2012 WGA Picnic to Picnic Travel Bug Race

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:40 am

On your marks!!!

The WGA Picnic committee will be hosting the very first WGA Travelbug Race. This race will start at the 2012 WGA Fall Picnic at Pike Lake on September 22, and continue for a full year; ending at the 2013 picnic event. The travel bug that travels the most miles during that time will be the winner.

Get Set!!!

The details are still being worked out, but the basic rules are as follows:
1. All travel bugs must be present at the 2012 WGA Picnic event. Travel Bug tags will be available for sale at the event if needed.
2. The first stop for your traveler should be the picnic event. You can either take it with you to place in a cache of your choice, or leave it with the event staff to be dropped in one of several undisclosed caches around the state.
3. Only the FIRST move by a single cacher will be counted for miles. (No "dipping" for miles.)
4. Travel bugs must be released into the wild. (No "discover only" travelers)
5. The main reason for this race is to have fun. Please don't spoil it by trying to find a way to "beat the system".
6. Bragging in the WGA website forums is allowed and encouraged.

The race will be tracked on tb-run.com. This is not a public race, so check the forums for the link and password. Registration is required, but it's easy and free.

If you would like to enter a travel bug in the 2012 WGA Picnic to Picnic Travel Bug Race, register at http://www.tb-run.com and enter your bug here. The password is "travel-position".
You can watch the race progress by clicking here.

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:01 pm

FAQ

Q. How do I enter?
A. First you will need to purchase a travel bug tag or other trackable and register it at geocaching.com. Then, set up an account at http://www.tb-run.com. Finally, go to http://www.tb-run.com/join.php5?run=WGA2012 and enter the reference number (not the tracking number!) of your travel bug.

Q. Do I need to purchase the travel bug tags at the picnic event?
A. No, but there will be travel bug tags for sale at the event.

Q. Can I race a geocoin?
A. Yes. You can race anything that is trackable at geocaching.com.

Q. Do I need to wait until the event to register?
A. No. You can enter your travel bug any time prior to or during the picnic event.

Q. Can I use an existing travel bug?
A. We would prefer that you use a travel bug with zero miles, but you can enter an existing TB if you like. Miles acumulated previous to the 2012 picnic event will not count, and the travel bug must be present at the event.

Q. I can't be at the event. Can my TB still be in the race?
A. Sure. Send your TB along with someone that will be at the event, or cantact webmaster@wi-geocaching.com to make other arrangements.

Q. Can I enter more than once?
A. Yes.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:31 am

Cool race idea... and even though I've had a dozen or so TBs stolen/disappear... I'll try once again. Now... I have to find some object that a kid or semi-grown kid are likely not to covet.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:33 am

What happens if, along the way, some cacher picks it up and does some "dipping" of the trackable? Will those miles count?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:58 pm

See rule #3.
Here is a quote from the "official" rules for this tpe of race on tb-run.com.

Code:

In principal just as the normal distance race. But here, we only consider the first 'placed' log of every cacher. This prevents that cachers keeping trackables, dipping them in every cache and helping them to get high mileage. In case there is more than one log on the first day we will consider the one with the highes mileage on that day.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:03 pm

We are using a TB Race program for easier tracking. These programs have been tweeked over the years to hopefully stay ahead of the limited amount of "cheaters".

Don't worry! We'll throw a couple of consolation prizes in there, like "First to get muggled", etc.! Let us know if you would like a head of green cabbage or if purple is better!

Let's have some fun with this race! Very Happy

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:21 pm

I'm currently working on a way to do some other types of tracking easily... Most caches, most caches per day, most miles in a day, etc. When I get an idea of what can be easily tracked, the picnic committee will discuss what other catagories we can have winners for.

We will also be discussing if and/or when lost travel bugs can be replaced.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:33 pm

JimandLinda wrote:

We are using a TB Race program for easier tracking. These programs have been tweeked over the years to hopefully stay ahead of the limited amount of "cheaters".

Don't worry! We'll throw a couple of consolation prizes in there, like "First to get muggled", etc.! Let us know if you would like a head of green cabbage or if purple is better!

Let's have some fun with this race! Very Happy

Being that I am German, I would of course prefer red cabbage. Please make sure that it is cook properly! Very Happy

What I was referring to is not the trackable owner dipping it, but someone that picks it up and dips it before dropping it into a cache. Just something that would be hard to prevent. Many of the TB/Coins that I pick up I dip when I am out on a trip to get miles for the owner. Especially to make sure that the milage follow the path that I took. ie. around the bottom of Lake Michigan vs. straight across it.

Thanks,
Wayne

BTW: I think this is a cool idea for the event.