The Biggun Carp Cup – Pairs (Linear League)

All of the The Biggun Carp Cup Competition Rules apply, along with:

DEFINITION
Organiser: Norbert Szaller – The Biggun Carp Cup
Officials Any person appointed as such by the organisers.
Competitor: Any angler accepted for entry into the tournament by the organisers.

• The Organisers are The Biggun Carp Cup management who have absolute control and discretion over the competition, the rules and any amendments thereto.

• To enter the competition please book on our website. Full payment required of £320.00 for the The Biggun Carp Cup – Hardwick & Smiths (Linear League 2025 – Pairs Event) Tickets can be purchased directly from our website.
www.thebigguncarpcup.co.uk

In case of cancellation, payments are refundable up to 3 months (90 days) prior to the event.

The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry, cancel or change the dates and or venues of any event at their discretion.

• Each competitor is required to register and attend at the watercraft style of draw on Friday morning (15th of August @ 8am), See main rules 10 and 11.
Any pair not having at least one member present at the start of the draw will be excluded from the draw and may be excluded from the competition and will only be allowed to take up a remaining swim. No refunds will be given for exclusion for any reason.

1. Runners will be allowed as per lake rules. Runners must also sign in and be introduced to event organiser at this time. Once the runner has been registered they cannot be changed for the duration of the match. The runner is only allowed to help out generally by fetching, carrying, cooking and making drinks etc. They are not allowed to touch anything fishing related when on the peg. They are however allowed to help the organiser or official weigh and return fish and also sign their teams catch sheets. If in doubt ask the organisers as penalties will be incurred if caught breaking this rule. Anyone caught fishing with an unregistered runner will receive an instant yellow card. It is your responsibility to make sure your runner is registered.

2. The allocation of swims will be by way of a watercraft draw, whereby the first pair to be drawn shall have first choice of swim. The second name drawn shall have second choice and the draw will continue until the last pair has been drawn and has been allocated the last remaining swim.

3. The decision of the draw master is final. Once a swim number has been stated to the competitors this will not be changed under any circumstances.

4. Fishing will be from 11AM Friday to 9AM Sunday. There will be a set up period of 1 hour from 9AM – 10AM, also a baiting and marking period from 10AM – 11AM.

5. At the sound of the first horn (10AM) competitors may commence plumbing and baiting of the swims. Upon hearing the horn sound a second time (11AM), anglers may cast in their baited hooks.

6. There will be no baiting up by any means other than hand/throwing stick/bait rocket/spod/spomb/method or catapult and this must be done within the confines of the peg area. Free Baits may be attached by PVA to the rig. Walking down the bank, wading or swimming to bait up will not be permitted.

7. Competitors will be permitted to use a maximum of six rods per pair unless otherwise stated by the organisers and must cast and bait their own rods, and play/ land their own fish. No assistance shall be allowed from any person other than a member of that competitors pair. In the event that an angler is fishing the event on his / her own, they will only be permitted to use the usual number of rods permitted for that venue.

8. Each team shall be permitted to use up to six rods and baited hooks in the water at any time and have a further two rods per pair in reserve set up and ready to use.

9. Two plumbing and two spod rods per pair are allowed in addition to the baited rods. Once used, plumbing and spod rod lines must be removed form the water. Unethical used of the spod / marker line may result in disqualification or penalty. Rules vary for Singles Competitions

10. Any team using more than the authorised number of baited rods will be immediately disqualified from the competition.

11. Boats and remote control bait boats are prohibited along with extending baiting spoon/pole kits. However, Deepers are allowed to be used!

12. At each round the match will be decided on the basis of 5 best fish of each team, which will be weighed i
n pounds/kilograms. A marshal and a competitor on the left of each team must be present at each weighting of the first 5 fish and then only return for further weighting if a larger carp is caught. Please do not expect the marshal to weigh nets full of fish, this takes up too much time. You are responsible for sorting out your fish prior to arrival if there are multiple catches.

