An entrant must show his or her validated ticket at the time of weighing in of fish. Entrants must sign the official weigh-in ticket. All fish may be opened and checked. All fish weighing 16 pounds or more or those eligible for placement in the top ten heaviest fish will be checked by a derby judge. If a snag mark is found on any fish, that fish may be entered in the derby for the purposes of contributing to the Fish Enhancement Fund, but is not eligible for any prizes. Any evidence of fish tampering will result in permanent disqualification. Adult participants weighing fish must possess a valid ADF&G sport fishing license. DERBY RULES & DECISIONS Judges shall be appointed by the Seward Chamber and contacted as needed by the chamber employee on site at derby headquarters. Weigh-in officials are volunteers coordinated by the Chamber. The derby judges’ decision(s) and rules of the derby herein described shall be considered final and binding upon both participant and sponsor(s), except that the Seward Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has the power to make decisions in all matters pertaining to the derby, including eligibility, weights, time limits, fishing limits, right to receive awards and all matters relative to participation in and conduct of the derby. Judges may disqualify a fish or angler for any reason and decisions of judges on all matters pertaining to this contest shall be final. Should there be doubt as to the weigh-in official or judge’s decision regarding whether or not an entrant’s fish is a silver salmon, it will be weighed in and an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist will render the decision. If it is not a silver salmon, it will be disqualified. PRIZES With the exception of tagged fish, all prizes will be awarded within 10 days of the close of the derby. Prizes are based on weight of fish at time of entry. Ties for any place will be broken by the flip of a coin. The loser will be entitled to the next prize in line. Those entrants awarded a total of $600 or more from all awarded categories must complete IRS paperwork prior to receiving their prize(s). (See “taxes” below.) No merchandise prizes may be redeemed for cash. No prizes may be exchanged. Winners need not be present to win, although all prizes must be claimed in Seward within 30 days after the prize list is made public by the Seward Chamber of Commerce. Final prize list is binding and no other prize lists are valid. All unclaimed prizes become the property of the Seward Chamber of Commerce. The value shown on the prize list is set by the sponsors. The Seward Chamber will not be responsible if any prize proves to be of less value than what is shown in the sponsor’s estimates. TAGGED FISH A total of one tagged fish qualifies for a $50,000 cash prize. Other tagged prizes are assigned randomly, using a double-blind method. The associated value of each fish tag is not known until the entrant opens the sealed envelope that corresponds to the tag number caught. All tagged fish caught will be worth at least $100 if presented to a derby official for verification prior to the start of the derby or through Sept. 30, 2016. Envelopes for tag numbers caught prior to the derby, caught by non-entrants, or disqualified from the derby will not be opened. DAILY PRIZES Various daily prizes are offered for men, women and youth. Daily prizes are awarded based on weight or randomly, depending on the conditions associated with the specific prize. Each fish entered increases a participant’s chances to win the daily random drawing, which is drawn from the weigh-in tickets turned in each day. TAXES Any taxes on cash or other prizes are the responsibility of the individual winner. Certain prize winners will be asked to provide their tax identification number on an official IRS form. Failure to do so will result in the Chamber involuntarily withholding 30 percent of the prize amount prior to award as per federal income tax regulations. WAIVER OF LIABILITY The purchase of a derby ticket constitutes a waiver of liability absolving the Seward Chamber of Commerce, its officers, directors, staff, and sponsors of any and all damages or liability, which may occur after entering the derby. Contact the Seward Chamber of Commerce, CVB for more information 907 224-8051.
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