FLW Outdoors has announced registration dates as well as the 2006 schedule for the $1.8 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series – the pathway to the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and newest competitive tournament circuit offered under the FLW Outdoors umbrella.
The new FLW Kingfish Series features five divisions – Florida: East Coast; Florida: West Coast; North Carolina; South Carolina/Georgia; and Gulf Coast. All five divisions offer three, one-day $100,000 qualifying tournaments throughout the 2006 season. Teams will compete for a top award of as much as $30,000 in each qualifier and as much as $75,000 in the $300,000 no-entry-fee FLW Kingfish Series Championship.
Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl and Wellcraft boat owners may register for the new 2006 FLW Kingfish Series beginning Jan. 25, 2006. All other entries will be accepted beginning Jan. 26. Teams that enter all three qualifying tournaments in a division by Jan. 26 will be given priority over teams that enter fewer than three events.
Entry fees are $500 per team. Click here to register online
Highlights of 2006 Kingfish Series rules/registration dates
* Teams are limited to a minimum of a captain and one team member and a maximum of a captain and four team members. No substitutions will be permitted. All awards will be paid to the team captain.
* All boats must be a minimum of 18 feet in length, be seaworthy and have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment.
* For Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl and Wellcraft boat owners, plus sponsor entries (FLW Outdoors may reserve sponsor team spots in each qualifying tournament), nontransferable, nonrefundable deposits will be accepted to hold a team spot for tournaments beginning 8 a.m. Central time Jan. 25, 2006.
* For all other entries, nontransferable, nonrefundable deposits will be accepted to hold a team spot for tournaments beginning 8 a.m. Central time Jan. 26, 2006.
* Teams that enter all three qualifying events by Jan. 26, 2006, will be given priority over teams that enter less than three events.
* One hundred and fifty points will be awarded to the winning team of each qualifying tournament, 149 points for second place, 148 points for third place, etc. Fifty “participation points” will also be awarded to all teams that participate and do not present a catch for weigh-in. In qualifying events all tied positions will be resolved by dividing the prize money evenly among the tied positions. The top five captains after three qualifying events in a division will be eligible to compete in the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour. The top 20 captains and their team members after the three qualifying events in each division will be invited to the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship.
* All Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series qualifying events will be one-day events. In qualifying events, all tied positions will be resolved by dividing the prize money evenly among the tied positions.
* The Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship will be a three-day event. All teams will compete during the first two days of competition. At the conclusion of Friday’s weigh-in, the field will be cut to the top 5 teams. Ties for Round 1 will be broken by place and year-end standings. For the top 5 teams, the final standings will be determined by total Round 1 (Thursday or Friday) weight combined with Round 2 (Saturday) weight. Ties on the final day will be broken by Round 1 standings.
On the Web
FLWOutdoors.com will provide daily results as each tournament unfolds, while also offering important details and press releases in advance of each series event. Visitors will also find statistics about each angler through a database of angler profiles, up-to-date team standings and schedule information, to list just some of the useful circuit information available on the site.
FLWOutdoors.com will also provide in-depth articles about the sport and its key players between events.
Entry fees
Tournament fees for the upcoming 2006 season are $500 per team for each of the $100,000 total-purse qualifying events. Deposits for these tournaments are $250.
The $300,000 FLW Kingfish Series Championship is a no-entry-fee event.
2006 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series schedule
Qualifiers
Florida – East Coast Division
April 8 – Fort Pierce, Fla.
May 20 – Fernandina Beach, Fla.
July 29 – New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Florida – West Coast Division
March 18 – Sarasota, Fla.
April 1 – Englewood, Fla.
April 29 – Tierra Verde, Fla.
North Carolina Division
July 15 – Southport, N.C.
Aug. 19 – Southport, N.C.
Sept. 16 – Atlantic Beach, N.C.
South Carolina/Georgia Division
June 24 – Beaufort, S.C.
Aug. 5 – Charleston, S.C.
Aug. 26 – Brunswick, Ga.
Gulf Coast Division
June 10 – Cocodrie, La.
July 22 – Galveston, Texas
Sept. 9 – Port Aransas, Texas
2006 FLW Kingfish Series Championship
Oct. 26-28 – Orange Beach, Ala.
Registration can be completed online at FLWOutdoors.com or by contacting FLW Outdoors headquarters via phone at (270) 252-1000.
Related links:
Entry fees
Complete official rules
Qualifying events format
Championship format
2006 Kingfish Series brochure (in PDF format)