13. Rules of weighing
a; During the time of the competition, the organisers provide continuous weighing.
b; Competitors must actively cooperate in the weighing process, taking photos, and data collection. The weighing process may be suspended in justified cases when playing and landing another fish.
c; In case a fish is caught, competitors shall send a message on WhatsApp with the word “Fish” and the number of the peg/section to the marshal designated for the given sector. If there is no response within 5 mins please also do call the designated marshal.
d; From the moment the fish is caught until weighing, the fish shall be kept in floating weigh slings, in at least 1 m deep water.
e; Weighing can be done only by the marshal using the scale provided by the organiser and presented to the teams, otherwise the fish cannot be taken into account in the results.
f; One member of the given team or the team’s assistant & the marshal/s will verify and sign two documents to confirm.
g; The documentation of weighing (time of catch, name of competitor, weight of fish caught) shall be signed and certified by one of the team members.
h; It is the competitors’ responsibility to check the accuracy of the data included in the documentation. All weighing will be done on a zeroed weigh sling, this is more accurate than deducting the weight of the sling after. The marshal will put the empty sling onto scales, set them to zero, insert fish into the sling and then weigh, this will be repeated on every fish to ensure the sling is at zero each time.
i; After official weighing, a photo will be taken of each fish in the following way. One of the competitors holds the fish in his hand, while the competitor sitting next to him holds the sector plate.
j; After taking photos, the fish shall be released in the presence of the marshal.
k; The documentation may be modified only if it is countersigned by a marshal with an explanation of the error.
l; In case of discrepancies between the data in the possession of the competitor on the one hand, and that of the marshal on the other hand, the data of the marshal will be deemed valid.
m; After completion of the weighing process, the marshal will send written documentation and photos to the central office of the organisation to be registered.

14. Each fish must be witnessed by the competitor from another pair/videographer and by a Marshal.

15. Each fish must be weighed .

16. To prevent cheating, do not return fish to the water before they have been photographed and allow further 10 minutes once the weight of the fish has been reported to the organiser. Weight may be occasionally double checked by the organisers or other officials.

17. Any photograph must include the TBCC Peg Boards with weight, fish and captor.

18. If the result is tied the angler catching the biggest fish will be declared the winner. If there is still a tied position then the “fastest fish” rule applies and the angler that landed the fish first will be declared the winner.

19. All stocked carp in any venue count provided they weigh 5lb and over including Leather, Common, Mirror, Grass, Koi, Ghost and any other variations.

20. At each round the first, second and third places are receiving medals.
The heaviest 5 fish from each round can be added to the Linear League Table or substitute any existing smaller fish on the Table. The overall weight of the 5 heaviest fish throughout 8 rounds makes the first 15 pairs to qualify to the Final. The positions within the league following Round 8 will dictate the order of the draw in the final. If a pair is at 3rd place on the scoreboard following Round 8 then that pair will be the 3rd pair selecting their choice of swims at the draw in Final. Watercraft style of draw in the final.

21. There will be a new scoresheet in the final, the overall weight of the heaviest 5 fish per pair will decide the winners.
A Trophy will be given at the final to the Linear Champions, runner up and third places.

There is a cash prizes of £10000.00 for the champions. Runner up will receive £2000.00 and the third places will get £1000.00
All prizes are payable at the award ceremony of the final by direct bank transfer.

22. Fishery rules take precedent followed by TBCC rules as with all our events. Competitors entering the competition are doing so on the understanding that they have read both fishery and TBCC rules before taking part. Ignorance of the rules will not be accepted as an excuse and penalties will be issued for any rule breaking.

23. Total respect must be shown to officials at all times. Any arguing, rude or threatening behaviour will result in immediate disqualification and a lifetime ban from our competitions.

24. A yellow card offence is for a misdemeanour, which will be determined by organiser and will carry through the whole competition. First yellow card – 4 hours penalty (all fishing activities shall be suspended!) The 4 hours penalty is applicable to both members of the pair!

Any of the following offences will lead to a 4-hour suspension of angling. (yellow card)

a; One member of the given team or the team’s assistant, the marshal, and one helper of the neighbouring team or if there is no helper, then one active team member to validate the catch, shall be present when weighing the fish. If, at the request of the marshal, the neighbouring team are not willing to accredit the catch by their presence and signature.

b; Wading over two rod lengths from your rod location, in any direction.

c; The fish shall be played without disturbing the neighbouring teams, as far as this is possible! In case of a repeated crossing the boundaries the penalties will be put in place.

d: Any other violation of the competition rules, or of fish or environmental protection rules.

e; i; The penalty starts after taking out the last rod. During the penalty it is not allowed to fish and to feed!

