Rules

Rules

DEFINITIONS

Organisers Carp Championships CIC t/a BCAC.

Officials Any person appointed as such by the organisers.

Competitor: Any angler accepted for entry into the tournament by the organisers.

Pair: Two anglers fishing together and registered as a pair.

Team: Three pairs registered together and entered into the team tournament.

  1. The Organisers are Carp Championships CIC who have absolute control and discretion over the competition, the rules and any amendments thereto.
  2. Entry to the competition will be by way of application to the organisers via their website which links to the CATCH booking app. Total entry price is £500, deposit is £250.
  3. Entry to the singles competition will be by way of application to the organisers via their website which links to the CATCH booking app. Total entry price is £250, deposit is £125.
  4. The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry, cancel or change the dates of any event at their discretion. Anglers may initially only enter TWO events – should you qualify in your first event you are not permitted to fish in a second qualifier and as such this space must be given up – please note that no refunds will be given under any circumstances unless you can find a replacement pair in which case a full refund will be given.
  5. In the singles event, anglers are only allowed to enter one qualifier, no 2nd chance entries are accepted.
  6. The competition will be run on a 48hr-eliminator competition where anglers compete for places in a final. Each eliminator shall be of 48 hours in duration.
  7. Awards and qualification for the next stage of pairs will be granted on the following basis:
    • 12 Pair Eliminator – Top 3 pairs by weight or section winners
    • 16 Pair Eliminator – Top 4 pairs by weight or section winners
    • 24 Pair Eliminator – Top 6 pairs by weight or section winners
    • Semi Finals – 5 Qualify to Final. Overall winner of the semi final as well as 1st place from each section, the section containing the overall winner will see 2nd place qualify as the section winner.
    • Finals – Top 3 pairs by weight
  8. Awards and qualification for the next stage for the singles will be granted on the following basis:
    • 24 Angler Eliminator – 4 sections of 6 anglers, winner of each section qualifes to final.
    • 36 Angler Eliminator – 6 sections of 6 anglers, winner of each section qualifes to final.
    • Finals – Top 3 pairs by weight
  9. Competitors must arrive and register themselves no later than 08.30 am on the morning of the draw (unless stated otherwise prior to the event).
  10. Competitors must attend the draw in person, which will take place in the event HeadQuarters at 09.00 am on the morning of the competition (unless stated otherwise prior to the event). Any pair not having at least one member present at the start of the draw will be excluded from the draw and may be excluded from the competition and will only be allowed to take up a remaining swim. No refunds will be given for exclusion for any reason. In extreme circumstances a team can take part in a draw by way of video call, this will need approval at least one hour before the start of the draw.
  11. In the pairs event, the allocation of swims will be by way of a watercraft draw for qualifier, semi finals and final, whereby the first pair to be drawn shall have first choice of swim, the second name drawn shall have the second choice and the draw will continue until the last pair has been drawn and has been allocated the last remaining swim.
  12. In the singles event, the allocation of swims will be by way of an “out the bag” draw for the qualifiers and final.
  13. The decision of the draw master is final. Once a swim number has been stated to the organisers by the competitors the choice is deemed final.
  14. All competitors must be in possession of an Environment Agency Rod Licence which will be checked at registration or during the competition. Anyone not producing a rod licence upon request will be excluded from the competition.
  15. Each competitor must set up their rods and accommodation within the boundaries authorised by the officials. All angling activities apart from the use of distance sticks must be done within this area.  Competitors must not cast outside the limits of their swim, such limit to be marked on the lake map provided before the draw. Any disputes as to the competitors casting outside the area must be reported immediately to the marshals. Marshals have the discretion to request that competitors re-cast their rods as and when directed and such request must be complied with.
  16. At the sound of the first horn competitors may commence plumbing and baiting of the swims. One hour later upon hearing the horn sound a second time, anglers may cast in their baited hook (changes to this will be decided upon at the draw).
  17. There will be no baiting up by any means other than hand/throwing stick/bait rocket/ short handled spoon or catapult. Free Baits may be attached by PVA to the rig. Wading or swimming to bait up will not be permitted. Bait boats and long handle baiting spoons are not allowed.
  18. Competitors will be permitted to use a maximum of four rods per pair unless otherwise stated by the organisers and must cast and bait their own rods, and play/ land their own fish. No assistance shall be allowed from any person other than a member of that competitors pair. In the event that an angler is fishing the event on their own, they will only be permitted to use the usual number of rods permitted for that venue.
  19. The singles event will be a maximum of 2 rods per angler.
  20. All fish caught must be reported as soon as possible to the marshals.
  21. Each fish must be witnessed by at least 1 marshal or 1 marshal and 1 competitor in the event that the parties are known to each other or work for the competition as a director, organiser or marshal (other than the captor or their team mate).
  22. Each fish must be weighed on the official equipment of the marshals or it may be excluded from the results. To prevent cheating, where requested please do not return fish to the water before they have been photographed.
  23. Any photographs must be taken by the side of the peg marker and include the peg number, fish and captor.
  24. In the unlikely event of a Marshall being unable to immediately weigh and witness a captured fish it MAY be placed in a retention sling or net for holding until such a time as a marshal is available. The official weight will be that which is recorded by the marshal following the weighing procedure by the officials using the official equipment. Retained fish must be secured as fish lost prior to the weighing are the responsibility of the competitor and will not count towards the final results.
  25. Competitors are required to possess their own sacks/retainers,  in the event of  multiple captures, sacks/retainers will be required to hold fish until weighing. They will not be provided by the organisers.
