Qualifying Rules

1.  Each eve of competition in a Kingfish Cup qualifying event between 8pm-9pm a “signal” will be emailed & text to all competing team captains.  This “signal” will be some kind of hand gesture such as a #1 sign, an OK sign, a thumbs up…….. Then as you are fishing, when you catch a fish that you plan to weigh for Kingfish Cup points, you will need to take a picture of the Captain or Co-Captain holding the fish, AND they will have to be making the “signal” given to the captain the night before.  One last note, the fish MUST BE HOT.  The fish must be boated and picture taken immediately, as in less than 5 minutes, so that the fish is obviously hot and fresh from the water.  If a picture is taken of a fish, regardless of the hand signal’s presence, and the fish is not obviously fresh out of the water, that team will be subject to a polygraph.  Lastly, once a team has a cell signal capable of transmitting an image, they will text the picture of their weigh-fish to the event director at 910-367-2945.  Each team will have up until 1 hour after the last fish has been weighed to submit their required photograph.

   Thus, in summary, the combination of a photo showing the Captain or Co-Captain holding a fresh fish and unique hand signal guarantees the fish was caught on the boat and on the tournament day.  All the qualifying events have multiple eligible days of fishing, and as such, a new signal is sent each eve prior to fishing.  Every eligible fishing day has a unique hand signal.

   Trouble shooting:  In the event a team does not send a picture at all, they may be required to take a polygraph test from a polygraph examiner of the Kingfish Cup’s choosing at their own expense.  A 7 day window will be allowed for the team to take the exam and be cleared by the polygraph examiner.  If a picture is received that does not show the Captain or Co-Captain or a fresh fish, the Kingfish Cup has the option to require a polygraph.  The team will be required to take the polygraph exam on the qualifying event’s awards day, and if this exam is missed, the 7 day window rule stated above will apply and the exam will be at the cost of the team in question.

2. Each qualifying event has it's own rules.  Those rules apply to all participating in the qualifying event, regardless of the Kingfish Cup
3. Teams are not required to fish any set number of qualifying events.  Fish one or fish all four and amass a point total high enough to finish in the top 25 and you will receive an invite to the Championship.  There will be a provision whereby any Kingfish Cup team that wins a qualifying event will recieve an automatic invite to the Kingfish Cup Championship.
4. In an effort to insure honesty and integrity, all Kingfish Cup qualifying events will administer a mandatory polygraph test.
5. If any Kingfish Cup team is disqualified from a qualifying event, no points will be received for that event and the Kingfish Cup team will be subject to disqualification without refund and removed from contention for any future Kingfish Cup prize opportunities.  This decision is at the sole discretion of the Kingfish Cup committee
6. Any team that wishes to recieve points toward their qualifying total must:  a)  have AT A MINIMUM, EITHER the registered captain or registered co-captain on board the boat during competition.  ** If both the Captain and Co-Captain that are on the same Kingfish Cup team choose to fish the event on different boats, the boat with Kingfish Cup Captain will be the one who receives the points.
7. A Kingfish Cup team may fish whatever boat they choose, there are no limitations to changing equipment during the season.  However, they will need to maintain the registered team name when registering for Qualifying events.
8. The team that amasses the highest point total at the end of the four qualifying events will be awarded the "Team of the Year" trophy.
9. In the event of a points total tie at year-end, the team which has weighed the largest King during a qualifying event will recieve the higher position.