Race information and rules.

a. Official name of the competition: BIG5Challenge (“competition”, “B5Ch”).

b. Number of teams: 26, each team must have at least 2 and at most 3 anglers.

c. Each team may fish with 4 rods.

d. Competition type: carp competition for the 5 heaviest fish.

e. Scoring fish: carp and grass carp (amur) from 4 kg.

f. Rigs may be taken out using a maximum of two boats per team, or one boat and one remote-controlled bait boat.

g. Entry fee: EUR 1,600.

h. Total prize value: more than EUR 32,000.

i. Competition time: 3 Oct 2027 17:00 – 09 Oct 2027 09:00.

j. On-site registration: 3 Oct 2027 09:00 – 11:30.

k. Venue: Union fishery 411 033 – KAČÁK 4 (Turyňský rybník).

l. Opening ceremony: Restaurant RACEK, Srby 23, Tuchlovice 273 02.

m. Official website: www.big5challenge.cz

n. Official Facebook: www.fb.com/big5challenge

o. Official Instagram: www.instagram.com/big5challenge

p. Official YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/big5challenge

a. Registration of competition teams will take place online in two phases on the official event website.

1. From 1 November to 30 November 2026, private registration for participants of the 2026 edition.

2. From 1 December 2026, public registration for other interested teams.

b. Payment of the first part of the entry fee in the amount of 800 EUR.

1. Teams with priority registration rights must pay the first instalment by 30 November 2026 upon receipt of the payment request. Otherwise they lose their priority.

2. Teams entering through public registration must pay the first instalment within 10 days of registration, as set out in the payment request.

c. The remaining EUR 800 must be paid by 30 June 2027, as set out in the payment request.

d. Competitor registration before the start of the event: 3.10.2027 9:00 – 11:30.

e. Group photo of all participants: 3.10.2027 11:45 – 12:00.

f. Opening ceremony and peg draw: 3.10.2027 12:00 – 13:00.

g. Transfer of teams to fishing pegs: 3.10.2027 from 13:00.

h. Start of the competition: 3.10.2027 at 17:00.

i. End of the competition: 9.10.2027 at 9:00.

j. Closing ceremony, announcement of winners and prize giving: 9.10.2027 at 13:00.

k. Deregistration of teams from the competition: 9.10.2027 14:00 – 15:00.

a. Only 2–3-member teams can register for the competition.

b. Each team member must be over 18. In a three-person team, one member may be a minor, for whom the team captain assumes full responsibility.

c. At least two members must hold a valid fishing licence and permit valid for the Central Bohemian Angling Union area.

d. If a competitor does not hold a fishing permit, the organizer can arrange a guest permit on request for a fee of EUR 40.

e. The entry fee for the competition is EUR 1,600 per team.

f. Registration is done electronically via the form on the official website. A confirmation of successful registration will appear after submission.

g. In accordance with the schedule and in order of entry, teams will be notified by email and asked to pay the first instalment of EUR 800. If payment is late, the entry will be cancelled and the place offered to the next team in order of entry.

h. After payment of the first part, the team will appear on the official start list.

i. The remaining EUR 800 must be paid by 30 June 2027. If it is not paid on time, the team will be removed from the competition and the place offered to the next team in order of entry. The first instalment will be refunded less a EUR 60 administration fee.

j. If a team withdraws after 30 June 2027, the entry fee will be refunded less a EUR 800 administration fee. If the team finds a replacement team that pays the full entry fee, the withdrawing team will be refunded the full amount it paid.

k. Team name or composition changes are allowed until 15 September 2027.

a. Registration will take place according to the competition schedule (see section 2).

b. All team members must be present for both registration and check-out after the competition.

c. During registration, each participant’s identity and validity of their fishing licence and permit will be verified.

d. Every participant must sign the registration form in person, confirming that they have read and accepted the rules, will follow the referees’ decisions and consent to publication of audiovisual recordings made during the competition.

e. During registration, one team member will draw a number determining the order in which the team will draw its peg.

f. If a team does not appear in full composition at the registration within the given time, it loses the right to participate without any refund of the entry fee.

g. Each team must pay a cash deposit of EUR 240 for the GPS units during registration.

h. The deposit will be refunded during check-out upon return of the GPS units.

a. The entire course of the competition will be supervised by the head referee.

b. During the event, three pairs of referees will be available to weigh the catches.

a. The water area will be divided into two competition sectors.

b. Each sector will contain 13 fishing pegs.

c. Each peg will be defined by four GPS points provided to the teams after the draw.