  26. Hooked fish should be landed without interfering with other competitor lines or they may be omitted from the final result. Any competitor who is aggrieved by another competitor’s hooked fish moving his lines or disturbing his presentation must make a formal complaint to the marshals as soon as is reasonably practical or in any case within 30 minutes. There will be an organisation appointed panel of judges before whom the complaint will be placed and who will make a decision as to whether to allow that fish to count in the final results. The judge’s decision will be final.
  27. Only officials, press, competitors, registered runners and marshals are permitted to be within the boundaries of the swim, to bivvy up on the banks or stay in the competition area after the hours of darkness unless authorised by the organisers. Visitors must stay outside of the swim boundaries at all times.
  28. The organisers retain the right to search all competitors’ tackle or vehicles to combat any form of cheating or rule breaking. Anglers found cheating will be banned for life from the British Carp Angling Championships and will be reported to the promoters and the national angling press.
  29. The competition shall be decided on total weight with the pair/angler having the greatest weight being declared the winners. In the event of a tie the pair/angler with the most fish will be declared the winners. If the result is still tied, the pair/angler catching the biggest fish will be declared the winner. If there is still a tied position then the “fastest fish” rule applies and the pair/angler that landed the fish first will be declared the winner.
  30.  In the event that an insufficient number of fish are caught during an event to fill the qualifying places or that the fish caught still cause a tiebreaker situation, the competitors shall take part in a “cast off” which shall involve a test of accurate casting. The pair/angler adjudged as being the most accurate shall be classed as qualifiers.
  31. Only Leather, Common, Mirror and Ghost Carp over 5 lbs in weight will count in the competition. No Koi.
  32. Should any competitor wish to leave their swim for any reason whatsoever they must ensure that their team mate holds the appropriate number of rod licences to allow the use of four rods. If the team mate does not hold such licence the competitor leaving the swim must reel their rods in and their baited hooks must be removed from the water.
  33. If a competitors in a singles event needs to leave their swim, rods must be reeled in.
  34. If a venue allows wading you will be permitted to enter water to a maximum of 3 metres from the bank, if venue rules state no wading then you will not be allowed into the water. No swimming.
  35. Boats, remote control bait boats, Drones and Fish Spies, Smartcast echo sounders, fish finders of any kind or similar items are prohibited.
  36. All lines must be cast into the water from the bank using a fishing rod and reel or pole.
  37. Each line may only have one hook attached. For conservation purposes the organisers request that barbless or micro-barb hooks are used. Fishery rules apply in this regard unless otherwise stated.
  38. For a fish to count in the competition it must have been hooked squarely in the mouth or within 2 cm of the mouth. Foul hooked fish will be excluded and shall be returned to the water unregistered.
  39. Each team shall be permitted to use up to four rods and baited hooks in the water at any time and have a further two rods per person in reserve set up and ready to use. The singles event is two baited rods and two in reserve.
  40. Two plumbing and two spod rods per pair are allowed in addition to the baited rods. Once used, plumbing and spod rod lines must be removed from the water. Unethical use of the spod / marker line may result in disqualification or penalty.
  41. Any team/angler using more than the authorised number of baited rods will be immediately disqualified from the competition and reported to the promoters.
  42. Fish must be played and landed within 3 metres along the bank of their peg marker. Competitors are not permitted to wade or walk down the bank to land fish unless authorised to do so by an official. If you wade more than 3 metres to land a fish the “boat rule” will be applied, after the 2nd fish, any further fish needed to be landed by wading will be disqualified from the results.
  43. Competitors must comply with requests from authorised media members at all times regarding media coverage.
  44. The sounding of a horn will signify the end of each competition whereupon competitors must immediately withdraw their lines from the water.
  45. Any fish hooked before the final horn sounds must be landed within 10 minutes of the end of the competition or it will be excluded from the final results.
  46. In the event of a fish becoming irretrievably snagged the boat rule may, where practical, be applied. This will be at the discretion of the event organiser. For full details of the boat rule please see below.
  47. The awards ceremony will take place at the event HQ at the time set by the organisers.
  48. If any team/angler is excluded from the competition no refund shall be given. If a team/angler has to cancel their entry a refund will only be given if an alternative team can fill their reserved entry. Please see our T&C for any admin charges.
  49. All competitors must behave in a courteous manner at all times. Use of foul and threatening language, excessive consumption of alcohol and/or use of recreational drugs will not be tolerated and will result in a red card.
  50. If any competitor wants to make a complaint about the conduct or practice of another competitor they must do so to their marshal within 30 minutes of any alleged infringement taking place. Any competitor wishing to challenge the results of an event or a decision made by a marshal at the event must do so to the organisers within 1 hour of the end of the competition and must make a formal written challenge / appeal to BCAC HQ within 24 hours of the event concluding. The appeals procedure will then apply and the result will be provisional until the outcome by the adjudicating panel. The appeals procedure will be notified to all concerned parties as appropriate.
  51. Fishery rules apply unless otherwise amended to for the purposes of the event by the fishery manager / organiser. Please make yourselves aware of fishery rules and adhere to them.
  52. Bait Restrictions – Any bait restrictions are only imposed based on the rules of the venue, all competitors must abide by venue rules for bait, we will impose no further restrictions.
  53. If a venue imposes a limit on any form of bait, we will not allow that bait to be used, it is impossible for us to police bait limits. i.e Maggots will not be allowed on Linear events due to their 4 pint per day limit.

