Geocaching Race Competitions

[+Forest-Ghost]

This past weekend I competed in a geocaching race competition call MOGA. It was basically setup as a punch competition where you run around trying to get as many punches in the least amount of time. The event used to be a mega but has recently downsized. 

 

There was some talk about other geocaching competitions like this. Does anyone know of other geocaching racing competitions? I thought there were several other events in the US but the only one I could find was the Texas Challenge.

[+EggsTheBest]

There's an annual local event in Canada called SCAR, where participants go on a 24 hour hunt to find as many new caches (published a day before the event) as possible, with multiple winners (most FTFs, STFs, DNFs, etc). It's really fun, almost everyone admits that it's the best event that they look forward to every year. Not only is it fun to participate in the hunt, but it also encourages geocachers to place new hides.  

[+K13]

I've played the Texas Challenge games (both Team & individual) for each of the prior two years. Our team finished Third both times, and I have a 2nd last year and Gold this year in the Individual for my age group.  The 'caches' have differing point values, so there is more of a game strategy than just a race would imply.

 

As I told folks both years, "It ain't Geocaching, but it is kinda fun"

[+Fugads]

Thanks for posting Forest-Ghost! I've competed in MOGA for the last 4 years and really enjoy it. I'd definitely be interested in checking out other similar events. The Texas Challenge looks intriguing, but it's hard to get a good sense for what the course is like. According to the rules, you can have a support crew for communications, transportation and puzzle solving... so it sounds a lot more complicated then MOGA. I wonder how much of the race is driving around to different locations versus running around to different locations? Unfortunately, looks like I missed it this year. I'll have to keep an eye out next year.

 

SCAR looks pretty cool too, but again, it looks like it could involve a lot of driving. And a 24-hr competition period... sounds brutal! Seems like a good way to encourage people to hide new caches, but it also seems like it would result in a lot of power-trails. Quantity seems to be emphasized over quantity, but then for a race that is probably the way to go.

 

For what it's worth, I'm organizing my own small geocaching race here in Santa Fe, NM, GC84WHR, but I don't expect it to be highly attended. It'll be similar to the MOGA races, a footrace on trails and through brush. Looking forward to setting up a fun course through the Pinon/Juniper forest.

[+cerberus1]

5 hours ago, Forest-Ghost said:

Does anyone know of other geocaching racing competitions?   I thought there were several other events in the US ...

 

We used to have a yearly event here, where "teams" were given puzzle boards at the event start.  

They had to fill the board with puzzle pieces from numerous caches (held for the event, then opened to all afterwards).

From the event area, each team was to head out to theirs first,  with everyone starting from a different cache, so as not to (hopefully ;-)  bump into each other.

First to finish, their completed coordinates on the board led them to a "prize bag" of goodies in the woods somewhere, with value depending on place.

Fun for a while, went on for a few years.  Like us, some said that "competition" in a hobby was getting outta hand and just lost interest.  

[+EggsTheBest]

1 hour ago, Fugads said:

SCAR looks pretty cool too, but again, it looks like it could involve a lot of driving. And a 24-hr competition period... sounds brutal! Seems like a good way to encourage people to hide new caches, but it also seems like it would result in a lot of power-trails. Quantity seems to be emphasized over quantity, but then for a race that is probably the way to go.

 

When you live in the prairies, there's always lots of driving.  

Yeah 24 hours might sound brutal but everyone plays at their own pace. Some (like me) just go and find a handful of new caches, hoping to snag an FTF or two, while some of the others go really hard, and the day after they flip burgers at a wrap-up event with their eyes half closed. There's also additional events (midnight coffee break at a cafe, breakfast in the morning, etc) that make this "race" a bit more fun and sociable.

There were only a couple of power trails as far as I know so that's not really an issue. Also, all new caches are supposed to be maintained after the race is over, just like any other cache. New participants who hide a cache are entered to win a geocoin. The only drawback I see is that there are very few newly published caches a month or two before the event.  

It might sound like a hardcore race, but it's less competitive than it sounds.  

