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Going Somewhere Slowly: 2006 Tb Race


GlobalRat

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The invites are open for South Africa’s second annual travel bug race that will take place in 2006.

A bit early you may say!?

 

Well read on, and you will realise there is some preparation involved regarding cache owners and TB owners who will participate in the race. While we prepare for the 2006 TB race, don’t take your eyes off the 2005 TB race currently taking place.

 

The goal of the race will be in keeping with the Challenge set up for 2005, which is of course promoting the sport across the country. The race takes on a slightly different flavour to the traditional bug race by requiring the participation of cache owners as well as TB owners.

 

The theme of the race is “Going Somewhere Slowly”. TB’s will be required to visit 20 caches placed across the country. There will be two caches in each province, as well as designated start and finish caches. TB’s will merrily have to cruise around the country visiting caches, and along their way they need to ensure that they visit the assigned caches (in any order) and finish up at the end cache. As there are some provinces where there is minimal activity taking place, they may be excluded from the race, and the numbers made up in the active provinces.

 

So, what do you need to do to get this show on the road?

 

The caches:

1.Only caches created between 01 July 2005 and 31 October 2005 will be considered

2.Cache containers must be a minimum 2.5l

3.Caches should be in an area which is regularly frequented by the caching community

4.Caches should not require specialised equipment, i.e. not exclusively for 4x4’s, mountaineers etc.

5.Caches must be hidden in a secluded area with little chance of being pilfered. This goes without saying, but caches should be in a low risk, of theft, environment

6.Cache owner must be in a position to maintain the cache at short notice throughout the duration of the race

7.Caches placed earlier in the window (point 1) will be given greater consideration as their longevity in the field will be better proven

8.Cache owners who wish to participate in this race must submit their caches to GlobalRat via email. Submission must include:-

a.A short note motivating the merits of your cache over others. You may want to include a more detailed description of the cache than you have on the cache page if you feel it is necessary.

b.6 Photographs. Photograph of cache box, cache in it’s hidden location (put an arrow in to show the cache location), 4 photo’s of the surrounding area (North, South, East, West). Resize your images to 640x480.

c.Include the waypoint ID of the cache (that’s the GCxxxx number)

d.Your shirt size

9.You may submit more than one cache, but only one cache per owner will be allocated for the race unless a shortage of caches arises.

10.Race organizers will not be held responsible for the placing and maintenance of caches at any stage. Caches remain the responsibility and property of the cache owners, and at no time does ownership or liability transfer to the race organizers.

11.All usual rules for taking part in Geocaching as per Geocaching.com apply

 

Caches will be reviewed over the duration of the period. Judges will review the quality of the cache, it’s location, the cache owners track record, the cache’s track record. Caches placed in unique locations highlighting South African “treasures” will get extra cred! The judges decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

 

With regards to point 4 above. This does not mean that the cache may not be located on a 4x4 trail, as long as the cache can be accessed by non 4x4 ‘s within a reasonable walking distance. You get the picture.

 

The TB’s

1.A maximum of 20 Travel Bugs will be entered into the race

2.Bugs must be new with no mileage logged

3.Only one TB per Cacher is permitted to enter the race

4.TB’s should be of a reasonable size so that they would comfortably fit in most caches

5.South African TB’s will take preference on entering and will be eligible for prizes

6.Foreign TB’s may enter but will only be allocated positions after SA TB’s. Dependent on sponsorship, foreign TB’s may or may not be eligible for prizes

7.TB’s will receive a provisional race number which will be confirmed once the TB is received.

8.TB owners are responsible for getting their TB’s to the race organizers

9.TB’s remain the responsibility and property of the TB owners, and at no time does ownership or liability transfer to the race organizers.

 

The prizes

1.Prizes are not fixed yet, and will be dependent on further sponsorship. There are some already, but these will be confirmed closer to the race date.

2.Prize categories will be announced closer to race date. As a minimum there will be 5 Unactivated TB’s for the winner. As a minimum there will be a prize for the overall winner, and a prize for the first bug to complete the race.

3.Each TB and each Cache owner may receive a T-Shirt commemorating the race. If you fall into both categories, you will only receive one shirt. Note, that this prize is dependent on some form of sponsorship, and you may be liable for post & packaging.

