The Rules listed below are the overall rules for the NOWT.  Click this link for:

NOWT Tournament Rules 2024

Eligibility

  • The Northern Ontario Walleye Trail (NOWT) is a circuit which allocates points, based on finishes from six tournaments, and uses these points to determine an “Angler of the Year”.
  • The directors of the NOWT retain the right to change and or amend these rules at their discretion without prior notification. The final approved NOWT rules are posted in this NOWT Tournament Rules 2024 link and above.
  • The NOWT, its promoters, employees, sponsors, organizers, hosts, Directors, Officers and affiliated organizations assisting the operations of any of the tournaments, their agents and/or agents and assigns are not responsible for any death, injury, damage, liability, fire, theft or loss that may result prior to, during or after the Tournaments howsoever caused. ALL COMPETITORS MUST SIGN THE ENTRY AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THE WAIVER OF CLAIM, RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT of the NOWT.
  • Competitors must be a minimum of eighteen (18) years of age unless they have the permission of their parents or guardians. All participants under the age of 18 will require a WAIVER OF CLAIM, RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT signed by their parents or guardians.
  • Participants are responsible for registering and paying the entry fees of the individual tournaments on their own. The NOWT does not have spots guaranteed for their anglers, therefore early registration is recommended.
  • NOWT memberships, prizes and points are based on an individual basis.

Entry Fee

  • Entry fees are determined by each individual tournament on the trail
  • Anglers become members of the NOWT during  the season once they fish one sanctioned NOWT event.  NOWT angler/membership fee per event is $25 per team
  • This circuit is created and operated by anglers for the betterment of tournament angling in Northern Ontario.

Code of Conduct

  • Anglers attending the various tournaments will be representing the NOWT and it is expected that the anglers act in a professional manner.
  • NOWT anglers are expected to be aware of and respect the rules of individual tournaments throughout the circuit. There are differences in rules among the six events so it is recommended that anglers take the time to carefully read the rules prior to participating.
  • We expect all NOWT anglers to take the utmost care with their fish to ensure a safe return to the lake.
  • Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, particularly with regard to boating and fishing in the vicinity of non-competitors.
  • All competitors must practice safe boating at all times during practice and tournament fishing.
  • Violations in the NOWT code of conduct or an individual tournament violation may result in the immediate disqualification of the angler from the NOWT.
  • Any disqualification of an angler from the NOWT will be made via a majority vote of the Board of Directors. These decisions are final and no reimbursement of any fees will be made.

Angler of the Year Point Allocation

  • Anglers are awarded points at each of the six events. The angler who gains the most points from their top three tournaments will be crowned NOWT angler of the year.
  • New points system is calculated as follows (1 – (team placing / size of field)) x 100.
    • Example: the first place team of a 55 team event is as follows  (1 – (1/55)) x 100 = 98.182 points.
    • Same example with 115 teams would be (1 – (1/115)) x 100 = 99.130 points.
  • 10 bonus points will be given to each team that launches at least 1 day.  This means a team finishing last will get 10 points for their participation. Disqualification from tournament due to rule violation results in 0 points.
  • Only points gained in the anglers top three finishes among the six events will be used to determine the “Angler of the Year” points.
  • Should two or more anglers tie at the end of the year for “Angler of the Year” the rankings will be determined by their fourth best event. If this does not break the tie the fifth tournament rank will be used and so on using all seven events.  If this does not break the tie the anglers will be deemed to be co-“Anglers of the Year” and evenly split any prize money.

Prize Allocations

  • Each registered angler of an NOWT event is eligible to win NOWT prizes and the “Angler of the Year” title.