OTC 2007 Basic Information and Format

Nalu · 12-06-2006, 03:08 PM

Tunaholics,

The Oregon Tuna Classic board met on Monday to finalize the basic format, dates, and rules of the 2007 OTC. There has been some minor modifications to the board, as well as addition of some new members.

We welcome Bob Stacklie (ODIN) to the board as the Event Captain for the the CR leg of the OTC. Bob has already been working on individual ways to help his local food bank network, and we are very excited to be able to use his talents for all the folks in the CR area that look forward to this event. Thanks Bob!

So, on to the format.

Tournament dates and locations :

Newport/Depoe Bay...July 7th
Astoria...August 4th
Garibaldi...September 8th (weekend after labor day due to large tide swings labor day weekend)

There will be NO make-up days for fishing. All non-fishing events such as raffles, BBQ's, etc. will take place regardless.

In the event of the cancellation of a fishing day, prize money will be put towards making a financial donation to the OFB.

Rules:

Fish donated at each tournament wins the following:

Heaviest 5 fish.............$3,000

2nd. heaviest 5 fish......$2,000

3rd. heaviest 5 fish.......$1,000

Fish will be weighed in the whole, bled only.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CATCH THE MOST FISH TO WIN!

We currently will only be accepting 5 fish from each team. Any additional fish may be kept, or if logistics work out with the local event, they may be donated at the teams discretion.

Most Fish Caught Jackpot of $50 a team...75% paid out (each event). Last year Garibaldi was $1,200

No more than 4 anglers per boat*
Rod and reel or hand lines only
Shotgun start outside the jetty tips 6:00 TBA
Fish must be checked in by 6:00 pm
Charters can have no more than one team on them
Must fly tournament flag so it is visible
All participants must sign the waiver prior to the start
Boat captains must sign a waiver that their craft meets the coast guard recommended safety guidelines
At least one team member must be present at the Captains meeting the night before the event
All contestants agree to conduct themselves with honor and integrity at all times
Captains may have different crews for each event
In the event of a tie, longest fish wins
Most Fish Jackpots are for the most fish

*Two "guests" are allowed in addition to the official 4 anglers. Guests may take part in any of the activities, and are also required to sign a waiver. Guests will not be entered into any raffle drawing.

Cost:

Entry fees...... $300.00 per team/boat per event or $750 for all three tournaments.

Each team will receive 4 tickets for each raffle, 4 shirts, 4 dinner tickets, and a team prize "bucket". Teams signed up for multiple events at discounted price will not receive additional shirts.

Drawings:

Each event will have a raffle prize drawing for items such as rods, reels, artwork, gear, etc. For this years events the prizes will be increased over last year, which were pretty great!

Each team will receive 4 tickets per registered event to be drawn at the final Garibaldi function. The prize last year was a trip for 4 to Cabo San Lucas including airfare, accomodations, and fishing aboard Fish Cabo. The prize this year is yet to be determined. It may again be a trip to Cabo, or perhaps a long range fishing trip. We'll let you know!

Registration for the OTC will start March 1, 2007.

___________

So, there it is! I am sure many have questions, so if you do, please feel free to ask on this thread. The biggest change this year is that most fish is not the way to win. A small boat that might catch 5 fish can win just like a big boat that catches 30.

Entrance fees are up slightly, but they still equate to $75 per person per event which is lower than most charity functions that provide things such as a no-charge dinner, raffle, and shirts. Let's face it, if you add up what you get simply in swag, as well as dinner and beverages, you come out ahead. In addition, since most fish donated is not the requirement, anglers may keep as many fish as they want to make it both a tournament day, as well as a possibly bountiful harvest for the boat.

Thanks to everyone! More information later, but this is the crux of it for now.

kenai · 12-06-2006, 04:53 PM

Love the format! Thanks for all the beer you guys drink,

I mean, work you do to set this up. Now comes the long wait til July.

Nordic Sun · 12-06-2006, 05:02 PM

Any and All who would like to WORK with me on the Columbia River leg of the Tournament, please PM me.

We have several logistical opportunities to work out.

August 4th Tuna will Die, and the FOOD Bank will profit!

Bob

5 Salt · 12-06-2006, 09:04 PM

Excellent.

Good Format - looking forward to another great event.

Mr. Fisherman · 12-07-2006, 01:49 AM

It looks like I better get the band back together...

fyshndad · 12-07-2006, 10:07 AM

NOW that is what I am talking about
I think I can put a team together for this
I love the way you set it up
Great Job

Thanks

Tower Todd · 12-07-2006, 10:39 AM

First off: THANK YOU for all of the tournament organizer's hard work! I would love to help, but somebody's got to fish (Really it's cuz I live so far away).

A couple questions:

Do you think the new "largest 5 fish" format will encourage crews to keep fish whole and not clean them in order to keep the weight as heavy as possible?

Do you think this format will encourage participants to seek quality rather than quantity (which is what a food bank would need it seems)?

