LaserTuna

Oh hey, this is an awesome idea! I'm not sure it'll fit this exact situation, but I will definitely borrow it for a future event even if it doesn't. Thanks!

I laughed out loud -- good point. We'd never get to play scrabble again. I'd probably laminate card stock rather than use cardboard tiles. Good point. There's not much of a gathering area in this location. I'm actually not expecting a lot of turnout from existing geocachers who will want to just sign the log book and hang out. This is a fairly isolated small town and while there's a lot of cache coverage in certain areas, I get the impression there are a handful of seasoned cachers who are very passionate about the game maintaining those. This is also the kind of place where there is rarely anything interesting happening, so my thought process was "let's initiate a bunch of local muggles to the game". However, what if we accidentally attract a whole bunch of turnout for the event cache? Then, we have a problem to solve. It might make more sense to invert the course so the starting line is the dog park, but we then gain the problem of operational costs (someone needs to man the starting line.) It's an easier problem than fitting a crowd of people into a tiny space, though -- volunteer support is huge here. Parking might also be an issue at the dog park. It gives me a few things to mull over. This is my intent. They're not going to be temporary, but permanently placed in a dogwalking circuit. Why trads over a multi? Thanks for the constructive feedback. This is what I was looking for. Cheers, -lt

The object of the event is to attract attention and friendly competition to a circuit of dogwalker-friendly caches that begins and ends at the shelter. I've seen game card based events in other areas I've lived and thought it would be a cool starting point. This isn't going to happen with or without the Geocaching.com event listing. Please remember that this thread is not my event cache page, and I asked for my idea to be challenged in the original post -- it's counterproductive to ask me not to play. I'm right there with you on the donations. I misinterpreted the rules on donations to recoup event costs, and the reality was immediately clear after reading a previous comment. Do I understand then that the starting point can't be in the shelter, and must be outside the shelter? It's not the intention of the event to showcase the shelter (we already leverage social media for that; sure, geocaching.com has gotten huge over the years, but it'd be a pretty niche approach), but it is my intention to attract people to this location as the starting point of a series of game-related caches. Sorry, I wasn't clear -- if no donation required for the event, but the starting point would be the shelter, where they collect donations whether or not there is an event. Is it a problem? To further illustrate, which is the problem we are trying to solve by disallowing fundraising? - We don't want "commercial caches" with the intent of disrupting our game with advertising, fundraising, etc. for whatever the cause? or - We don't want anyone to collect donations, anywhere. Do the girls need to hide the donation jars? Or is "inside the shelter" as a starting line just out of the question anyway? Thanks, -lt

Thanks! Good point. I guess my thought was like "Pay what you want" (even 0$). On the other hand, the shelter already has fundraising strategies in-shelter so walking them into the shelter (for a game card) where donations can be collected (through their normal means; they don't solicit outright) and keeping the money out of the event cache should be above board right? Don't want to be sketchy about this, but then what about the by-donation BBQ? Is it like, fundraising isn't allowed full stop unless it is towards a measurable target of event costs? Can we say, "there will be a BBQ here in the afternoon by donation" in the event cache description? Is it fine to just leave it out of the description and hold the BBQ anyway?

Hi! I'm keeping this original post updated to minimize scrolling. I'm italicizing edits and notes. Please debate my ideas with me so this sees its best and most "above board" iteration. I've looked at the rules and it sounds like this is fine as long as we don't use branding or use the geocaching.com event descriptions to promote the shelter (which isn't the point, we already have social media), but I was hoping for some best practices or advice on how best to do this -- or, I guess, stop me if it breaks the rules. We live in a small town and my wife runs the local animal shelter. There are actually a surprising number of caches here, but it seems like maybe mostly a handful of seasoned cachers who put out a bunch of traditional caches. There's also a big blank spot all around this shelter. So, here's what we're thinking, assuming we get all approvals etc. Note also that public property shouldn't be a problem because we have relationships with city council. - We would hold an event cache probably at the shelter. We want to advertise this on social media to 1) attract new (especially young) cachers and 2) bring people to the shelter. (Note: I'm talking about social media advertisement of the event, not the event. The goal is to attract new cachers in a beautiful rural community by giving them a weekend event to attend. I don't plan on including advertisement of the shelter in the geocaching.com event.) - The event would be by-donation The event would start early in the morning. You'd get a game card or something, and get to sign a logbook (not required for event cache, but we can recognize our donors/participants which is part of the point). If donations are typically solicited at the starting point, unrelated to the event cache, is that a problem? It's part of shelter operations, has nothing to do with the event, and is definitely not required. Can I say something about it in the event description, like "Heads up: Since this is a nonprofit, donations are solicited here as part of daily operations. You definitely do not need to donate to participate in the event cache."?) Am I even allowed to hold it in this location if they accept money at all? This seems poorly defined. The rules are brief at the cost of clarity. - We will set up ahead of time with a series of caches that are pet-friendly, "Dog-walker's Circuit Series" or something like that. They will form a circuit from the shelter to the dog park and back (probably. This makes most sense.) These will contain game pieces (for competitive fun). Low terrain but I have some ideas for tricky hides. (The circuit may need to be inverted to accommodate the event cache. If we get an unexpected amount of turnout at the shelter, it will be a problem.) - Around noon, we will break out a by-donation BBQ at the shelter, so our returning hungry cachers (floofy and not floofy) can grab a bite and turn in game cards through the afternoon. (Is it or is it not a problem? For instance, I attended an event in a restaurant -- they sell food. They didn't halt operations for us. If it's not part of the listed event on geocaching.com, does it break the rules? Participation in the event is not required for the BBQ, and in that respect they are mutually exclusive?) - Prizes will probably be shelter swag, service coupons, ribbons, I guess I'm not sure yet. I don't even know if we will keep score. (Is there a guideline for this?) - After the event, there will continue to be a sweet dogwalking circuit for geocachers maintained by me/my wife/shelter staff. <- the caches will remain in place. Sorry if this was confusing. So, my questions: - is this allowed? If not, what changes required? - what's the best way to approach the cache series/game pieces? I've seen these as either traditional or multi in events I have been to. Which is better here? Why? - For game pieces, I was just going to stick scrabble tiles on the inside of container lids. Thoughts? - Are there guidelines on competition prizes for event caches? - What's the word on the BBQ? - suggestions? Better ideas? Please share! Thanks, -lt

Holy crap. I guess it didn't sink in, or perhaps I just wasn't paying close enough attention, until after I was done reading your logs that this basically just happened. This is phenomenal. "an obsession" indeed, but also incredibly inspiring to read the logs. Thanks for sharing. I don't think I'll be hunting your record anytime soon (hehe), but I hope I can set & attain such an ambitious goal at some point in my future. -LaserTuna

I had heard of the concept but I don't think I'd have been able to identify the difference between a geocache and a letterbox before reading this; thanks for the info. I actually had some difficulty locating letterboxes near me on atlasquest.com, though it seems like it isn't very popular here (there are two listings for the whole of the greater Fredericton, NB area, the next closest being about 100km away), so I guess I probably won't have to worry about it much. -LaserTuna