• The Southern Kingfish Association was founded in 1990 as a sanctioning body for King Mackerel tournaments. It is now the largest sanctioning organization of saltwater fishing tournaments in the world. Similar to the B.A.S.S. organization, the SKA sanctions tournaments in thirteen geographic divisions, throughout the Southeast and west from the Outer Banks of North Carolina through both coasts of Florida and into the Gulf Coast states all the way to Texas. Members fish in divisional competition on the Mercury Tournament Trail in hopes of qualifying for the SKA’s year end National Championship in November.

• The National Championship qualifies approximately four hundred boats and they compete for nearly $500,000 in cash and prizes. The top places in the Nationals are boat/motor/trailer packages. Prizes are donated by our primary sponsors for the Championship. The honor of being named the SKA's National Champion is one of the most coveted awards in saltwater sport fishing today. For those with above average skills, there is also the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. This is a five tournament series throughout the Southeast, with the winner being crowned the SKA's Top Angler of the Year. Cash prizes are also significant, as is the media attention placed upon the Pro Tour.

The SKA reserves the right to refuse Association entry to any person(s).

Competition Member.......................$65
Competition Renewal......................$60
Family Competition Membership......$85
Family Competition Renewal............$80
Each Additional Family Member........$30
Associate Member............................$38

• You must be a Competition Member of the SKA to Win any SKA sponsored prizes. Competition membership runs for one year, from January through December. A Competition Family may consist of a husband, wife or child under the age of 22 still residing at home. The membership includes any two (2) immediate family members, i.e. father and son, husband and wife, etc. Additional immediate family memberships can be purchased for $30 for other family members.

• Competition Members are entitled to the following: The right to compete in any of the Divisions, Lady Angler, Junior Angler or Senior Angler Divisions. Eleven months of Angler magazine, the official publication of the SKA. Two SKA decals. One SKA embroidered full color patch. SKA membership certificate suitable for framing. Personalized membership card with your name and membership number. Free Classified Ads posted on the SKA's web site and in Angler magazine.

This is a team competition in which the team’s captain receives one (1) point per pound for their largest King Mackerel weighed in per tournament.

SKA must have the make, model, power and boat name of the team. This is a boat/team effort.

The boat you register at the start of the season is the boat you must fish throughout the year in that division. If you sell your boat, you will be allowed to transfer points to the new boat, providing that you remain within the same class, i.e. if you begin the year in the Class of 23, garner points, then purchase a 31 foot boat, you will NOT be allowed to transfer points between the Class of 23 and the Open Classes.

Putting your current boat up for sale and fishing on another vessel does NOT qualify as a reason to carry over points to another boat. You may not substitute a boat for one that is already in competition in the same division unless that boat forfeits their points gained at that point. There are two exceptions: one is a licensed boat dealer fishing a company owned demonstrator boat. The MSO of the boat must be in the dealers name and the name given the boat at the start of the season must remain the same. The other pertains to breakdowns

There are 12 Divisions in the SKA.
A team’s best three fish, one per event, out of the 3 to 5 events in the division, counts toward the team’s score.

• EACH TEAM MUST REGISTER WITH THE SKA AND COMPLETE THE $10.00 REGISTRATION FORM DURING TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION HOURS. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE TEAM’S POINTS NOT COUNTING FOR THAT TOURNAMENT. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS!!

• The SKA staff will man a booth, trailer, table or other setup during the hours of tournament registration, and will be located in an area near the registration. It is the responsibility of the captain to ensure that one team member completes the registration form and turns it in to the SKA
representative, along with the $10 fee, prior to fishing and during the registration hours. You will be given a copy for your records.

• Teams may fish in as many divisions as desired, but their points are not transferred between divisions. Points garnered must remain with that team and within that division.

• All members of a National Championship crew must be SKA Competition members and have fished in at least two tournaments as such during the season in which they qualified for the Championship. SKA-approved sponsors and members of the press are the only exceptions, and must be approved prior to fishing by the SKA management.

• All team members should be SKA Competition members for this reason.
Captain or alternate captain must be an SKA Competition member and one or both must be on board in order to receive points in the divisions. Individual team members are not required to be on board for every tournament during the season.

• The captain and the boat receive points, and points remain with the boat throughout the season. A captain switching teams may NOT carry his points from one boat to another--the points remain with the boat.

• The top 20 boats in the Open Class (24 foot and above) and the top 15 boats in the Class of 23 at the end of that division’s season will be invited to compete in the SKA’s National Championship and will receive invitational letters to that effect.

• Only SKA members who have qualified for the Championship will be allowed to compete. They in turn can either fish with their original team or may pick their crews from the general competition member rank and file of the SKA. All crew members must be paid current Competition members for that year and have fished a minimum of two SKA sanctioned tournaments as such during that season.

• Any boat that qualifies in the Pro Division is automatically pulled out from any Divisional qualifying position.

• Any boat qualifying in more than one division will go to the Nationals based on their highest Divisional finish and will be pulled from any lower Divisional finishes, allowing other boats to move up.

• Any ties in Divisional competition will be broken by the size of the largest fish of the three that count toward the boat’s points. The boat with the larger fish will break the tie. In the event of identical big fish weights, the size of the second largest fish will break the tie, and if needed, the third largest fish.

• Any and all ties in divisional competition will be broken. There will be no co-winners or equal placing in the divisions.

• We will guarantee that two boats 20 feet or less in length, as determined by the manufacturer (see Class of 23 rules), will also be invited to the Nationals as part of the Class of 23. If no 20 foot or under boats finish in the top 15, we will go down the standings to find the highest two finishing 20 foot or under boats.

• Anyone qualifying in a 20 foot or under boat may fish in a 23 foot boat in the Nationals in the Class of 23.

• Class of 23 boats are competing for their own set of prizes in the Nationals, and are unable to win any prizes in the Open class (and vice versa).

• Past National Champions and Top Anglers of the Year (captains only) are automatically qualified for the Championship and will be purged from any Divisional qualifying finishes, allowing other boats to move up. Past Champions and Anglers of the Year must renew their Competition memberships prior to April 1 of the current year and must fish a minimum of three events during the year to be eligible for participation in the Championship.