2 FLY X-STREAM PRESENTED BY MAUI JIM
OVERVIEW:
The Teva Mountain Games 2 Fly X-Stream Fishing Competition will
start with casting. Each angler will attempt casts at targets
for accuracy as well as a judged distance cast. The top
twenty men and the top five women will then move to the bridge over
Gore Creek itself and again cast for accuracy. The top eight
men and the top two women will move on to the Finals! The
Finals will consist of a timed float trip on a TBD river with two
competitors per boat. Anglers will only be able to use two
patterns. One pattern, two different sizes? One dry
pattern, one dropper pattern? Finalists make this call.
Total of six flies. Minimum, and maximum, of two
patterns. Total points, based on fish count and size, will
win the Grand Prize in each division. There will also be
prizes for the second and third place finishers. Another cash
prize will be awarded to the angler who lands and releases the
largest fish! A maximum of 80 anglers will compete in the
casting qualifier, 20 men and 5 women make it to the semi-finals,
and 8 men and 2 women make it to the boats!
HOW TO ENTER:
The 2 Fly X-Stream is a combination casting and fishing
competition. All interested anglers may pre-register on the
Teva Mountain Games website @ www.tevamountaingames.com. Anglers may
also register on-site at the Teva Mountain Games Registration
Facility if all eighty (80) men's registration spots have not been
filled. This is an individual competition and the fee is $40
per person online and $50 per person on site. Organizers will
not be responsible for incomplete, lost, or misdirected
registrations or for registrations not received for any reason,
including, without limitation, failure or malfunction of any
communications network or equipment or computer software or
hardware. Anglers will be required to sign a liability and
publicity agreement and a release upon registration for the
event.
ORGANIZERS:
The 2 Fly X-Stream ("2 Fly X-Stream") will be organized and
produced by staff's from the Vail Valley Foundation and Messmer
Ventures, LLC ("Organizers"). The decisions of Organizers
regarding the selection and elimination of anglers, the selection
of finalists and winners, and the production and administration of
2 Fly X-Stream related events, and all other aspects of the 2 Fly
X-Stream, shall be final and binding in all respects. Organizers
will not be responsible for typographical, printing, or other
inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials
relating to the 2 Fly X-Stream.
ANGLER ELIGIBILITY:
The 2 Fly X-Stream is open to all interested anglers, over the age
of 12, regardless of state and/or country of residency.
Competitors who are under the age of 18 must register with a parent
or legal guardian. Competitors must be able to attend all scheduled
events. Anglers will be required to provide all their own
equipment, including flies, and must have a valid Colorado fishing
license. Further, anglers must abide by all applicable
federal, state and local laws and regulations during their
participation in the 2 Fly X-Stream, including, but not limited to,
all applicable fishing laws and regulations.
PARTICIPATION:
2 Fly X-Stream anglers agree to be bound by these Official Rules
(including rules for Casting and Fishing), and all decisions of
Organizers. Organizers reserve the right to disqualify any persons
found tampering with, or otherwise abusing, any aspect of the 2 Fly
X-Stream as solely determined by Organizers.
CONSTRUCTION:
The Organizers will complete all construction of both casting areas
based upon town regulations, water levels, and casting
conditions. Organizers reserve the right to change
construction based on unforeseeable events such as run-off, safety
issues, etc.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
Organizers will appoint casting/scoring judges and the decision of
those judges will be final. There will be no review of
scoring even with the presence of TV cameras. Disputes with
Organizers and/or appointed judges will result in disqualification
of that angler.
RESERVATION OF RIGHTS:
Organizers reserve the right to disqualify any angler for any
reason, including, without limitation, acting in an unsafe,
unsportsmanlike, or disruptive manner and/or with intent to
intimidate, threaten or harass, or harm another person. All
decisions with respect to the disqualification of anglers shall be
made by Organizers and/or appointed judges. Failure to comply
with any term or condition of these Official Rules may result in an
angler's disqualification and the forfeiture of his/her interest in
any prize. Organizers reserve the right to amend these Official
Rules at any time in its sole discretion, and anglers shall have no
recourse for any such changes or for any failure (whether
inadvertent or otherwise) by Organizers to follow the stated
rules. In the event that the 2 Fly X-Stream is canceled prior
to the completion of the final event, no prizes will be awarded,
but Organizers will return entry fees to all anglers who have not
been eliminated. If the Tournament is cancelled prior to qualifying
round for any reason, anglers will be reimbursed only for his/her
entry fee. Anglers will not be otherwise compensated for any
costs or expenses associated with their participation in the
competition.
CASTING RULES
2 FLY X-STREAM QUALIFIER ROUND: ACCURACY AND
DISTANCE
EQUIPMENT:
Only 9-foot, 5-weight, standard production, rods (no
custom rods) can be used during the casting portions of the
competition. All rods will be inspected at registration.
Reel, line, leader, and fly will be provided for you.
Please remove your reel from your rod before the competition.
Provided leaders will be between 5 and 9 feet long. The "fly"
used will either be yarn with no hook or hook-less fly pattern of
Organizer's choice and will be provided by the Organizers or an
appointed judge. A lost fly can be replaced with approval
from the Organizers or an appointed judge.
