Tournament Participation Agreement

1. Who this agreement is between

This agreement is between you (the “Participant,” “you”) and IndigeFish Fishing Co. and Fish Factor, together with Robert Jacobo III individually, and each of their owners, officers, members, employees, contractors, volunteers, tournament directors, weigh-in and measurement officials, sponsors, affiliates, agents, successors, and assigns (collectively, the “Released Parties”).

It applies to every tournament, competition, derby, or fishing event organized, hosted, promoted, scored, or administered through the Fish Factor application, and to all related activities including travel to and from fishing locations, pre-event meetings, weigh-ins, measurement and photography of fish, and awards gatherings (each, an “Event”).

2. What the activity involves

A Fish Factor tournament is a catch-photo-release fishing competition conducted in and around the coastal, ocean, bay, harbor, and nearshore waters of Southern California. Participants fish independently, at locations and times of their own choosing within the Event window and boundary, without supervision by the Released Parties.

You are not being guided, chaperoned, transported, or supervised. No Released Party is present at your fishing location, monitors your safety, or is responsible for your decisions about where, when, how, or whether to fish.

3. Assumption of risk

You understand that fishing is a hazardous activity and that the risks cannot be eliminated. You knowingly, freely, and voluntarily assume all risks, both known and unknown, of participating in an Event, including but not limited to:

• Water. Drowning; near-drowning; being swept from rocks, jetties, breakwaters, or beaches by surf, sneaker waves, surge, or rip currents; submersion; cold-water shock; hypothermia; strong currents; rising or falling tides; entrapment in rocks or structure.
• Watercraft. Capsizing, swamping, or ejection from kayaks, paddleboards, float tubes, canoes, or boats; collision with vessels, structures, or objects; propeller injury; entanglement in lines or anchor gear; being separated from your craft; equipment failure; launching and landing through surf; boarding and disembarking; being stranded, drifting, or unable to return to shore; motor failure; fire; carbon monoxide.
• Terrain and falls. Slipping on wet rocks, kelp, algae, jetty boulders, pier decking, ramps, ladders, and stairs; falls from height; unstable, loose, or crumbling surfaces; cliffs and bluffs; uneven or unlit ground; falling into water from a pier or vessel; obstacles or hazards concealed by water, darkness, or debris.
• Tackle and tools. Puncture and laceration from hooks, treble hooks, gaffs, knives, pliers, and cutters; hooks embedded in skin, eyes, or face; line cuts and burns; recoil of snagged or breaking line, lures, or sinkers; rod or reel failure under load; injury from weights or terminal tackle propelled during casting; casting injuries caused by you or by another person.
• Marine life. Stingray barb wounds; puncture by venomous dorsal and gill spines including sculpin (California scorpionfish), rockfish, sculpin-family and catfish species; bites from sharks, eels, and other fish; sea lion and marine mammal encounters; jellyfish stings; urchin spines; bacterial infection from puncture wounds, marine bacteria, or contaminated water; allergic and anaphylactic reactions.
• Weather and environment. Sun exposure, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke; dehydration; lightning; wind; fog and loss of visibility; storms; sudden changes in sea state; poor air or water quality; sewage or runoff contamination; harmful algal blooms.
• Health. Heart attack, stroke, cardiac and respiratory events, and aggravation of any pre-existing condition; exhaustion; slips and strains from carrying gear; communicable disease; delayed or unavailable emergency medical response at remote or difficult-access locations.
• Other people and travel. The negligent, reckless, careless, or intentional acts of other participants, spectators, bystanders, boaters, or third parties; crime, theft, assault, or vandalism; motor vehicle travel, parking, and traffic to and from fishing locations; property damage or loss to vehicles, vessels, tackle, phones, cameras, and personal effects.
• Application and data. Reliance on Fish Factor forecasts, bite scores, tide and weather data, maps, boundaries, or location features; inaccurate, delayed, incomplete, or unavailable data; loss of cellular signal or GPS; device or battery failure.

