Sportcast USA Tournament Rules

Effective February 1, 2018


TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR

A Tournament Director shall be present at all Sportscast USA events and is in charge of all aspects of the tournament. The Tournament Director may appoint Officials to help with running the tournament.


EQUIPMENT

CONVENTIONAL TACKLE

Rod: There shall be no restriction upon length or on the material used in its construction.

Reel: No restrictions.

SPINNING TACKLE

Rod: There shall be no restriction upon length or on the material used in its construction.

Reel: No restrictions.

RUNNING LINE

The running line shall be made of high visibility monofilament material and be the same diameter throughout its entire length. The running line shall have the following minimum diameters:

SHOCK LINE

The shock line shall be made of high visibility monofilament material, be parallel throughout its entire length, and have the following minimum diameters:

OPTIONAL 8 OUNCE CATEGORY

CASTING WEIGHTS

Only official weights provided by Sportcast USA may be used in a tournament. The official weights are 100 gram, 125 gram, 150 gram, and 175 gram. The weights may not be altered in any way. There will be a nominal security deposit per weight on the day of the tournament. If the weights are returned the money will be refunded to the caster. If the weights and are not returned, the club keeps the money to purchase new weights. The weights must be in good condition to obtain a refund.

LINE CLIPS

An approved line clip must be used to attach the casting weight to the shock line.


CASTING RULES

The number of casters, daylight hours, and weather will determine the number of casts for an event. A stop casting time will be set at the beginning of the day. No cast will be made after that set time unless a new time is agreed on by all casters in tournament and the tournament director.

All casters and spectators will make every effort to safely execute casts and to help others be safe and promote safety at events.

It shall not be permitted to make any cast that is determined to be dangerous by the Tournament Director.

Event day practice will take place at the discretion of the Tournament Director.

Contestants may cast any official weight at anytime during a tournament. One or two ounce weights shall be supplied for children under age six by their parents.

Each caster will be given a number and a set of flags for marking the cast.

There shall be at least eight turns of the shock line around the spool before any cast is attempted.

Casting shall take place in the following order:

A caster will be called to cast by an Official and must be ready to cast when called. Casters that arrive late to cast or miss their turn will be permitted to cast only at the discretion of the tournament director. All casters shall cast forward from behind the base line in a designated area. No caster shall pass this base line while in the act of casting and until the casting weight has landed on the ground. A caster has fouled when any portion of his/her body touches the ground ahead of the base line and the cast will not be measured.

All break-offs will be recorded by the Tournament Director and must be retrieved by the caster and given to the Tournament Director before the start of the next round. Any caster who fails to find and return their break-off will not, at the discretion of the Tournament Director, be permitted to cast again until the break- off is found and returned to the Tournament Director. After a cast is completed, a caster must place his/her rod in a designated area set aside by the Tournament Director until the round is over.

Retrieving weights shall be in the reverse order of casting and shall be accomplished by reeling while walking out to the weight. Marking the distance shall be accomplished by the caster placing the appropriate flag at the point where the weight penetrated the ground. If the sinker has not penetrated the ground the flag shall be placed where the sinker lies on the ground. All flags must be marked with the caster’s number, weight, type of reel (C for Conventional or S for Spinning) and casting style (PEN for Pendulum, OTG for Off the Ground, and BC for Back Cast). If the style of cast and/or reel type is not indicated on the flag then the recorder of distance shall mark the reel type as Conventional (C) and style as PEN. No one except casters and officials are permitted on the field while the weights are being retrieved.


CASTING COURT

A thirty degree casting court will be used at all tournaments. The casting court shall be laid out in the following manner:

A base pin (oche) shall be driven in the ground and center line markers will be placed at every hundred feet out to eight hundred feet. From this pin, sidelines markers will be placed fifteen degrees to the left and right of the centerline every hundred feet out to eight hundred feet.

A four foot base line will centered on the Oche and the caster must remain behind this line during the cast.

There shall be a safety zone established in back of the base line. This zone shall be one hundred feet deep. No person or vehicle shall be allowed in the safety zone and within 15 feet of the left side of the center line in the back of the base line except the caster.

There will be a designated parking and activity area at all casting tournaments.

MEASUREMENT OF CASTS

No one except the officials is permitted on the field while the measurements are taking place.

A steel or fiberglass tape or a laser measuring device shall be used to measureall casts. Officials shall record the caster number, weight size, type of reel, style of cast and distance on the appropriate chart. Out of bounds cast do not count and will not be recorded. In the event of a tie, each caster in the tie shall make one cast with the longest declared the winner.


DISTANCE CLASSES

MEN:

WOMEN:

AGE CLASSES