Hezza Slaya WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2026 - OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES

General Competition Rules

$10 entry fee per competitor, regardless of age.
Only Australian Herring (Hezza) are eligible.
Fishing may commence from 6:00am AWST on Friday 13th November 2026. Only fish caught after this time are eligible for weigh-in.
Any fish a competitor wishes to enter into a competition must be presented at the official weigh-in no later than 5:30pm AWST on Saturday 14th November 2026. Late arrivals will not be accepted for any reason.
Entry fees MUST be paid before you commence fishing. Online registration is available and encouraged at www.oldmateadventures.au/registration-form or in person on Thursday 12th November 2026 from 5pm to 8pm at the Augusta Hotel. Each competitor is responsible for ensuring they are correctly registered before commencing fishing.
Weigh-in is open from 4:30pm until 5:30pm on both Friday and Saturday and will be held at the Augusta Hotel. Weigh-in closes at 5:30pm SHARP on Saturday.
There are no competition boundaries. Competitors may fish anywhere, provided they comply with all applicable WA fishing laws and present their fish at the official weigh-in before the closing time.
All WA fishing rules and regulations MUST be adhered to at all times. Competitors are responsible for ensuring they can correctly identify Australian Herring (black-tipped tail) and Salmon Trout (yellow spots), as the two species are very similar.
Additional rules apply to the World Championship, Mystery Weight and Team Event competitions. Competitors are responsible for reading and complying with the rules specific to the events they enter.
The official scales and recorded weight used by OldMate Adventures are final.
Competitors fish entirely at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety at all times.
The Competition Director's decision is final in all matters relating to the competition, including fish eligibility, weigh-in procedures, interpretation of these rules and competition results. No correspondence will be entered into.
The organisers reserve the right to amend these rules prior to the commencement of the competition. Any changes will be communicated to all registered competitors.

World Championship Rules

All General Competition Rules apply to the World Championship.
The World Champion will be the competitor/s who record the heaviest eligible Australian Herring during the competition.
The winner's prize is capped at $1,000. Any remaining entry fees will be donated to the McGrath Foundation via Pink Ribbon Fishin'. If fewer than 100 entries are received, the winner will receive the total entry fees collected.
In the event of an equal heaviest fish, competitors will be declared joint World Champions. Prize money will be divided equally, and all winners will have their names added to the perpetual trophy.
If your fish is one of the five heaviest fish at the time of weigh-in, it will be labelled, sealed and frozen by OldMate Adventures pending the close of competition to allow inspection for any evidence of tampering. If your fish is displaced from the top five during the competition, it will be returned to you as soon as practical.
From the commencement of Saturday's weigh-in, the weights of all fish retained in the top five will remain confidential until the close of competition.
Competitors may present multiple eligible fish during the competition; however, only their single heaviest fish will count towards the World Championship.
At weigh in, fish must be dead, throats cut, bled and fresh to be eligible for weigh in. Fish must not be frozen, altered, stuffed, weighted, mutilated or otherwise modified. Any competitor found to have deliberately tampered with a fish will be immediately disqualified from the World Championship.
The perpetual trophy remains the property of OldMate Adventures and will not leave its permanent display location.

Mystery Weight Competition

All General Competition Rules apply to the Mystery Weight competition.
There will be two Categories for the Mystery Weight Prizes - Junior (Under 16yrs) & Adult (16yrs & Over). Within each category, there will be two divisions, Division A and Division B. Division A and Division B are independent competitions with separate mystery weight draws. Each entrant may enter only one division (A or B) within their age category.
Every whole number between 75g & 300g (inclusive) will be placed in a bowl. Once all fish have been weighed in, a previous World Champion will draw a mystery weight for each division. The Junior Division A mystery weight will be drawn first and the winner determined, followed by Junior Division B, Adult Division A and Adult Division B. The winning number for each division will then be returned to the bowl before the next draw.
The winning fish must match the drawn weight exactly or be the closest weight without exceeding it ("The Price is Right" style). If there are no fish weighed in that meet these rules, a new number will be drawn until there is a winner.
Each entrant may enter only one fish into the Mystery Weight competition, and must choose whether they are entering in Division A or B at the time of weighing.
Only one fish of any recorded weight within each category and division selected will be accepted. If multiple competitors present fish of the same weight, the first fish officially weighed will retain that weight, and subsequent competitors must choose a different fish.
Mystery weight fish can be weighed in on Friday or Saturday. Once a fish has been entered into the Mystery Weight competition, it cannot be withdrawn or replaced.
At weigh in, fish must be dead, throats cut, bled and fresh to be eligible for weigh in. Fish must not be frozen, stuffed or weighted. Entrants may remove portions of the fish to obtain a unique weight, but nothing may be added to the fish.

Team Event

All General Competition Rules apply to the Team Event competition.
Teams must consist of a minimum of two competitors. There is no maximum team size.
A competitor may only belong to one team.
Teams will be nominated when presenting fish for weigh-in.
The winning team will be the team with the greatest combined weight of four eligible Australian Herring.
A team's four fish may be caught by any combination of team members.
Teams must select the four fish they wish to enter before presenting them at the official weigh-in. All four fish must be presented together in a single weigh-in. Competition officials will not weigh multiple fish to assist teams in selecting their entries.
In the event of a tie, the team with the heaviest individual fish will be declared the winner. If still tied, the second heaviest fish, then the third and fourth heaviest fish will be compared until a winner is determined.
Whole fish entered into the Mystery Weight competition may also be entered into the Team Event competition, provided they meet all the eligibility criteria set out in the category specific rules.
At weigh in, fish must be dead, throats cut, bled and fresh to be eligible for weigh in. Fish must not be frozen, altered, stuffed, weighted, mutilated or otherwise modified. Any fish found to have been tampered with will result in the teams immediate disqualification.