Fish Factor forecasts are decision support, not a safety service. They do not predict, monitor, or warn of dangerous conditions. Never use the app in place of official marine forecasts, NOAA weather, surf and tide reports, lifeguard guidance, or your own judgment.

4. Your responsibilities

You agree that you alone are responsible for, and that you will:

• Assess the conditions and your own ability before and during every session, and stop or decline to fish whenever conditions or your condition make it unsafe — no placement, prize, or standing is worth an injury.
• Supply, inspect, and maintain all of your own equipment, tackle, safety gear, and watercraft.
• Wear a properly fitted, Coast Guard–approved personal flotation device at all times when aboard or astride any watercraft, and carry required safety equipment, signaling devices, and a means of communication.
• Fish within your ability, training, and experience, and be able to swim if fishing from or near the water.
• Carry adequate personal health, accident, disability, watercraft, and liability insurance.
• Tell someone on shore where you are going and when you expect to return.
• Handle, measure, photograph, and release fish quickly and humanely, and follow all barbless-hook and gear rules where they apply.

5. Legal compliance is entirely on you

You represent and agree that you will, at your own expense and risk, comply with all applicable federal, state, county, and municipal laws, regulations, and rules, including without limitation:

• Holding a valid California sport fishing license and every required validation, stamp, and report card for the waters and species you fish, and carrying them as required. A California license is required of anyone 16 years of age or older, and an Ocean Enhancement Validation is required in ocean waters south of Point Arguello. Report card requirements can apply even to anglers who are exempt from licensing.
• All California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations in force at the time you fish, including size limits, bag and possession limits, seasons, closures, depth restrictions, gear restrictions, and species-specific prohibitions.
• All Marine Protected Area boundaries and restrictions, including State Marine Reserves, Conservation Areas, and no-take zones, and all federal, military, port, harbor, security, and environmentally closed areas.
• All rules of the specific location you fish, including pier, jetty, harbor, marina, park, beach, and preserve regulations, posted hours, closures, and access restrictions, and all lifeguard, harbor patrol, ranger, and law enforcement instructions.
• No trespassing. You will fish only where you have a lawful right to be and will not enter private property, restricted areas, or closed zones.
• All boating and navigation laws, including U.S. Coast Guard requirements, registration, required equipment, navigation rules, speed and wake rules, and laws prohibiting operation while impaired.
• All laws regarding the humane handling and release of fish, protected and prohibited species, marine mammals, and seabirds.

The Released Parties do not verify your license, your compliance, or the legality of where or how you fish. Listing a species, a location, or a boundary in the application is not advice that fishing there is lawful, open, safe, or permitted, and regulations change. Confirm current rules with CDFW and the controlling authority before every trip. Any citation, fine, penalty, seizure, arrest, or prosecution arising from your conduct is yours alone.

6. Medical fitness and emergency care

You represent that you are in good physical condition and have no medical condition that would make participation unsafe for you or others, and that you have consulted a physician if you have any doubt. You acknowledge that no medical personnel, lifeguards, safety boats, or rescue services are provided by the Released Parties at any Event.

You consent to receive emergency medical treatment if you are unable to give consent at the time, and you agree that you are solely responsible for all costs of any medical care, ambulance, search, rescue, evacuation, or hospitalization arising from your participation.

7. Release and waiver of liability

In consideration of being permitted to register for and participate in a Fish Factor tournament, you hereby release, waive, discharge, and covenant not to sue the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) of any kind, whether for personal injury, bodily injury, illness, disability, emotional distress, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of or in any way related to your participation in any Event, whether caused in whole or in part by the ordinary negligence of any Released Party or otherwise, to the fullest extent permitted by California law.

This release binds you, your spouse, children, heirs, executors, administrators, personal representatives, next of kin, and assigns.

8. Covenant not to sue

You agree not to file, prosecute, or assist any lawsuit, claim, or proceeding against any Released Party for anything released above. If you do, you agree to pay the reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs the Released Parties incur in defending it, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

9. What this agreement does NOT release

10. Indemnification and hold harmless

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty, judgment, cost, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) brought by you or by any third party — including another participant, a landowner, a vessel operator, or a government authority — arising out of or relating to your participation, your acts or omissions, your equipment or watercraft, your violation of this agreement or of the Event rules, or your violation of any law or regulation. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim arises from a Released Party’s own gross negligence or willful misconduct.

