BRITISH
SPEARFISHING ASSOCIATION
RULES GOVERNING NATIONAL SPEARFISHING COMPETITIONS IN
1.
COMPETITORS
a)
All
competitors competing in Nationals Championships must be registered members
with the British
Spearfishing Association (‘B.S.A.’)
seven days prior to any National Competition.
b)
The B.S.A. or
the competition organisers must issue all competitors with a competition Float
number.
c)
Any competitor
wishing to take part in a National competition must, in addition to his
membership fee, pay an
additional amount representing a competition entry fee. This
must be paid to the competition organisers PRIOR to the start of the
competition. Any competitor who has not paid prior to starting a competition
shall be disqualified for that competition. Juniors or members over 65 do not
have to pay any entrance fee but must still register with competition
organisers.
d)
Any competitor
wishing to take part in a National Competition, who is not a current fully paid
up member of the
B.S.A. shall be permitted to compete if he pays a one day
subscription fee (to cover insurance
costs) in addition to the competition entry fee. The result on the day will
count for that competition however will not be used in the championships. (see
rule 1 a)
e)
All
competitors must be 14 years of age on the date of the first national
competition.
f)
Those between
14 and 19 years of age ('juniors’) on the date of the first national
competition of the season must
have written permission from a parent or guardian on the
entrance form provided. This form must be completed before the start of the
season and retained by the Membership Secretary.
g)
Any competitor
entering a National Competition must be grouped into a team. A team shall
consist of 3
persons. Replacements shall not
be permitted after the start of the competition.
2.
BEFORE THE COMPETITION
a)
Competition
organisers must send out details of their intended designated competition area
to all
prospective competing clubs at
least four weeks in advance of their competition.
b)
This notice
shall clearly describe the area chosen, which will be known as the Designated
Competition Area
(‘D.C.A.’). It must also contain
any alternative areas and any areas that are out of bounds to competitors.
c)
The D.C.A.
must not extend beyond the area designated to be covered by safety boats.
d)
Competition
organisers must designate a starting and a finishing area for the competition.
These will be called
the ‘D.S.A.’ and the ‘D.F.A.’
respectively.
e)
No competitor
shall be permitted to fish or take a gun in the water while in the designated
area up to and including
7 days prior to a competition. Any competitor found or
proved to have been in contravention of this clause will not be eligible to
compete in that competition.
f)
No competitor
shall be permitted to swim or scout in the designated area thirty hours prior
to the competition,
Any competitor found or proved to
be in contravention of this clause will not be eligible to compete in that
competition.
g)
Any competitor
found or proved to be placing markers within the D.C.A. designed to give
assistance to that or
another competitor will be disqualified from that
competition. An incident of this nature will also render the competitors’
liable to investigation by the B.S.A. and the appropriate sanctions will be
imposed.
h) A complete set of these rules and the codes attached must be sent to each competitor upon joining the B.S.A.
and upon each subsequent amendment to the rules. Upon receipt each member must read and sign the attached slip to signify that he has understood the rules and agreed to abide by them. The slip should be returned to the B.S.A. Membership Secretary. The fully updated rules must also be published in the first edition of ‘Crystal Clear’ to be published after the AGM.
3.
DURING THE COMPETITION
a)
All competitors
must start at the D.S.A. in full spearfishing equipment.
b)
Competitors
may make for their selected site by walking, running, or swimming immediately
after the start of
the competition.
c)
No competitor
will be allowed to start the competition from a boat, or have the use of a boat
other than when allowed
by the competition organisers.
d)
Anyone fishing
outside of the D.C.A. during a competition will be disqualified from that
competition and from
the ensuing two competitions.
e)
A competitor
must return himself and his catch, float and guns to the D.F.A. by his own
physical efforts (by
whatever means available) before
the official finishing time. He must sign out as soon as possible on leaving
the water.
f)
Any competitor
arriving back at the D.F.A. after the official finishing time will be penalised
as follows :-
I.
Up to and
including 10 minutes after the finishing time, his score will be halved.
II.
After 11
minutes of the finishing time he will be disqualified.
III.
The
competition organisers at the beginning of each competition will set the
official finishing time.
g)
The competitor
must be immersed in the water at the time of spearing any fish.
h)
I.
During a competition all competitors must tow one marker buoy. This
buoy must have a minimum volume of 5 litres
and a
maximum volume of 20 litres, and fly the A flag, which must be a minimum of
15cm x 15cm and be clearly visible.
II.
All floats must carry competitors individual float number, (minimum
size 75mm)
III. No loaded gun to be carried
on float under any circumstances.
IV. All competitors must fish
within a 25metre radius of their float,(measured across the surface)
i)
No breathing
apparatus other than a snorkel will be permitted.
j)
A competitor
may come ashore as often as he wishes but he will not be permitted to use any
means of transport
to return to the D.S.A. other than that
provided by the competition organisers.
k)
A competitor
who aids another competitor in catching a fish in any way will be entitled to
50% of the points for that fish.
l)
No lures of
any description are permitted to attract fish.
m)
Any competitor
helping another competitor in the case of injury or exhaustion will be entitled
to 50% of the total
points value of the others’ catch
at that time.
n)
The passing of fish between competitors will
result in the disqualification of the competitors involved. An incident of
this nature will also render the
competitors’ liable to investigation by the B.S.A. and the appropriate
sanctions will be imposed.
o)
If during the
competition the organiser's decide to call time early, due to extreme bad
weather, and 75% of
the competition time has passed
then the competition will still be valid.
4.
BOAT COMPETITIONS
a)
In a National
Boat Competition no competitor is to start the competition by walking or
running away from the D.S.A. Otherwise the conditions contained in Clause 3d
above shall apply.
5.
MEANS OF CATCHING FISH
a)
It is not
permitted to use any means to catch fish other than by knife, hand-spear or a
spear expelled by a gun using compressed air, spring or rubber.
b)
No cartridge
or expellable gas guns may be used.
c)
Guns must not
be loaded on the beach or in a boat, and must be unloaded before leaving the
water.
6.
FISH
a)
To qualify, a
fish must be caught in the D.C.A. Within
the time limits set for the competition by the organisers, and
be above legal local and/or national limits.
b)
The following
species of fish are NOT PERMITTED :-
I.
Weaver
II.
Salmon
III.
Sea Trout
IV.
Sunfish
V.
Electric Ray
VI.
Sting Ray
VII.
Lump-sucker
VIII.
Silver eel
c)
Competition Organisers with BSA Committee approval may stipulate the
maximum number of fish species that can
be landed by competitors.
d)
Competition
Organisers and Competitors must comply with any official restrictions on fish
species that may currently be
in force.
e)
All fish must
be weighed in once the competition has finished.
f)
The
competition organisers must weigh the fish.
g)
If a
competitor finishes after the expiry of the time limits set by the competition
organisers, Rule 3. f) Will apply.
h)
A balance
scale will be used to weigh all fish, save that any fish appearing to the
competition organisers to be
just
permissible under Rule 7. a) Will be weighed using a digital scale or measured.
i)
Any fish
brought in by a competitor who is disqualified will not be weighed or recorded
for points, but may be
weighed for any British records.
j)
Where possible
all fish of the same species are to be weighed in bulk.
k)
Specimen fish
are to be weighed separately.
7.
WEIGHT
AND LENGTHS OF FISH PERMITTED
a)
The length of
any fish will be measured from the tip of the snout to the end of tail fin
using special liner devices supplied or approved by the Records officer or
acting Records officer.
b)
The Records
Officer or acting Records Officer will have the final decision in any dispute
about any fish length or weight.