d. Boundary GPS points will be marked only on the bank. The organizer will not mark them on the water. Teams may mark these points with their own marker poles. A GPS tolerance of 10 m is allowed for placing the marker poles during the first hour after the start.

e. Boats and bait boats may move, and teams may survey, bait, place rigs and play fish, only within the area defined by the four GPS points.

f. Each team will receive a GPS point for its base, marked on the bank by a sign bearing the peg number. The base may only be set up within 15 m of that point.

g. Each team must keep its peg clean and put all waste, including cigarette butts, into plastic bags. After the competition it must remove the bags from the peg and hand them to the organizer for disposal.

h. Team members must use the portable toilets provided around the venue by the organizer, or their own chemical toilets, for bowel movements.

i. Open fires are strictly prohibited. Gas stoves and grills are allowed.

j. Parking vehicles at fishing spots is forbidden. After unloading, vehicles must be parked in designated areas.

k. Only team members and organizers may stay at the peg. Visitors are allowed only from dawn to dusk.

l. Participants must not obstruct the organizers or passers-by on roads and footpaths around the venue.

m. Dogs are allowed at the peg provided they do not disturb other participants, organizers or passers-by.

n. Peg drawing will take place in two rounds.

o. During registration, a designated team representative draws the order in which the team will be called to the draw at the opening ceremony.

p. During the opening ceremony, a designated team representative draws the team's specific fishing peg (PEG).

q. Drawn pegs cannot be exchanged or returned.

a. Teams fish with four rods. Each rod may carry only one safety rig with one hooklink and one single hook; barbed hooks are permitted. Braided main lines are allowed if a monofilament shock leader of at least 10 m is used from the terminal rig.

b. Rigs may be placed only within the four GPS points defining the peg. The head referee will inspect the rigs of teams selected by lot each day.

c. Backleads must be used on all rods.

d. The bait must be placed separately from the hook.

e. Except for in-line leads, the use of lead weights is prohibited.

f. Only boilies and pellets may be used as bait or feed. The use of live bait or particle feed is forbidden. Coating pastes and powder dips are allowed.

g. The total amount of bait is limited to 60 kg per team for the entire event. This will be checked during the peg handover.

h. Feeding is allowed only from a boat or with a throwing stick. Spombing is strictly forbidden!

i. At least one team member holding both a valid fishing licence and a fishing permit valid for the Central Bohemian Regional Association must always be present on the bank.

j. Fishing is non-stop with approval from the Czech Fishing Union.

k. Each team member with a fishing permit must record attendance in the permit and make a new entry every day at midnight, in accordance with the current Czech Fishing Union rules.

l. A team member without a valid permit may not actively fish or enter the boat.

m. Each team may mark its fishing area on the water with no more than two marker poles, which must be removed after the competition.

n. As soon as a fish is landed, the referee must be contacted to weigh and photograph it. The rod may only be taken out by boat or cast again after the fish has been released under the referee's supervision.

o. A catch may be retained only in a floating sling and only for as long as necessary until the referee arrives. Each team must have two floating slings, which will be checked at peg handover.

p. Weighing will take place 24 hours a day.

q. Placing a rig immediately after landing a fish is a breach of the rules and is penalized with a yellow card (six-hour fishing ban).

r. A fish hooked before the end must be reported immediately to the sector referee and landed and presented for weighing within 15 minutes of the end.

a. An inflatable fishing boat or a remote-controlled bait boat may be used to take rigs out during the competition.

b. Each team may have at most two boats, or one boat and one remote-controlled bait boat.

c. Boat length must be between 220 cm and 350 cm.

d. Only electric motors or oars are allowed (combustion engines are prohibited).

e. Each boat or bait boat must have one light visible from all sides, or two lights mounted on the right and left sides. The lights must be on from dusk to dawn.

f. Each boat must carry a tow rope at least 5 m long, a container for bailing water, a mat to bring the catch safely ashore, and a small grapnel to free a snagged fish.

g. Every team member authorized to fish must have a life jacket available. Competitors decide whether to wear it on the boat. The organizer may require life jackets depending on current weather conditions. Waders are allowed on boats.

h. Before the start, boats and mandatory equipment will be inspected at each team's peg. Teams whose boats do not meet the requirements will not be allowed to take rigs out.

i. During inspection, the head referee will install a GPS tracker in each approved boat to monitor its movement throughout the competition. A tracker will also be installed on any bait boat; the bait boat must be designed to accommodate it or it will not be permitted. Any interference that compromises the tracker’s operation is a serious breach and results in immediate disqualification and annulment of all results achieved by the team.