11. Waiver of unknown claims

You waive the benefits of California Civil Code § 1542, which reads:

“A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”

12. No insurance provided

The Released Parties do not provide any accident, health, disability, life, watercraft, or personal property insurance for participants. Any insurance is your own responsibility.

13. Photography, video, name, and likeness

You grant the Released Parties an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to record, reproduce, edit, publish, broadcast, and distribute your name, display name, voice, likeness, image, photographs, video footage, catch photographs, catch data, and Event results, in any medium now known or later developed, for promotional, editorial, commercial, and archival purposes relating to IndigeFish, Fish Factor, and their events and sponsors — including YouTube, Instagram, and other social platforms.

You waive any right to inspect or approve the finished use and any claim for compensation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, or defamation arising from it. You confirm that any photograph you submit is yours to submit and does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that you have permission from any other identifiable person appearing in it.

14. Rules, scoring, and the director’s authority

You agree to read and follow the published rules of each Event you enter. The tournament director may, in their sole discretion, void any entry, disqualify any participant, and withhold or reclaim any prize for a violation of the rules, a false or altered submission, an unsafe or unlawful act, or unsportsmanlike conduct. Scoring, measurement, eligibility, and tie-break decisions by the director are final. You agree that you have no claim against any Released Party arising from a scoring decision, a voided entry, a disqualification, or the award or non-award of any prize.

You are responsible for any taxes on any prize you receive, and you may be required to provide a completed IRS Form W-9 before a prize is paid.

15. Cancellation, postponement, and conditions

The Released Parties may cancel, postpone, shorten, relocate, or modify any Event at any time, including for weather, sea state, public safety, closure, or any other reason, without liability. You agree that entry fees, travel, lodging, and other costs you incur are at your own risk. Nothing obligates any Released Party to cancel an Event for conditions — the decision to fish is always yours.

16. Location data

Fish Factor records the location of catches you log and uses it to verify entries against Event boundaries. Precise catch coordinates are handled as described in the Privacy Policy. You consent to this collection and use for the purpose of running and scoring the Event.

17. Electronic signature

You agree that checking the boxes and typing your full legal name in the registration form constitutes your electronic signature and has the same force and effect as a handwritten signature under the federal E-SIGN Act and the California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Fish Factor records the version of this agreement you accepted, the name you typed, and the date and time of acceptance.

18. Participants under 18

Participants must be at least 16 years of age. A participant who is 16 or 17 may register only with the express consent of a parent or legal guardian, who must be identified in the registration form.

If you are the parent or legal guardian of a participant under 18: you represent that you have legal custody or authority, that you have read and understood this entire agreement, and that you consent to the minor’s participation. On your own behalf and on behalf of the minor, you agree to every provision above, including the assumption of risk, the release, and the indemnity, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from any claim brought by or on behalf of the minor. You accept full responsibility for the minor’s supervision, safety, transportation, equipment, licensing, and conduct throughout the Event. No Released Party supervises or takes custody of any minor at any time.

19. General terms

• Governing law and venue. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any action must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California, and you consent to that jurisdiction and venue.
• Severability. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be enforced to the greatest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions stay in full force. The parties intend this agreement to be given the broadest effect California law allows.
• Entire agreement. Together with the published rules of the Event and the Fish Factor Terms and Privacy Policy, this is the entire agreement between you and the Released Parties on this subject, and it supersedes any prior oral or written understanding. No Released Party has made any representation or inducement to you other than what is written here.
• No waiver. A failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.
• Continuing effect. This agreement applies to every Event you enter through Fish Factor unless and until a superseding version is published and accepted.

20. Your acknowledgment

Version 1.0 · Effective July 28, 2026 · IndigeFish Fishing Co. · Fish Factor · Keep It Reelin’.