For clarification and avoidance of any doubt, please read below:

  1. Maggot – Any non aquatic fly or beetle larvae either dead or alive, in any stage of it lifecycle, I.E (but not exclusively) pinkies and caster and all derivatives of these
  2. Worm – All variations of earth worm and all derivatives thereof. The “soil” they are grown in, commonly known as “Cast”. All marine worm: I.E (but not exclusively) Lugg and Rag

Any bait used during the competition should comply with The Feed Hygiene Regulations.

  1. Should a match need to be cut short in duration for reasons beyond the organisers control, the following will apply. If the match is beyond half way then the result at the time the match is cut short will stand. If the match is less than half way through then a cast off will be held to determine the qualifying position.

         Prizes:
Qualifier Prizes Pairs:

  • 12 Pair Event  –  £750 to winner
  • 16 Pair Event  –  £1000 to winner
  • 24 Pair Event  –  £1500 to winner

For the Final the cash prize fund will be as follows:

  • 1st  place  –  £20,000
  • 2nd place  –  £5000
  • 3rd place   –  £2500

Qualifier Prizes Sinles:

  • 24 Angler Event – £400
  • 36 Angler Event – £600

For the Final the cash prize fund will be as follows:

  • 1st place – £6000
  • 2nd place – £3000
  • 3rd place – £1500
  1. If anything occurs during an event that is not covered in the rules then the head marshals decision is final, the head marshal will always check with the tournament director over any decision to be made that is not listed in the rules above.
  2. Lee Baker is the tournament director for the BCAC events, his decision will be final, competitors who enter into the competition are automatically bound by these rules.

BOAT RULES

The boat rule is used for fish care and safety. If a fish is deemed snagged, a boat, if available, may be launched into the water from the competitors swim and the line retrieved without harm to the fish. Only fishery officials / BCAC officials are allowed to enter the boat and may take such items with them as they feel will assist in the job. The rod and competitors must stay on the bank and the fish, if freed, must be played and landed from the bank. The boat rule may only be applied twice per pair per event. In the event of it being required to be used more than twice any additional fish will not count towards scores under any circumstances and the competitors will be advised to alter their angling practices.

USE OF A ‘RUNNER’

  1. Runners are permitted at these events. They are permitted to be within the bivvy areas but cannot touch any of the fishing equipment. A runner can only assist with drinks, food and helping a marshal with weighing the fish.
  2. Runners are no longer allowed to do any form of fishing activity, any runner seen to be doing a fishing activity will be asked to leave the competition venue.