j. Boats may move only within the peg while placing rigs, baiting and playing fish. Crossing any boundary defined by the four GPS points is a breach and results in a yellow card (six-hour fishing ban). A repeated breach results in disqualification and annulment of all results achieved by the team.

k. Boats may only enter the water after the competition begins. Violations = yellow card.

l. Unused boats must be safely anchored at the bank.

m. The competition management may ban the use of boats in adverse weather.

a. The organizer will provide 24/7 weighing of fish during the competition.

b. All team members must actively cooperate during weighing and photographing.

c. After landing a fish, the team must immediately contact its assigned referee.

d. The catch must be kept in a floating sling until the referee arrives.

e. If a team calls the referee to weigh a fish that does not score or is too light to replace one already recorded, a repeat of this breach means its next scoring fish will not count.

f. Each team must have a weighing tripod and a cradle-style unhooking mat on the bank. Both are checked during boat inspection.

g. Weighing is carried out using the organizer’s scales and sling.

h. At least one referee, one member of the team and one member of a neighbouring team must be present at the weighing. The team having its catch weighed must arrange for the neighbour's representative before the referee arrives.

i. After weighing, the referee documents the catch and submits it online to the catch recording system.

j. The team will receive an email notification for every recorded fish.

k. The catch is also entered on the catch sheet and signed by the referee, the angler who caught it and the neighbouring team member.

l. After weighing, the fish is to be released immediately and safely under the marshal’s supervision.

a. Only CARP and GRASS CARP from 4 kg count.

b. The overall winner is the team with the highest total weight of its best 5 scoring fish.

c. If there is a tie, the heaviest single fish decides.

d. If still tied, the team that caught this fish earlier wins.

The total value of cash awards, prizes in kind and vouchers will exceed EUR 32,000.

a. Overall ranking – teams placed 1st–3rd are not eligible for sector prizes.

1st place: EUR 9,200, prizes in kind, trophies and certificates.

2nd place: EUR 4,200, prizes in kind, trophies and certificates.

3rd place: EUR 2,200, prizes in kind, trophies and certificates.

b. Sector prizes:

  1st place: EUR 1,800 + sector sponsor voucher + cups + diplomas

2nd place: sector sponsor voucher, prizes in kind, trophies and certificates.

3rd place: sector sponsor voucher, prizes in kind, trophies and certificates.

c. Biggest fish of the competition: in each of sectors A and B the prize is EUR 720, an event partner voucher, trophies and certificates.

d. First scoring fish of the competition: in each of sectors A and B the prize is EUR 200, prizes in kind from an event partner and certificates.

e. Each day one team wins an event partner voucher for the heaviest fish. A team may win only once. Its catches do not count in this category on subsequent days.

f. Prizes for teams not placed are awarded by drawing lots among teams that have received no prize in categories a, b or c. All members of a drawn team must attend the closing ceremony.

a. If a team detects and reports a breach of the rules, it is advisable to document it with video or photographs.

b. Any team may lodge a protest about a breach during the competition, up to 15 minutes after it ends. The protest must be filed with the head referee.

c. A protest requires a deposit of EUR 40.

d. If the protest is upheld, the full deposit is refunded. If the competition management deems it unjustified, the organizer retains the deposit as an administration fee.

a. Yellow card: six-hour fishing ban. The head referee or a sector referee may issue a yellow card for a breach of these rules.

b. Red card: disqualification. Only the head referee may issue it, for a serious breach of these rules or upon issuance of a second yellow card.

c. Disrupting the competition in any way, particularly through excessive consumption of alcohol or disturbance of other participants, results in a yellow card. A repeated breach results in a red card.

d. Upon disqualification, all team results are annulled and the team must immediately stop fishing and leave its peg.

e. If a peg is left dirty, the organizer may retain part or all of the GPS deposit to cover cleaning.

a. The organizer is not liable for any damage to property or injury.

b. Every participant takes part at their own risk and confirms this by signing the registration form.

a. All competitors will support the media team and assist it with interviews, photography and filming.

b. By signing the registration form, competitors acknowledge that photos and videos of them taken during the competition may be published in the media.

a. Anything not expressly allowed in these rules is considered prohibited.

b. The organizer reserves the right to amend the competition terms and rules no later than 15 September 2027.

Race Director – Michal Plichta

Head of Organizing Team – Jan Michl

Head Marshal – Karel Nechvátal