A red card offence is an immediate disqualification from the whole contest and is due to serious rule breaking as determined by organiser. Depending on the seriousness of the offence it may carry a lifetime ban. 2 yellows equal a red.

a; Fish mortality or fish mutilation caused directly by deliberate acts.
b; Any attempt to bribe the marshals or their assistants, if the team tries to deceive the marshal and if the team attempts any kind of fraud at the weighing.
c; Any attempt to include a fish not caught by them or trying to weigh one fish more than once.
d; Fish not caught by hook or caught by a rod with more than one hook.
e; If the marshal notices that more than the allowed number of rods have been used by one team.
f; If a member of the team continually insults another person, behaves aggressively towards another person or causes wilful damage to public or private property during the competition.
g; Any Team to break a rule of the lake will be dealt with under the discrection of the lake owner, this could lead to a yellow card, a ban from fishing the rest of an event or full disqualification, it depends on the severity of the rule break and up to the discrection of the lake owner. Lake rules take priority over our rule and we need to abide by a lake owners decision if a rule is broken.
j; baiting up from outside of the designated swims from the pair’s section.

25. All competitors must be in possession of the relevant Environment Agency Rod Licence(s) which may be checked at registration. Anyone not producing a rod licence upon request will be excluded from the competition and will forfeit all entry fees. In the event of us not checking anyone caught fishing without one will get an instant red card. This action, if deemed suitable may result in a life time ban from our competitions. If asked we would not withhold your name from social media and otherwise.

26. Each competitor must set up his/her rods and accommodation within the boundaries authorised by the officials. All angling activities apart from the use of distance sticks must be done within the peg area. Competitors must not cast outside the limits of their swim, such limit to be marked by an imaginary line marking the middle distance between his and his neighbours peg marker. Any disputes as to the competitors casting outside the area must be reported immediately to the organiser. Organiser have the discretion to request that competitors re-cast their rods as and when directed and such request must be complied with.

27. All lines must be cast into the water from the designated peg area using a fishing rod and reel.

28. Each line may only have one hook attached. For conservation purposes the organisers request that barbless or micro-barb hooks are used. Fishery rules apply in this regard unless otherwise stated.

29. For a fish to count in the competition it must have been hooked squarely in the mouth or within 2 cm of the mouth. Foul hooked fish will be excluded and shall be returned to the water unregistered.

30. All fish must be landed within the peg area to count towards your weight. Competitors are not permitted to wade or walk down the bank to land fish. Entering the water to a maximum distance of 1 x 12ft rod length from centre of peg is not considered to be wading. But fishery rules must allow this.

31. Competitors are required to possess their own retaining slings as in the event of a multiple captures, slings will be required to hold fish until weighing. They will not be provided by the organisers.

32. Should a match need to be cut short for reasons beyond our control the following will apply. If the match is over half way through then the result at the time will stand. If the match is less than halfway through then there will be a cast off to determine 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.

33. Zig Rigs – If allowed by the fishery, are only to be generally accepted baits. If you wish to use anything out of the ordinary, please check with us first or any fish caught may not count. By generally accepted baits we are talking about rig foam, zig bugs, trimmed down pop ups or popped up maggots/castors.

34. The sounding of a horn will signify the end of each competition whereupon competitors must immediately withdraw their lines from the water.

35. Any fish hooked before the final horn sounds must be landed within 10 minutes of the end of the competition or it will be excluded from the final results.

36. One week prior to the Final, non of the qualifying pairs are allowed fishing at St Johns  Lake! Will be checked and if anyone found breaking this rule will be disqualified!

37. Usage of Magic Twig rigs are subject to the fishery rules.

38. If any competitor wants to make a complaint about the conduct or practice of another competitor they must do so to the organisers within 30 mins of any alleged infringement taking place. Any competitor wishing to challenge the results of an event or a decision made by the organisers at the event must do so within 1 hour of the end of the competition and must make a formal written challenge to info@thebigguncarpcup.co.uk within 24 hours of the event concluding. The result will be provisional until the outcome is decided. The result will be notified to all concerned parties asap.

39. Competitors must comply with requests from authorised media members at all times regarding media coverage.

40. Liability
a; The organisers are not responsible for accidents or damage to the equipment, its use is solely the responsibility of competitors. On the occurrence of damage or accident, the terms and conditions of accident and liability that are signed in the registration are valid.
b; By signing the registration form, the competitor acknowledges the risks and that the organisers do not hold responsibility resulting from the deviation of the rules.
c; The organisers nor the venue hold any responsibility for any accident or death to a person, it is the competitors responsibility to take adequate insurance to cover them for any accidents that may happen during the event.

41. Final provisions
We have tried to cover all eventualities that could occur during a competition, ultimately if the head marshal sees anything not within our rules he has the right to implement a decision based on common sense. This will only be done with the decision decided by jury and enough warnings will be given to not hinder a competitors chance of winning the competition, all competitors agree that they will retain integrity of these rules throughout the competition and will abide by any decision made.