What you need to do to enter the race:
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• ​You will need to purchase (or already have) an unactivated Travel Bug. You can bring as many as you want to enter the race.
• Attach your travel bug to a traveler.  The traveler may be whatever you choose, but keep in mind that larger travelers have less caches they can fit into.
• Activate your Travel Bug. We have provided a standardized race description for you to use on your Travel Bug page. It is not required, but the information is designed to help inform cachers about the details of the race and how they can help your Travel Bug. We also ask that next to the name of your Travel Bug you add "(CCS TB Race)." For instance, if you decided to call your Travel Bug “Allister Owl”, then the title on the page would look like: “Allister Owl - CCS TB Race”​
• DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE TO YOUR TRAVEL BUG BEYOND ACTIVATING IT. Part of the design of the race is that all contestants start in the same location. Dropping it into a cache near you before it starts the race will only result in me contacting you to delete the log, as it will screw up the Zero Point for the race mileage. You might be inclined to drop it into the starting cache when it is published. Do not do this either. At the start of the race we will use the procedure of grabbing the bug from the owner and dropping it into the specified starting cache. This also helps prevent delays by ensuring that all Travel Bugs are properly logged into the starting cache.​
• Bring your Travel Bug to the Amazing GeoRace and get it registered.
• Wait for the race to begin and enjoy.

 

 

 

Standardized Travel Bug Page Info:​

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​Travel Bug Name: (Your Choice) - CCS TB Race

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About This Item​

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This Travel Bug is involved in the 2013 Circle City Social Travel Bug Race. Each of the Travel Bugs in this race receive points for accomplishing tasks during the race period which starts at the 4th Annual Circle City Social - Amazing GeoRace (March 23, 2013) and ends at the 5th Annual Circle City Social - Amazing GeoRace (March 2014). Please help this Travel Bug out by trying to accomplish some of the tasks below:​​

Task                                                        Point Value
Dropped in a cache (1 per cacher)                      1
Every 100 Miles traveled                                    1
Crossing State/Country borders                          2
Photos taken (1 per cacher)                               5
Dropped in cache with difficulty or terrain > 2.5  10
Dropped in Event                                              15
Dropped in CITO Event                                      20
Dropped in MEGA Event                                    30

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Rules:​

1. Dipping (or visiting) is not allowed. Any points earned from the dip will not be tallied, including pictures, borders, etc.

2. To get credit for crossing a state border, the Travel Bug must be dropped off in at least one cache in the new state.  If a Travel Bug passes through a state without being dropped off, then there are no points awarded.  This rule also applies to Travel Bugs that enter another country.
3. Pictures are required at the caches and events where there is no physical container.  Pictures need to be posted on the Travel Bugs website.

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For more information on the Circle City Social Travel Bug Race rules, please visit the Official Race Page.​

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Starting the Race:
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The race will begin in Dothan, AL at one of our TB Hotels. All Travel Bugs will be handed over to EttaKrewe at the Amazing GeoRace Event.

By providing a starting event, we help create a more equal start, no matter where the TB owner lives. This eliminates any advantage one contestant may have over another that can develop if it’s started in an area that has a lot of cachers compared to the contestant coming from an area with fewer cachers.  Since the starting point will be an event, it also ensures that all contestants start at the same time.

The end of the race will be just that…the end of the race. This will take place one year after the start of the race. The points will be tallied on that day no matter where the TB's are located.

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General Race Rules:

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During the race, there a few rules in place.
 

• Dipping (or visiting) is not allowed.  However, we can’t stop this from occurring.  So how do we handle a dip?  If a dip occurs, scoring volunteers recalculate mileage from the starting point to the ending point, disregarding the dipped cache.  Any points earned from the dip will not be tallied, including pictures, borders, etc.  In some caches, this has resulted in serious point losses.  All Travel Bug will have an attached tag that states the No Dipping rule.
• Contestants in the race are forbidden from handling any racing Travel Bug. This is done to prevent people from cheating by intentionally moving other entries to hinder their travels.
• Contestants are encouraged to track their own Travel Bug’s movements.  Each month, the race standings will be updated with the scores for all entries.  If you feel that your entry’s score is incorrect, or you feel that you have miscalculated, please contact the race organizer for assistance, along with details.
• There is an inherent risk in releasing any Travel Bug that it might go missing.  In the event this occurs, and evidence points to it clearly being gone (and not just mislogged), please contact the race organizer.  If it is truly missing, you may be allowed to re-enter the race using your copy tag.  You are allowed to release a copy tag only once during the course of the event (and after a 4-month inactivity period).  All points earned up to the point your original bug went missing will still count.  Mileage and border crossings between the last cache your original visited and the first cache your copy visits will not count.  It is helpful if before contacting us, you have already made contact with someone to verify it is missing and any information that might help track it down, and that info is provided when contacting us.  I will repeat that you are asked to contact the race organizer BEFORE you release the copy.  Failure to do so can cause problems for our scoring volunteers. 

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Earning Points:

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• ​Travel Bugs must be dropped off in a cache and then picked up by another cacher.  Discovering and Dipping (Travel Bugs that just visit a cache) of Travel Bugs is allowed, but there are no points awarded for those actions. Points for caches your TB is dropped in will only be awarded once for a cache. Once a bug is dropped in a cache, any subsequent drops in that cache will not count for points. Only one cache will be counted per cacher.
• Points for mileage will be based on the mileage counter on each bug’s page. If dipping occurs, mileage will be recalculated using Google Maps, the same system used on the Geocaching site.
• ​To get credit for crossing a state border, the Travel Bug must be dropped off in at least one cache in the new state.  If a Travel Bug passes through a state without being dropped off, then there are no points awarded.  This rule applies to Travel Bugs that enter another country. If a travel bug leaves the United States, only country borders will be counted. Province/state borders within other countries will not be counted for points.
• Points for posting pictures will only be awarded once per photo per cacher. One cacher posting multiple pictures will not gain additional points, though it is encouraged if the poster desires to help document the travels.
• If a Travel Bug is dropped in a cache that has either a difficulty or terrain rating of 2.5 or higher, it will earn points for D/T.
• Points for being dropped at an event is only awarded once per event.
• If a Travel Bug is dropped at a CITO event, it will earn bonus points. The item will only receive points for one race type per cacher. In other words, being dropped at a CITO event does not gain points for both the Event goal and the CITO goal. Only the CITO goal will be counted (the same applies to MEGA and CITO).
• If a Travel Bug is dropped at a MEGA event, it will earn bonus points. The item will only receive points for one race type per cacher. In other words, being dropped at a MEGA event does not gain points for both the Event goal and the MEGA goal. Only the MEGA goal will be counted (the same applies to MEGA and CITO).

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Travel Tag:

 

​We will provide the following travel tag that will be attached to all Travel bugs in the race.