 

Race rules

1.Race rules will be posted on the cache race page shortly

 

If you know of anyone in the T-shirt and T-shirt printing business, or can provide any other form of sponsorship, let me know by emailing me outside of this forum. No advertising on this forum of any kind as per Groundspeak and Geocaching.com guidelines, sponsors will be acknowledged on the cache race page when it is launched, and on T-shirts where applicable.

 

Start planning those caches, and get your TB's into the starting grid!!

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Hi,

 

Sounds like a great idea, but .....and there is always a but, I can not help but think, that if the idea is to grow the sport, then excluding provinces with minimal activity is hardly the way to go.

 

Yes, I am biased, as I happen to recide in such a province. I can understand though, the frustration of TB owners, with TBs stuck for months on end - and going nowhere fast.

 

Can I therefore make a suggestion that might solve both issues?

 

How about allocating points to each cache, creating altenative routes (bonus caches), whereby a TB can get additional points for venturing of into the dark, lonely, isolated, barren (you get the picture) provinces that are not very active. A prize could then perhaps also be awarded for the TB with the most points. (This in addition to the competition as it stands now.)

 

So, for example: Visiting only the 20 main stream (mandatory) caches will earn the TB 2 points per cache, for a total of 40 points. A TB that ventured of the beaten track may get the standard 40 points for completing all the mandatory caches, but in addition earned 3 points per alternative / optional cache.

 

A TB owner can specify in the TB mission whether they are the adventurous kind or whether they only want their TB to visit the 20 mandatory caches.

 

What do you think?

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then excluding provinces with minimal activity is hardly the way to go.

 

Can I therefore make a suggestion that might solve both issues?

 

 

What do you think?

Mmmmm... interesting... I'll give it some thought and see if it is a workable solution. Thanks for the input.

 

By the by, the number of caches visited does form part of the equation.... but a points system could add some interest.

 

I have no intention of excluding provinces, but an inactive province can scuttle a bug race. I'd like to see a bug race turn into an annual event. Perhaps by excluding provinces in the first few events, it will be a driver to get involved in future races by getting more active....???

 

You just need to get your province on the map by entering a great cache to participate in the bug race :)

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Thought about Perdix suggestion some more...

 

I like the idea and will create a category for the adventurous TB's.

 

I'd like to see every province involved. But even within the active provinces there are some remote caches. I'll work on a scheme whereby remote caches, and especially those in the "lazy" :) provinces get some bonus points. These points will only contribute towards the "Livingstone Category"

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“Remote” may not be the correct word.

 

I’m working on a number of models:-

 

1. A geographic model which looks at cache density areas, and statistically I’ll be able to determine a radius from the core areas and anything beyond that could be classed as “remote”. This however is too simplistic.

2. Cache statistics based on cache find frequency. Also too simplistic on its own

3. Cache type. A multicache or mystery cache would get a higher score than a traditional cache.

4. Relative location to the closest mandatory cache.

5. Cache terrain and difficulty rating

 

So, I’m thinking of calculating a score for each cache based on the 5 models and then combining them to come up with an overall score.

 

There are always going to be exceptions to every model that one builds, but need to base it on something and keep it consistent. There are many other factors that could be taken into consideration, but will need to work on information that is available.

 

Any suggestions welcome… it’s WIP.

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It is all very valid points you are making, but in the current race, most TB's have not even visited 10 caches and the halfway mark is approaching...

 

My TB is stuck in a not so densely populated area, propably with very few cachers in the area. Point is it is stuck. If it does not move, it cannot win. Even if the current location were awarded triple points and the TB does not move on, it doesn't help.

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:D Globalrat,

 

Recieved the update and thanks for that. I put an order in for some TB's and will send mine down with my wife in the next two weeks. That's when she arrives. She will then mail it over to you to be included in the race. I will be there for the start and am looking rorward to places some caches that might be included if they meet the need. I suspect that the western cape might have a good representation for caches in this, so I don't want to take the place of an 'established' SA cacher.

 

Thanks and count me in.