Will there be a most fish jackpot for each event?

Is the tourney limited to Alabcore? If someone lands a fabled Big Eye or Bluefin will that count?

I appreciate the fixed time for a notice if there will be a cancellation. I might also add a phone message as well. Last year we were traveling in route to a tournament when it was cancelled and we didn't find out the tourney was called off until a day later at the captain meeting. No computer access while traveling. Just a thought.

Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing you there.

Tower Todd

Nordic Sun · 12-07-2006, 11:33 AM

Todd
The logistics of phone notifications are prohibitive!!!!

Your best bet is to have a friend notify you, if it becomes an issue next year. Not that we are not your friend, but it is un realistic for us to call each team.

Look forward to fishing with you this year.

Bob

Tuna Dog · 12-07-2006, 11:55 AM

Tower Todd
If people want to have an opportunity to win they'll for sure want to keep those fish whole. We would expect them to bleed them and take care of them as they normally would...You are very right the food bank wants good quality.

Yes there will be a "Most Fish Jackpot" for each event.

As for Abacore only...we currently don't have a restriction on someone catching another tuna and having that in with their 5 fish.

As for the advance notification in the event of a cancellation.... One of the reasons for that was due to people like you who travel a great distance.
I make no promises other than we will work on additional ways to get the word out...

Thank you for helping us to feed the hungry..

HiTekRdNek · 12-07-2006, 12:27 PM

Great format. I'm looking forward to it next year.

Tower Todd · 12-07-2006, 12:28 PM

Thank you for the replies.

Odin: I didn't mean for the organizers to contact each team. What I was talking about was a phone number I could call and hear a recorded message for any last minute changes. Teams could have the number prior to leaving and easily check in from their cell phone. It's just a thought anyhow, please don't think I'm complaining, because I definatley am not.

I'm counting the days until the shotgun!

Tower Todd

Nalu · 12-07-2006, 01:14 PM

Thanks for all the positive responses.

Fish that are properly bled and iced present no issues with quality. Though they would not qualify as trur sashimi grade,they are still extremely high quality. The fact of the matter is that the canners prefer to have fish in the whole as well.

As far as notification if a fishing event is cancelled, we have a couple of ideas that should help that process as well.

This years' event is way ahead of last year as we have so much more experience and background info on what works and what doesn't. We are sure to keep listening to any and all suggestions to keep improving the OTC for the benefit of all.

Thanks again everyone for your support!

greenbuttskunk · 12-07-2006, 03:26 PM

great format guys. Count me in for help and also as a team captain again. It was a blast last year. This year the format will make the playing field equal and add alot of spark to the event.
Looking forward to it!
GBS

Tower Todd · 12-08-2006, 07:21 AM

One more question / suggestion:

I didn't see if the rules have changed this year. Last year you had to sign up at least 5 days in advance. I spoke with several people last season on the dock the day before the event that had no idea there was going to be a tournament. Some would have joined, but it wasn't allowed by the rules.
Has the ability to enter the day before the event been discussed?

Tower Todd

Tuna Dog · 12-08-2006, 07:39 AM

Tower Todd
Like you, we did hear of people wanting to sign up at the last minute.
We have really looked at this but unfortunately due to some of the logistics with planning it makes it hard to accomodate last minute entries.
In an effort to help minimize this we have made some plans to get the word out much sooner and in more ways.
Last year was a tremendous learning experience for us and we didn't get into the port communites to get the word out as we would've like.
This year we will have the 2007 poster produced by the end of January and will be distributing the first printing hopefully during the February sportshow.

Keep asking questions, it helps us to think about things we may have forgotten.

Del

Tower Todd · 12-08-2006, 07:45 AM

O.K. - This question was somewhat answered on another thread. I think that the tournament could get more entries by offering a way to sign up the last day. Many tournaments offer a discount for sign up by a certain date (often a month in advance) and after that date, the entry fees are higher.
Something else to consider.

Tower Todd

wthr4d · 12-08-2006, 08:19 AM

First off... I like this format, I do think this will reduce the number of fish donated. is that a concern?

secondly, Id like some clarification on the raffle. There was confusion last year over what tickets went to what prizes. The way I read it this year there will only be four tickets given to each team per event? Will the prizes then be drawn from one big pot of tickets that rolls over into each event and the grand prize?

Are the guests allowed to fish or are they expected to be observers?

Paul

Nalu · 12-08-2006, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wthr4d

First off... I like this format, I do think this will reduce the number of fish donated. is that a concern?

secondly, Id like some clarification on the raffle. There was confusion last year over what tickets went to what prizes. The way I read it this year there will only be four tickets given to each team per event? Will the prizes then be drawn from one big pot of tickets that rolls over into each event and the grand prize?

Are the guests allowed to fish or are they expected to be observers?

Paul

I'm going to post and answer these questions on the other thread for consistency if that's ok. That way from here on out we only have one thread working, and people will only have one place to review all of these great questions.

Thanks