Tournaments
AAW runs two kinds of tournament, both fished in TawnyFish.app and scored the same way. Open tournaments are for everyone: try AAW before you join. Member tournaments are for AAW Fishing Club members, at member prices, and every catch also counts towards the year-long Fishing Club tournament.
| Open tournaments | Member tournaments | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Anyone | AAW Fishing Club members |
| Enter and pay | In TawnyFish.app | Here on the AAW website, signed in |
| Price | Full price | 5% off, or your CM Rewards tier discount (up to 20%) |
| Brag mat | Any, with your name on it | Your Official AAW Brag Mat |
| Counts towards the Fishing Club | No | Yes, every approved catch |
| CM Rewards promotion entries | During a promotion: 1 per $10 of entry fee | During a promotion: 1 per $10 of entry fee |
Open tournaments
AAW Open – December 2026 Challenge
Our first open tournament runs from 12:00 am AEST 1 December to 11:59 pm AEST 31 December 2026. Enter any time up to 11:59 pm AEST Thursday 24 December; only fish caught after you enter count, so the sooner you’re in, the more fishing days you get. Enter now on TawnyFish.
| Division | Ages | Entry fee |
|---|---|---|
| Junior | 4–12 | $15.00 |
| Cadet | 13–17 | $30.00 |
| Open | 18–64 | $60.00 |
| Veteran | 65+ | $45.00 |
Open tournaments are entered and paid in TawnyFish at full price, with any brag mat that has your name on it. A platform fee may apply, shown in TawnyFish before you pay. Juniors and Cadets enter under a parent or guardian’s TawnyFish account.
Like it? Here’s what members get
- Member tournaments at 5% off, or your CM Rewards tier discount (up to 20%)
- The year-long Fishing Club tournament, with monthly, quarterly and annual leaderboards, Angler of the Year and the Australian Champion
- 5% off in the CM Rewards store and your own personalised Official AAW Brag Mat
Club fees from $25 a year, or free with any CM Rewards membership.
Member tournaments
For AAW Fishing Club members only, including CM Rewards members (club membership included) and their linked household. Enter and pay here on the AAW website, signed in, and your member price applies automatically. We add you to the tournament in TawnyFish. Every approved catch also adds its points to your Fishing Club tournament total. Member tournaments start once club joining opens.
| Division | Club-only (5% off) | Bronze (5% off) | Silver (10% off) | Gold (15% off) | Platinum (20% off) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | $14.25 | $14.25 | $13.50 | $12.75 | $12.00 |
| Cadet | $28.50 | $28.50 | $27.00 | $25.50 | $24.00 |
| Open | $57.00 | $57.00 | $54.00 | $51.00 | $48.00 |
| Veteran | $42.75 | $42.75 | $40.50 | $38.25 | $36.00 |
When CM Rewards is running a promotion, every paid tournament entry, open or member, earns 1 entry for each whole $10 of the entry fee, the same rate as any other purchase. CM Rewards promotions are separate trade promotions under the CM Rewards Draw Terms.
How scoring works
| Prize | How it’s decided |
|---|---|
| Most Points | Each approved fish scores 1, 2, 3 or 4 points by its size for its species, using one set of points sizes Australia-wide (rays score 1 point). Your points from every approved fish, all species, in your division are added together. Every fish counts. |
Only species on the AAW Species List can be entered; the list is attached to each tournament in TawnyFish, where you choose the fish group and then the species. Fish are measured in total length (snout to tail tip) to the whole centimetre, rounded down. Billfish, sharks and rays are measured as shown on the list.
Prizes
- Every open and member tournament has its own Most Points winners in every division.
- The prizes for each tournament, including any prize money, are shown before entries open.
- Winners are paid or sent their prizes once results are verified. Prizes for Juniors and Cadets go to their parent or guardian.
Tournaments have no season leaderboards or annual titles. Those belong to the AAW Fishing Club.
Good to know
- When entries close. Each tournament’s closing time is shown before entries open. Only fish caught after you enter count.
- Catches on holiday, on a charter or during other competitions count, as long as every fish is photographed on the right brag mat and has a release or dispatch video.
- Keeping fish is up to your state’s fisheries rules. Undersize, oversize and closed-season fish must be released on video and still score points; legal fish you keep need a video of them being humanely dispatched. Size and bag limits are set by the state or territory where you fish: see the links to every fisheries authority. We encourage, but don’t enforce, a 2 cm buffer above legal minimums and below legal maximums.
- Every fish caught and released counts.
Full details are in the Rules.