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My name is Daniella Dolphin - I am the sister of the first TB home in the 2005 race. I watched Dan Dolphin go, and it looked like fun. Please enter me in the 2006 race. My owner janputte will place a cache called Mussel Pot at Sheffield Beach in Natal in July 2005.

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Ooops... added an old list.... apologies Discombob

 

12 Positions taken up so far, 8 remaining.

 

1. Africard (KZN)

2. Brick (GP)

3. QFC (GP)

4. Tricky Vicky & Mickey (WC)

5. warthog (GP)

6. GlobalRat (GP)

7. TB Hunter (KZN)

8. geocacher_coza (GP)

9. Discombob (WC)

10. vespaxvespa (WC)

11. GeoPoppit (GP)

12. Janputte (KZN)

 

Hope there is some heavy planning going on for those caches :P

 

Perdix..... any opening bid for the EC???

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Just a reminder that it is open season for cache placements for the race, see the beginning of the thread.

 

As for the TB's, 6 slots left.

 

1. Africard (KZN)

2. Brick (GP)

3. QFC (GP)

4. Tricky Vicky & Mickey (WC)

5. warthog (GP)

6. GlobalRat (GP)

7. TB Hunter (KZN)

8. geocacher_coza (GP)

9. Discombob (WC)

10. vespaxvespa (WC)

11. GeoPoppit (GP)

12. Janputte (KZN)

13. Baa! (WC)

14. AE_Rodney (GP)

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Updated list of entrants:

 

1. Africard (KZN)

2. Brick (GP)

3. QFC (GP)

4. Tricky Vicky & Mickey (WC)

5. warthog (GP)

6. GlobalRat (GP)

7. TB Hunter (KZN)

8. geocacher_coza (GP)

9. Discombob (WC)

10. vespaxvespa (WC)

11. GeoPoppit (GP)

12. Janputte (KZN)

13. Baa! (WC)

14. AE_Rodney (GP)

15. Rathlan (GP)

16. Team CorollaRsi (GP)

17. Bokkie and Hubby (GP)

 

Time to start submitting those caches as well!!

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So how many tags will our bugs need to carry? Do we need to leave the chain really long or will a short one be fine?

There will probably only be two race tags attached. A lanyard will also be attached to the TB's. Rather leave the chain the original length (if you have a new TB the chain is quite long, old ones have a short chain), and I'll shorten them once I've attached all the tags.

 

I have already received 3 TB's.

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GlobalRat, any latest news on the 2006 race yet?

 

Has the start cache been decided yet?

 

Why I am asking is, if cachers need to mail their TBs, I suggest we give them at least two months to do so and seeing that many of us :( , me included will be on leave for a couple of weeks during December, I would like my TB to be in your possesion or in the starting cache by 1 December, if a all possible.

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Work has snowed me under so haven’t had much time to concentrate on the important things in life such as Geocaching. :blink:

 

The TB’s need to be posted/handed to me. They need to be tagged and photographed. I have quite a few of the TB’s already. Email me for address or alternative arrangements. And, yes, TB’s should preferably be with me by start of December….. where has the year gone??? :rolleyes:

 

The caches are by no means finalized. I’ve received a number of cache entries, but we’re waaaay short of the 20 required…. And there’s only 28 odd days left to get these caches organized. Time to get placing and submitting!!

 

Updated list of TB entrants:-

 

1. Africard (KZN)

2. Brick (GP)

3. QFC (GP)

4. Tricky Vicky & Mickey (WC)

5. warthog (GP)

6. GlobalRat (GP) Have TB

7. TB Hunter (KZN)

8. geocacher_coza (GP)

9. Discombob (WC)

10. vespaxvespa (WC) Have TB

11. GeoPoppit (GP) Have TB

12. Janputte (KZN)

13. Baa! (WC)

14. AE_Rodney (GP) Have TB

15. Rathlan (GP)

16. Seeker Two (GP) Have TB

17. Bokkie and Hubby (GP)

18. AE_James (GP) Have TB

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Hi there,

 

Have you been able to sort out the scoring model yet. You were going to look into involving the route (read "province") less travelled (read "cached in") in the 2006 race. Any news?

