2018 KBF National Championship

Henry County and Paris, Tennessee welcome KBF Members back to Kentucky Lake for two days of high-stakes competition. The 2018 Kayak Bass Fishing National. Championship, powered by Torqeedo and presented by Wilderness Systems, is the top freshwater kayak fishing tournament in the world. This year’s event will have the largest payout, most bonuses, and the stiffest national-level competition in the Kayak Bass Fishing nation.

Event Rules Addendum
              

1. Format: This is a two-day CPR tournament in which each competitor’s final score will be determined by adding the total length of the bass by his name on the Event Leader Board at end-of-competition time on Day 1 (Friday) to the total length of the bass by his name on the Event Leader Board at end-of-competition time on Day 2 (Saturday). All bass eligible for scoring must have been caught from eligible water during competition hours and submitted within the time frame permitted by the rules. Up to five (5) bass on Friday and up to five (5) bass on Saturday will contribute to the cumulative score.
2. Venue Host: Henry County Tourism Authority
3. Tournament Director: Nik Brown
4. Tournament HQ: Henry County Fairground, 565 Royal Oak Drive, Paris, Tennessee
5. Eligibility: Competitors in this event must meet the following eligibility requirements:
   • KBF Lifetime Member or 2017 KBF Annual Member during the 2017 calendar year
   • Qualified through KBF-sanctioned competition or KBF Partner awards
   • Registered and completed Entry Fee payment by December 31, 2017 (Midnight January 2 for late roll-downs)
   • KBF Membership (2018 Annual or Lifetime) dues paid no later than March 22, 2018. [Info] [Join]
6. Registration Deadline: 11:59 P.M. December 31, 2017 for all who qualified prior to December 1; 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, January 3 for all who qualified after 12/31 by roll-down.
7. Entry Fee and Procedures
   • Sign up and pay the $300 Entry Fee through the TourneyX Dashboard through either the app or web browser.
   • KBFNC Competitors are also eligible to compete in an optional, concurrent KBF Big Bass Brawl. To enter, either pay the $45 KBF Big Bass Brawl fee by selecting that option at time of TourneyX registration or pay the KBFNC Big Bass Brawl fee on the KBF Online Store.
8. Entry Fee Refunds: Requests for refund of Entry Fees must be emailed to accounting@kayakbassfishing.com and received by Kayak Bass Fishing, LLC by March 1—three weeks prior to the competition. All refunds after February 1 will be assessed a $25 administrative fee.
9. Tournament Management System (TMS): This event is conducted using the TourneyX Tournament Management System (TMS)
10. Competitor Event Check-in: All competitors must sign in at the Event Check-in station  between 11 A.M. and 6:30 P.M. on Thursday, March 22. Participants are not cleared for competition until they have checked in on Thursday.
11. Captains Meeting: Competitor is required to attend one or the other of the following pre-touranment briefings (Captains Meetings) to receive information and Event ID Cards:
    • Thursday, 7:00 p.m.: Tournament HQ, Henry County Fairgrounds
    • Friday 5:30 a.m. for late arrivals: Quality Inn (meeting room off lobby), 1510 E Wood St, Paris, TN 38242
12. Event ID Card: KBF will distribute Event ID Cards at the Captains Meeting on Thursday (or late arrivals’ meeting Friday morning).
13. Event ID Code
    • Event ID Codes will not be used for the KBF National Championship; instead, unique KBF ID Cards will be distributed for each day.
    • Competitors will receive Friday’s card at the Thursday evening Captains Meeting (or late arrival Captains Meeteing on Friday morning)
    • Saturday’s KBF ID Card will be distributed at the Friday Captains Meeting.
    • Every photo must include the correct day’s KBF ID Card.
14. Eligible Water: Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, plus tributaries up which one may paddle/float from the main bodies of water.
15. Boundaries:
    • KY Lake and Barkley dams to the north
    • I-40 bridge to the south
    • West point of the mouth of the Red River at Clarksville to the east*
      Note: Above their confluence, both the Red and Cumberland Rivers are out of bounds.
    • Any backwaters, bays, creeks and sloughs contiguous to Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are eligible, provided the Competitor is able to access the area from the main bodies of water by floating to it in his watercraft. They may not be separated from the main body of water by a dam, levee, bar, reef, berm, other land form.
    • Portaging is allowed ONLY to exit an area into which one has floated and that afterwards becomes isolated by a rapid drop in lake level.
    • Propulsion is not an “eligible water” issue. Floating and pulling oneself by hand through a 4-foot culvert under a roadbed or through tree limbs partially blocking a channel to reach backwaters on the other side is permissible.
16. Competition Hours: Sunrise on Kentucky Lake on March 23 will be at 6:52 A.M. Competition start times were established as approximately a half-hour before sunrise.
    • Thursday 3/22
      • 4:00 p.m.: Prefishing on Eligible Water ends.
      • 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Event Check-in
      • 7:00 p.m.: Mandatory Captains Meeting at Tournament HQ.
      • ~8:00 p.m.: Event Check-in will resume following Captains Meeting.
      _______________
    • Friday 3/23
      • 5:30 a.m.: Late arrival Captains Meeting in the Quality Inn lobby, 1510 E Wood St, Paris, TN 38242
      • 5:30 a.m.: Earliest Launch Time. Anglers may arrive at launch site and prepare their gear earlier but may not launch onto the water before this time.
      • 6:30 a.m.: Competition Start Time/Lines-in. Anglers may be on Eligible water at 5:30 a.m., but no lines in water until 6:30 a.m.
      • 3:00 p.m.: Competition End Time/Lines-out and Photo submission deadline. Also deadline to be in Photo Assistance Line for on-site upload of digital photos via memory card or cable
      • 4:00 p.m.: Check-in line opens. Competitors may be selected to take polygraph tests for cause, by ranking, or at random.
      • 5:30 p.m.: Deadline to be in Check-in line
      _______________
    • Saturday 3/24
      • 5:30 a.m.: Earliest Launch Time. Anglers may arrive at launch site and prepare their gear earlier but may not launch onto the water before this time.
      • 6:30 a.m.: Competition Start Time/Lines-in. Anglers may be on Eligible water at 5:30 a.m., but no lines in water until 6:30 a.m.
      • 3:00 p.m.: Competition End Time/Lines-out and Photo submission deadline. Also deadline to be in Photo Assistance Line for on-site upload of digital photos via memory card or cable.
      • 4:00 p.m.: Check-in line opens. Competitors may be selected to take polygraph tests for cause, by ranking, or at random.
      • 5:30 p.m.: Deadline to be in Check-inline
      _______________
    • Sunday, 3/25
      • 9:00 a.m.: Awards Ceremony. Competitors must be present to win door prizes, but are not required to be present to win KBFNC Cash Prizes and BONUS BUCKS.
17. Minimum Length: 12 inches is the minimum length of bass eligible for scoring in this event. Photos of bass under 12″ will be denied.
18. Manual Submission of Digital Photos
    • Competitors should attempt to submit digital photos directly to TourneyX via web browser or app on a smart phone.
    • Competitors unable to upload photos directly to Tourney X must be in the Tournament HQ Photo Upload line no later than 3 P.M. on Competition Days.
    • For manual upload, Competitor must surrender to Tournament Staff his camera’s memory card or camera and USB cable, which will be made available after uploading for retrieval by Competitors. (Note: Photo selection and upload is expedited, and risk of losing family photos is mitigated, if Competitor uses a memory card that has only Competition photos.)
19. Scoring: Event ranking will be determined by the score (length) of all photos beside each Competitor’s name on the TourneyX Leader Board when judging and official review have concluded.
20. Cash Prizes
    • Prize purse distributions are rounded to the nearest dollar amount.
    • 10% of field payout—one cash prize is paid for every ten registrants.
    • The guaranteed first place prize is $100,000. Total amounts and numbers of places paid out will vary with the number of registrations, but roughly one place will pay out for every 10 registrations.
21. KBF BONUS BUCKS (“KBFBB,” KBF’s contingency awards program)
    • KBF BONUS BUCKS ranging from $300 to @2,000 are available to each Competitor ranked 2nd through 10th who enrolled in KBFBB no later than 11:59 P.M., March 22, 2018. [Info] {Enroll]
      