ANGLER PARTICIPATION:
There will be a Men's Division as well as a Women's Division.
The men will be competing for a spot amongst the twenty (20) who
will continue to the semi-finals. The women will be competing
for a spot amongst the five (5) women who will continue to the semi
finals.
SELECTION:
Casting competition anglers will be picked at random and must
adhere to the start position he/she is given. There will be
no weighted placement of casters, simply random assignment.
The Women Division will cast first.
ACCURACY:
Accuracy targets will be placed at varying distances on dry
land. The course may be altered just prior to the event, but
will remain set once the first caster has begun. There will
be three targets for accuracy. Each angler will attempt three
casts at each target. Each accuracy target will have only one
ring. Each achieved target results in one hundred (100)
points. When the fly lands within and/or on the edge of any
ring, it is considered an achieved target. The first place
the fly hits the ground will be judged, not bounced, shifted and/or
moved casts. If any cast touches land on a forward cast,
known as a "tick", that attempt it will result in a immediate score
or forfeiture of that cast. Anglers can bail out to the back
and regroup as long as time permits (see timing below). The
total number of achieved targets will be multiplied by three
(3). There is a possibility of two thousand seven hundred
(2700) points in the accuracy casting.
DISTANCE:
The distance cast will be judged on actual distance within
a casting lane. Anglers will have three (3) distance
casts. A cast will be forfeited if any portion of the fly
line, leader, or the fly itself lands on or outside the casting
lane. If any cast touches land on a forward cast, known as a
"tick", whether inadvertent or not, it will result in a
score. Forfeiture of a distance cast occurs if the fly
touches land on a forward cast and is removed before accurate
scoring can take place. Distance will be measured in full
foot increments and rounded to the nearest (down or up) whole
foot. Only casts longer than fifty (50) feet will be
counted. The longest of the three recorded distance casts
will be multiplied by ten (10). This number will then be
added to the total from the accuracy portion.
TIMING & TOTAL SCORE:
Each angler will have one (1) minute to prepare (strip out line)
once he/she has stepped into the casting box. Anglers must
then place the fly back in his/her hand. Judge will clear the
clock and the angler will then have two and a half (2 ½) minutes to
complete the three casts at all three accuracy targets and the
three casts for distance. When time expires, the caster will
be considered finished with the course and the score achieved when
the clock expires will be considered final. There is no
"time-out" for any reason, except for outside interference as
determined by the Organizers and/or appointed judge. In the
event there is a tie for twentieth (20th) place for
the men and fifth (5th) place for the women, the
angler with the longer distance cast moves on to the
semi-finals.
ONE-FLY SEMI-FINAL ROUND: ACCURACY
ONLY
EQUIPMENT:
Only 9-foot, 5-weight, standard production, rods (no
custom rods) can be used during the casting portions of the
competition. All rods will be inspected at
registration. Reel, line, leader, and fly will be provided
for you. Please remove your reel from your rod before the
competition. Provided leaders will be between 5 and 9 feet
long. The "fly" used will either be yarn with no hook or
hook-less fly pattern of Organizer's choice and will be provided by
the Organizers or an appointed judge. A lost fly can be
replaced with approval from the Organizers or an appointed
judge.
ANGLER PARTICIPATION:
There will be a Men's Division as well as a Women's
Division. The men will be competing for a spot amongst the
eight (8) who will continue to the finals. The women will be
competing for a spot amongst the two (2) who will continue to the
finals.
SELECTION:
For both divisions, anglers making it to the semi-final round of
the casting competition will compete in reverse standing
order. For example, the angler who had the lowest score, but
still moved to the semi-final round, would cast first. The
angler with the best score coming out of the qualifier round will
cast last. In the event there is a tie within the top twenty
casters, higher position will be determined by longer recorded cast
in the distance portion of the qualifying round. The Women's
Division will cast first off the bridge.
ACCURACY:
Accuracy targets will be placed at varying distances both in the
water and on dry land. The course may be altered depending on
water conditions, but will remain set once the first caster has
begun. There will be five targets for accuracy. Each
angler will attempt three casts at each target. Each achieved
target results in one (1) point. When the fly lands within
and/or on the edge of a ring, it is considered an achieved
target. The first place the fly hits the water or ground will
be judged, not drifted and/or moved casts. If a cast
inadvertently touches land or water on a forward cast, known as a
"tick", it will result in a score or forfeiture of that cast.
Anglers can bail out to the back and regroup as long as time
permits (see timing below). There is a possibility of fifteen
(15) points in the accuracy casting.
TIMING & TOTAL SCORE:
Each angler will have one (1) minute to prepare (strip out line)
once he/she has stepped into the casting box. Anglers must
then place the fly back in his/her hand. Judge will clear the
clock and the angler will then have will then have two and a half
(2 ½) minutes to complete the three casts at all five accuracy
targets. When time expires, the caster will be considered
finished with the course and the score achieved when the clock
expires will be considered final. There is no "time-out" for
any reason, except for outside interference as determined by the
Organizers and/or appointed judge. There is a possibility of
fifteen (15) points in the semi-final round.