 

I know the silence was deafening, in terms of suggestions from my side, but I still believe it to be a good cause and to this end I plan to place 2 caches before the end of this month.

 

Work and the fact that we may have a saboteur operating in the EC has meant that planning caches takes a bit more time. Even so, one will probably be a roadside cache and the other I hope to place in or close to Addo elephant park. This will probably make it worthwhile for cachers from outside EC to come and find them.

 

Looking forward to seeing the rules, scoring etc.

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Hi there,

 

Have you been able to sort out the scoring model yet. You were going to look into involving the route (read "province") less travelled (read "cached in") in the 2006 race. Any news?

 

OK… BEEEEEG POST

 

Aaah yes I have worked out a model which seems to provide a satisfactory result with a minimum number of anomalies. With any model there are going to be anomalies, but the weighting system I have at the moment seems to kick out the fewest. I toyed with a anomaly correction factor which is manually applied to the cache in question… but then I would have to cope with every other cachers opinion on a certain cache needing to be upped or decreased wrt their rating. This way there are a few anomalies but it is objective and consistent.

 

I was waiting to test the model out using the current TB race to build the numbers and test some results. Kind of got caught up in work so haven’t had a chance to do that yet. Will get to that in the next week or so and then publish the details of the model.

 

In essence however the model works as follows:-

 

The rating is made up out of 4 factors:-

 

1. Cache Type (3)

2. Location (3)

3. Difficulty (4)

4. Terrain (2)

 

The number in brackets is the weighting applied to each factor.

 

Cache Type scores:

 

Earthcache= 0

Virtual Cache= 0

Traditional Cache= 5

Multicache= 6

Event Cache= 8

Mystery Cache= 10

 

Location is made up of:-

 

Province rating x remoteness rating

 

Province Rating (based on activity so far this year)

 

EC 4

FS 3

GP 1

KZN 2

MP 4

NC 5

NP 5

NW 5

WC 1

Event 1 (as TB’s can be exchanged at an event it is included)

 

Remoteness rating was tricky. I decided to look at it on a provincial basis and where the majority of cachers that are in that province reside and looked at the caches in that area to determine a hub. Then the distance from that hub to a cache determined a remoteness score:-

 

Less than 100km = 1

Less than 250km = 2

Less than 400km = 4

Greater than 400km = 5

 

Hubs were specified as follows:-

 

EC Approximate centre of caches close to PE

FS Approximate centre of caches close to Sasolburg

GP Centre point between JHB and Pta cache hubs

KZN Between Pietermaritzburg and Pinetown

MP Same as GP as the area is predominantly serviced by GP cachers

NC Same as WC as the area is predominantly serviced by WC cachers

NP Same as GP as the area is predominantly serviced by GP cachers

NW Same as GP as the area is predominantly serviced by GP cachers

WC Approximate centre of caches populating the Cape Town, Worcester, Hermanus triangle.

 

These basically result in a rating out of a maximum of 150. The cache with the highest rating at the moment is GC3FF4 with 130, and the lowest ratings are virtuals and earthcaches with 0. The average rating is 52.

 

The pitstop caches will be given a different rating. I still need to test this out on the model, and it may result in the competition being a bit less rigid regarding the “mandatory” pitstops, however I still need to play around with this a bit. This may impact the rules slightly but should hopefully make things a little more exciting.

 

I’ve been watching the 2005 race carefully, and had discussions with Africard sometime back to determine what the successes and pitfalls are in the current race. The pitfalls have been minor, however there is one big problem… the physical gap between the 3 active provinces, WC, GP, and KZN. Unless there is a frequent flyer like myself the TB’s get stuck in no-mans land in between. The dilemma here is that the race is intended to involve as much of the country as is possible, however the gap is a very large obstacle.

 

I’d like to float an idea regarding overcoming this gap. Create portal caches which will allow TB’s to be transported across the country. These are to work in the same way as the TB stargate caches… but will be limited to race TB’s and just for the duration of the race. For those unaware of the stargate caches, here’s a brief overview of how it would work. A portal cache exists in GP and one in CPT as an example. A TB owner has a TB pottering around in the cape and he/she wishes to get it up to GP in a hurry. He/she requests that the TB be dropped off in the Cape Portal with instruction to be transported to the GP portal. The next cachers to find the TB will move it towards the cape portal cache. The cape portal cache owner then needs to collect the TB from the cape portal cache and post it to the GP portal cache owner. Upon receipt the GP cache owner will then place the TB in the GP portal cache.

