Derby will begin at 6 a.m. and all fish must be checked-in to measure station by 6 p.m. each day. The Derby will take place on August 10th and 11th from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. No lines in the water outside of these hours. Cell phone time will be used as the official Derby timeclock with the weigh-in official’s time deemed final.

All Derby participants shall have in their possession a valid California sport fishing license and use only legally allowable rod and reel sport fishing tactics. No commercial fishermen using commercial fishing gear and/or tactics or divers will be allowed to participate in the Derby.

All Derby participants must sign a waiver releasing event organizers, sponsors, and The Santa Cruz Harbormaster’s Office from any and all liability. Participants must also sign a waiver giving event organizers permission to use pictures, videos, name, and likenesses in the promotion of future Doormat Derbies and affiliated events.

Event cancellation due to extreme water and/or weather conditions is at the sole discretion of event organizers. In the event of a cancellation, registered participants will be notified of cancellation by email.

In the event of a cancellation, there will be NO REFUNDS. A raffle will be drawn to award prize money among all registered participants and separate drawing for the Jackpot money among Jackpot participants only. All prizes will be retained by organizers and awarded at next year’s Derby.

Fish will be measured at official measure-in station located in front of Bayside Marine. Fish will be measured with mouth closed and touching the tip of the measuring tape, to the end of longest point of tail. Derby official’s measurement is final and any disputes will result in full disqualification from event. In the event of a tie for any of the money winning positions, a width measurement will determine the winners. In the event a tie is still in place, the final tie-breaker will be which angler measured their fish in the earliest.

An awards presentation and raffle drawing will take place at Bayside Marine on Sunday, August 11th. Anglers must be present to claim award money, prizes, and raffle items, with no exceptions. All unclaimed money and prizes will be retained and become the property of event organizers.

Pay structure is as follows: 70% of all registration fees will be paid out to the top 3 finishers of the derby in cash. 60% for 1st place, 30% for 2nd place, 10% for 3rd place. Any additional money that was not needed to cover the costs of putting on the Derby will be used to purchase raffle prizes and allocated to the top finishing anglers’ prize money. 100% of the Jackpot payout will be awarded to the single longest fish among Jackpot participants. A rod and reel combo along will be awarded to the Junior Derby winner. Raffle prizes will be determined by sponsor participation and presented to randomly drawn Derby participants.

All participants may pick up a Derby participation bag at the measure in station. Any fish that appears to be anything but freshly caught, will be disqualified and is at the sole discretion of Derby officials. Disputes will result in full disqualification from event and any cheating will disqualify anglers from the current and any future Derby events. Also any cheating will be reported to CDFW and is against California law in tournaments where money is awarded. DON’T DO IT!

Only legally allowable rod and reel sport fishing methods may be used in he Doormat Derby. That is a two fish limit and a 22” minimum length. Unlimited rods may be fished by participating anglers. Qualifying fish must be caught completely by a single participating angler. Rod hand-offs are not allowed, combining fish amongst participating anglers is not allowed. Divers using spearfishing tactics are not allowed. The gaffing or netting of qualifying fish is permitted by any crewmember. Officials will be on the water at several locations and observing participating boats from a distance. Any violation will result in a full disqualification from event for all participants aboard the vessel.

All vessels are permitted to participate in the Derby. Included but not limited to kayaks, private vessels, and chartered vessels, provided that all crewmembers are registered Derby participants. Exemptions are made for Captains and non-fishing crewmembers of chartered vessels, and one allowable non-fishing crewmember for solo Derby participants if needed to assist in landing of fish.