[+Fugads]

49 minutes ago, EggsTheBest said:

When you live in the prairies, there's always lots of driving.  

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. MOGA 2018 was held in Lincoln, Nebraska and was kind of prairie-like. We still had a pretty fun course, running through the prairie to find that one tree where the cache was hidden. I think you guys in the prairies must get extra creative when it comes to cache hiding.

[+K13]

2 hours ago, Fugads said:

Thanks for posting Forest-Ghost! I've competed in MOGA for the last 4 years and really enjoy it. I'd definitely be interested in checking out other similar events. The Texas Challenge looks intriguing, but it's hard to get a good sense for what the course is like. According to the rules, you can have a support crew for communications, transportation and puzzle solving... so it sounds a lot more complicated then MOGA. I wonder how much of the race is driving around to different locations versus running around to different locations? Unfortunately, looks like I missed it this year. I'll have to keep an eye out next year.

 

SCAR looks pretty cool too, but again, it looks like it could involve a lot of driving. And a 24-hr competition period... sounds brutal! Seems like a good way to encourage people to hide new caches, but it also seems like it would result in a lot of power-trails. Quantity seems to be emphasized over quantity, but then for a race that is probably the way to go.

 

For what it's worth, I'm organizing my own small geocaching race here in Santa Fe, NM, GC84WHR, but I don't expect it to be highly attended. It'll be similar to the MOGA races, a footrace on trails and through brush. Looking forward to setting up a fun course through the Pinon/Juniper forest.

For Texas Challenge, the Team competition ran 8 to noon. Then the Individual was 1:30 to 3. Doing the double is very taxing on participants.

The Team competition covered an area with about a 12 mile radius around the host city, with about 125 'caches' to punch. Our 12-member team had four cars of finders, with one having a dedicated driver. 4 hours from handout of the GPX file to turn in of the score cards.

The Individual competition was held in a city park along a dry riverbed, with no driving/on-foot only. It was 1-1/2 hours in duration, with 32 'caches' to find.

All 'caches' were accurately (for the most part) rated for D/T, with that being a metric for the point value of that find.

 

Your event looks like fun.

[+Forest-Ghost]

Thanks everyone for sharing. SCAR sounds really cool! Maybe some day we can host something like this in my area. We had a similar type thing in missouri several years back but it was a little different setup as it lasted three months and there was one cache per week.

 

@Fugads, your event looks really cool too! I wish I was a little closer to New Mexico as I definitely would go. Maybe too at some point I can try out the Texas challenge. They all sound like a lot of fun. 

Edited April 11, 2019 by Forest-Ghost

[+Fugads]

14 hours ago, K13 said:

The Individual competition was held in a city park along a dry riverbed, with no driving/on-foot only. It was 1-1/2 hours in duration, with 32 'caches' to find.

Sounds just like the MOGA comps, I'd definitely do that.

 

The team competition sounds like an entirely different kind of animal and I bet I would enjoy participating in it too. You need to have good  team dynamics for that one I bet. or at least some really strong team leaders.

[+8Nuts MotherGoose]

14 hours ago, Fugads said:

Sounds just like the MOGA comps, I'd definitely do that.

 

The team competition sounds like an entirely different kind of animal and I bet I would enjoy participating in it too. You need to have good  team dynamics for that one I bet. or at least some really strong team leaders.

For the Texas Challenge Team competition - each team has no choice of who is on the team. Texas is divided into 6 areas, producing 6 Texas teams, but you can join any of these teams. Anyone who wants to compete has to be allowed on the team of their choice. We also have an Out-of-State Team for all those arriving from other States/Countries. The Out-of-State Team took 2nd place a couple years ago. This is friendly competition, not killer competition.

Each year the Texas Challenge is in a different part of Texas. Next year it's in Killeen, TX, midway between Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. See GC84EA4.

[+msrubble]

On a smaller scale, in June of even-numbered years, there's a road rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It combines elements of a scavenger hunt (bring back an American flag and a coat hanger, do a piece of yarn art) along with the search for new caches. It's a team competition. The latest was in 2018.