2011 Rules
ENTRY FEE
All entrants will be required to pay an entry fee of $20 per person. Entrants will form a team of 2 and register on the internet. Please make sure that both team members enter the same team name when registering. The proceeds for the race will go to the Downtown Winston -Salem Partnership, which helps people who are interested in starting a business downtown. Your entry fee will also include an event bag and food at the awards ceremony.
TEAMS
A team consists of a two contestants working together to figure out clues that will lead them to different destinations. You may choose to work with other teams to solve clues if you wish, but only teams of two will be counted at the finish line. Each team should come up with a creative team name. Teams are encouraged to "dress up" for the event. Costumes should be fun but should not prevent you from completing the race safely. Masks or anything that can impair your vision should not be worn. Clothing should be comfortable and appropriate for the event. Comfortable shoes are a must. Prizes will be given to the best costume and most creative team name. These will be judged by hunt participants on their comment cards at the end of the race. Each team member must sign a waiver before the hunt begins. Participants must be at least 18 years old and a picture ID must be shown at registration.
We are limiting the event to the first 100 teams that register. Don't dawdle and miss out on the fun.
EQUIPMENT PER TEAM: (Please look at the "What You Need to Bring Link to the left)
MISC ITEMS: pen, two #2 pencils sharpened, picture ID
BACKPACK- Each team should have at least one backpack to hold scavenger hunt items and to hold water and snacks for the team.
DIGITAL CAMERA - Each team will be required to have a digital camera capable of holding about 20-30 images. Photographs will be a very important element of your scavenging, but an expensive camera won’t do any better than a cheap one for our purposes. High resolution is not important. Simple pictures will be all that is required and snapshots only will be accepted. Video might be fun and interesting but won’t count at the judges table. If you take video, and post it on YouTube, please e-mail us the link to your video. We would love to see it. Judges will need to be able to see the pictures on your camera display to see that you completed your clues correctly.
CELL PHONE: Cell phones will be keeping the official time. (Much easier than synchronizing your watches.) We will provide you with phone numbers to call in case there is an emergency during the hunt. Not being able to find a clue does not count as an emergency. Please call 911 if the emergency warrants it.
MONEY - A $1 bill per person. Although we have tried to keep your expenditures to a minimum, you may want to have a few dollars in your pocket. It will be a long race and you may need some libation along the way. And besides, you may even find that some of our locations will be a great place to grab a quick snack or refreshing beverage. By our calculations, it probably won’t be necessary to spend any money to win the scavenger hunt, but hey – a little cash wouldn’t hurt.
WATER!!!: We will have a hydration station in the area and they will be marked clearly on your map. However, please have at least one bottle of water for each member of your team.
(optional) Cans of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
PARKING
We recommend team members carpool to the start/finish location, Old Winston Social Club. There is parking available on Burke Street and in many of the surrounding parking lots. Please only park in lots marked as public parking or with a scavenger hunt parking sign. The Lighthouse Restaurant has given us permission to use their lot as well. We will have parking signs in as many places as possible.
TRANSPORTATION
This is a pedestrian hunt. In order to win, you will travel as a pedestrian to places all over downtown during the 4 hour quest. With the exception of wheelchairs for persons with physical disabilities- cars, trucks, vans, tractors, horses, burros, dinosaurs, bicycles, tricycles, scooters, Red Flyers, skates are not allowed. Forms of transportation provided by the Scene in Winston Salem Hunt organization are the only exceptions. If you are caught using any other form of transportation, you and your team will be disqualified from the race without a refund.
DECORUM
Your behavior during the hunt should adhere to the standard rules, expectations, and all laws of your location at any time during the race. Some places will require you to be quiet. Be respectful of people who are patronizing establishments in your path – you get the picture (pun intended). Be nice and don’t break any rules, social or otherwise. We will have spies scattered all over the place and if you cause trouble, YOU MAY BE DISQUALIFIED! So watch out! Besides, we don’t want anybody to get hurt out on the road. You need to be responsible for your own safety and the safety of those on your team.
TIME
The official time frame for the hunt will be from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Registration will be open at Old Winston Social Club, starting at 11:30am. You can show up as early as you like, but all racers will be opening their first clue at 1:00pm sharp. The scavenger hunt ends at 5:00pm SHARP. If you have not finished the race by that time, you will be instructed by you should go to Old Winston Social Club, the final gathering place. Above all, be safe! We will wait for all teams to make it back to the final destination. We ask that if for any reason you drop out of the race, that you call the Race Headquarters to let us know that you will not be arriving at the final destination.
ITEMS
PROPER ACQUISITION OF ITEMS- You must obtain your items legally. Stealing items, taking items by force, taking items that are to be photographed by other contestants, defacing public or personal property of others and similar such downright rude behavior is grounds for IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION! No kidding here. We want to be able to hold this kind of event again next year. If you plan to make trouble for anyone, then this is not your venue. This kind of method will not be required.
CLUES – Some clues will be easy to figure out, others will be more cryptic. Some item locations may have clues which will allow you to find a nearby item more easily. The fastest person will be the least likely to find items, the best detectives will have a better chance. Figuring out clues will be the key to your success.
HINTS: If you are completely stumped on a clue, you may call Race headquarters for a hint. We will have your cell numbers at the beginning of the race and we will deduct 10 minutes from each team's time for each hint given. There are only 3 hints per clue.
PICTURES – Digital pictures will be taken at each of the destinations. At the end of the hunt, we will download your pictures onto official Hunt computers. We will have a card reader on hand. If at all possible, remove other photos from your camera to make the download process go faster. *Bonus time can be earned by taking specific photos that will be revealed on the day of the hunt.
JUDGING
You will be required to turn in your passport at the completion of the event. It will be returned to you after Hunt volunteers have checked your passport and your camera to verify your answers and photos. You may be asked to clarify certain pictures or specific items to be matched on the clue list. The judges’ decision is final. Deductions may be made by the judges for incorrect items, improper acquisition, poor behavior or any number of other reasons. Either way, arguing with a judge will get you disqualified in heart beat – so grin, bear it, accept the final total of your points and don’t be a sore loser. Nobody likes a party pooper. Remember, the real objective here is to have fun and raise money for a good cause. Winning a prize is merely a way to keep it interesting. If you don’t win this year, consider it a learning experience and try to do better next time. In case of a tie, a drawing will be held to determine the winners.
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
Oh boy! You can have other stuff to help you! We’re not going to set any rules here – just keep it legal. Computers, cell phones, maps, compasses, GPS, encyclopedias, homing pigeons, magic wands, or just about anything else you might find useful in your quest will be allowed. Bear in mind however, that the person at the corner coffee shop probably knows more about the stuff on his block than you could ever find on the internet – go figure. You may find that good old fashioned questions to the locals may save you time and get you to the next clue quicker than the technological toys. It’s up to you!
STRATEGY
Start out by taking a look through your packet. Winning teams tend to solve as many of the clues as possible at the outset, and then plan a route on their maps. i.e. do some research before you strike out blindly searching for things. Good luck!
FINALLY
We want this to be a fun experience for everyone involved. Play nice, and keep your team focused on the spirit of the hunt. Your ideas and suggestions will be welcomed after the event as we hope to make this an annual occurrence. Suggestion forms or a website may be available for you to provide feedback. Be creative, and remember its only a game and you will likely have an enjoyable time learning more about our local area than you ever thought possible. Happy Hunting!