In the Men's Division, in the event there is a tie for eighth
(8th) place, qualifying round scores will determine
which angler moves on to the finals. In the Women's Division,
in the event there is a tie for second (2nd) place,
qualifying round scores will determine which angler moves on to the
finals. Men's and Women's totals from the semi-finals will be
evaluated based on overall score and not be gender based. In
the event there is a tie for any position within the top ten (10),
qualifying round scores will determine which position each angler
has going into the finals.
FISHING RULES
The finals of the 2 Fly X-Stream will be a head-to-head,
catch-and-release, float-fishing bonanza. All anglers are
responsible for obtaining their own fishing licenses. The
number one (1) ranked angler coming out of the semi-finals will
determine in which boat and position he/she wants to start.
The number two (2) ranked angler coming out of the semi-finals will
determine in which of the remaining boats and positions he/she
wants to start and so on. The number ten (10) ranked angler
does not have a boat or position choice (but at least he/she is
fishing)!
Anglers will be float fishing a short portion of the Eagle,
Roaring Fork, or Colorado River, but will cover the same water
twice. All five boats will launch in ten (10) minute
intervals. Each boat will have approximately three (3) to
four (4) hours on the water. The guides will be given a timer
and if the two (2) hour session is completely used, anglers must
store their gear and the guide must row directly to the take
out. A position switch, front-to-back, within each boat will
be made just prior to the boat launching for the second time.
Boats will launch from the boat ramp in the exact same order in
both rounds. However, boat position on the water may change
and does not have to remain in the same order. Two (2) hours
maximum is all the time anglers will have to fish each session.
All fishing is catch and release and must be done with barbless
hooks. Tandem rigs are allowed if an angler is bold enough to
tie on 33% of the flies he/she gets to fish for the whole day at
one time. Flies with multiple hooks (stingers) are not
allowed.
Anglers only get to use two (2) flies during the
competition. These flies can be of any type and any
size. Each angler is allowed to have only five (5) of the
exact same pattern. At minimum, the sixth fly must be of a
different color, size, etc. Each angler may have any
combination of the two patterns. Organizers or an appointed
judge will determine if all six (6) flies qualify as barbless
before leaving the boat ramp. Judges will also determine that
there are only two (2) patterns total represented in the anglers
allotted six (6) flies. Judges can ask for a fly inspection
at any point during the competition. An angler can continue
to fish for points after losing his/her fly until the sixth
(6th) one is lost. At that point any additional
fish caught will not go toward the final score. If the angler
in the front of the boat loses all 6 flies, he/she no longer
reserves the right to direct the boatman as to which side of the
river or the speed at which the boat will travel. In this
instance, there shall be no position switch, but the angler in the
back of the boat now directs the guide until the boat reaches the
take out or the maximum time allotted is used.
Each angler can have only one (1) rod strung for competition and
one (1) rod broken down in case of breakage. Anglers may
choose any rod weight and length with corresponding reels and lines
and the lines may be sinking or floating. Anglers may choose
any length and diameter of leader and/or tippet.
Only trout count in the competition. Each fish brought
into the boat and safely released counts as one (1) point.
Fish that are hooked and lost at any point during the landing
process do not count. A foul hooked fish does not count,
meaning the hook is anywhere but on the inside of the mouth. All
anglers must land their own fish without physical assistance from
boat partner or judge. Anglers may use their own nets,
although all must be determined as "fish safe" prior to the
beginning of the session. Anglers may use a net provided by
the judge/guide, but this must be determined before leaving the
boat ramp. Anglers should plan on bringing their own
nets. If an angler hooks a fish, but hasn't landed it before
the end of the fishing session, the angler is allowed to continue
and land the fish to score.
Each angler is allowed to measure ONLY ONE (1) fish during the
float for additional points based on overall length of the
fish. Length will be determined by the judge and verified by
the other angler in the boat. Length will be broken down to
the nearest ½ inch. Length is defined from nose tip to the
longest portion of the tail. Once a fish has been measured
for length, there will be no replacement of that number even if a
larger fish is caught. Anglers can only put ONE on the tape,
make sure it is the one you want to keep for your score!
The angler with the most points at the end of the float wins the
competition. Total points will include one (1) point for each
fish caught and points based on length for the one that was
measured for score. For example, Angler Number Three catches
four (4) fish total and decides to measure a twelve (12) inch
fish. Angler Number Three's total points would equal sixteen
(16). The second and third place finishers will also be
determined in the same manner. In the event of a tie in total
points, the angler with the larger recorded fish will win. In
the event of a tie in total points AND measured fish, the angler
with the higher seed coming out of the semi-final round will
win.
Additional prizes will be given to the angler with the single
largest fish recorded. This is based only on the length of
fish. In the event of a tie in length of measured fish, the
angler with more fish landed will win. In the event of a tie
in length of measured fish AND number of fish landed, the angler
with the higher seed/score coming out of the semi-final round will
win.