    • Bonuses are paid in addition to Cash Prizes.
    • No bonus roll-downs; if a Competitor ranked 2nd-10th did not enroll in KBFBB by the eligibility deadline given above, the KBF bonus is forfeited.
    • No Roll-downs. Forfeited bonuses are not awarded to other Competitors farther down in rank.
    • Sponsors’ BONUS BUCKS are also available for KBFBB participants who own and use their products.
    • For Sponsors’ bonus amounts and eligibility requirements, see KBF BONUS BUCKS.
22. AOY Points: KBF Angler of the Year points are not awarded at this event.
23. 2019 KBF National Championship Qualification
    • 2019 KBFNC Qualifications will be awarded to the top 20 Competitors by rank.
    • If Competitor has previously qualified, the award does not roll down.
24. Cash and Prize Distributions
    • Dispute Period: Within 48 hours after the Tournament Director’s announcement of preliminary results, Competitors may dispute the results. When the Dispute Period has passed and all disputes have been resolved, prizes, bonuses, KBFNC qualifications are finalized and posted on this page. Cash prizes are then distributed via PayPal Funds Transfer using the email address provided by Competitor during event registration.
    • Competitors whose KBF annual winnings are $600 or more will be required to complete, sign, and submit by hand or email an IRS FORM W-9 to KBF Accounting before distribution of prizes and bonuses.
25. Conditions of Participation: By registering for this KBF-sanctioned event, each competitor affirms he has read, understands, and agrees to abide by KBF Competition Rules, comprised of the rules, terms, conditions, and standards presented in this page and the “KBF Competition Rules Standards,” including a “Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement” and a “Name and Likeness Release.” KBF Rules are authoritative, taking precedence over all information presented in social media, TMS, and other information sources.

Notes

1. MILITARY QUALIFICATION DEFERMENT—A member of the US or Canadian Military who qualifies to compete in a KBF National Championship may receive orders to deploy at a time that prevents him from participating. His qualification will be deferred to the following year. The qualifying authority, either KBF or a KBF Partner, will roll the vacated slot to the first alternate and will allocate one of its subsequent year’s slots for that military member.
2. TN/KY RECIPROCAL LICENSE AGREEMENT—A reciprocal fishing license agreement between Kentucky and Tennessee permits anglers with a valid fishing license from either state to fish Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River Watershed) between the US Hwy 68 (Eggner Ferry) Bridge in Kentucky to the US Hwy 79 bridge (by Paris Landing State Park) in Tennessee. A Kentucky Lake fishing license is required to fish the Blood River Watershed. On all of Lake Barkley and on portions of Kentucky Lake outside of the reciprocal license agreement area, Competitors must carry a valid fishing license issued by the state(s) in which they fish.