 

This has it’s risks, we all know how well our postal system works (no idea what registered post would work out at), and it relies on a number of cachers being prepared to foot the bill for posting TB’s, dunno if there are any out there? The cost can be reduced by saying that the portal only activates once per month or something like that, i.e. 12 launches for the year

 

Naturally the use of a portal would carry a penalty for the TB, say -300 points or something. This does however add some excitement to the race as TB owners need to be more involved and strategize and decide whether they should use a portal to get elsewhere quicker and thereby gain more points by getting going instead of languishing in an area and not going anywhere.

 

I’d like to have some feedback on the idea, or any other ideas regarding overcoming the GAP before publishing the rules. I will however say that the rules are much the same as the current race which are fairly standard for a TB race… with a couple of modifications. Importantly there’s an “escape” rule which will allow a cacher to rescue a stranded bug that he/she placed, and there’s also a “roll-on” rule which prevents some of the skullduggery going on in the current race where two cachers collude to move a TB from one cache to another by alternatively dropping off and picking up to overcome the multiple hopping rule.

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Sjoe! I had to ask!?

 

Seriously though, thanks for putting in all that effort to involve the other provinces as well. I am considering changing my nick from Perdix to The Lone Ranger to better reflect the state of caching here in the EC.

 

I travel to (but mostly straight through) Jhb and Cpt on a monthly basis, but seeing as the TB Hotel caches close to the airports have failed, I have no easy way of bringing TBs to or out of the EC. Now TB Hotel caches would help reduce the gap - nudge, nudge.

 

The only other time is when we travel on holiday, and sadly that only happens once or twice a year.

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So, who is up to create one in each of the major airports

 

CPT

PE

JHB

DBN

 

Seeing as I stuck my head out, I will set up one close to PE airport. Thanks for calling it a "major" airport - our mayor will be proud!

 

It is probably easier in PE, as virtually nobody has a connecting flight straight on again (ala CPT, JHB & DBN), which means I can locate it further away from the actual terminal.

 

Whatch this space.

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Seeing as I stuck my head out, I will set up one close to PE airport. Thanks for calling it a "major" airport - our mayor will be proud!

 

I placed a cache in a public park very close to the airport, which I may upgrade to a TB hotel in the future. I have not specifically described it as such because:

  • 1. With all the caches going missing of late, I first wanted to see how long this one will last - TBs are precious after all,
  • 2. the cache container is not very big, though all the TB I've handled so far would fit in,
  • 3. I might find a better and safer place in the vicinity,

In the mean time, this one will be easy to find if you have some time to spare before having to catch a plane. Not walking distance, but perhaps do it on your way to the airport.

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I thin something that is "easy" for travelers to get to. I found one in Frankfurt Germany on my way to Cape Town, and it was a few kilometers from the airport, but there was a free shuttle bus that took you out to a hotel, where I could walk to the cache and then catch the shuttle back to the terminal. SO that was rather clever in the placement, because the cache should last a while since it is away from airport security.

 

I have been trying to think of areas around CPT, but no luck so far.

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In CT a TB Hotel is going to be a little bit difficult due to the location of the airport, or should I say due to the location around the airport. You cannot let people wander very far from the airport's premises as this could compromise their safety. The last thing the sport needs is to have someone attacked and robbed for TB's [:blink:]

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I agree with GS&Dogs - placing a cache container ON airport property is probably not too wise, as security will find it sooner or later. It's also a PITA for non-flying geocachers to make it to the airport just to drop off a TB.

 

I think vespaxvespa is on the right track - place one near a hub in the city. We will keep our eyes open for an appropriate spot.

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Ok, so we've come up slightly short in the pitstop caches department. I'm gonna knock on a few doors in the next week or so and to get a few more pitstop caches.

 

The good news is that there have been a few remote pitstops submitted, so the less active provinces are coming through too.

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