. All participants, whether they weigh-in a fish or not, receive (ONE) 1 Prize Table Mystery Ticket and they are entered into the random drawing for prize table items.
15. Prizes & Mystery Tickets: Each participant will receive ONE (1) Mystery Ticket along with his/her Shooter’s Bag at the Captain’s Meeting. This ticket will provide each competitor a chance to win one of the prizes donated by the Tournament Sponsors. These prizes are a bonus for the participants and the amount and type of prizes are dictated by the generosity of our Sponsors and are randomly picked via a drawing. Prizes will be randomly picked. Every participant will have an opportunity to pick a prize. Participants must be present to accept a prize.
16. Fish Donation: The TBSC will be collecting donated fish for local charities and community support programs. To incentivize donations, two (2) Fish Tickets will be given for each donated Grouper, Hogfish, and Snapper, and one (1) Fish Ticket will be given for each other donated fish from all other categories/species minus lionfish. During the Awards Ceremony, the TBSC will conduct a raffle using the Fish Tickets and award a specialty prize to the participant with the winning ticket. This prize will be exhibited at the Weigh-In.
17. Disqualification: Any cases of cheating or unsportsmanlike/unethical behavior will result in a disqualification from this tournament and possibly all future tournaments. A failure by the participant to have his/her fish present in the Weigh-In line by 12:00pm or presenting a fish for weigh-in that is less than the minimum eligible size is cause for automatic disqualification of that participant from the current year’s tournament. All official times and requirements shall be reiterated at the Captain’s Meeting and managed by the TBSC President. ​
18. Protest: Any participant may file a protest with the TBSC Officers. To resolve protests in a timely manner, all protests must be submitted prior to the start of the Award Ceremony. All protests will be resolved by the Tournament Committee consisting of the current TBSC officers - President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Director of Development. All decisions of the Committee
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Where is it happening?

OCC Road House, 10575 49th Street North,Clearwater,FL,United States, Largo

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge

Host or Publisher Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge

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