A GeoCaching Event - Geocachers from across Atlantic Canada expected to compete in Metro event

Geocachers from across Atlantic Canada expected to compete in Metro event

This article is featured in a local paper:
Geocache enthusiasts will navigate their way to Moncton Saturday for the 4th Annual 'Amazing Race' for Cache.

(photo contributed) These racers took part in the 2010 Amazing Race for Cache; even more are expected this year. photo contributedRacers pick up a clue in downtown Moncton during the 2010 Amazing Race for Cache. This year's event is expected to keep participants on the move for about four hours. Participants will head out from Moncton's Bore Park armed with their partners, vehicles, and GPS units in a hunt for hidden clues within the city.
This year's high-tech treasure hunt will feature participants from across Atlantic Canada. Competitorsl work in teams to find clues by cracking codes and performing tasks. Tasks from previous years have included shooting as many baskets as possible in under five minutes, finding a specific CD or comic book from a local store, taking a go-kart for a spin, or drinking an unpleasant concoction.

The event is inspired by the popular reality TV show The Amazing Race, in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams.

Matthew Klem has been the Moncton event's organizer since its inception. Aside from a passion for geocaching, he has a more personal reason behind his desire to spearhead the Metro event.

"It's how I proposed to my wife," he says. "I sent her on 13 stops around the city. I'd done the 'Amazing Race' type of thing for her, so I decided I could probably do it for geocaching."

Past participants have come from Moncton, Saint John, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Quebec and Newfoundland in past years. Matt says numbers have increased every year.

"We started with seven teams, and last year we had 28, so that would be around 100 racers," says Matt. "We're guaranteed to beat our numbers from last year. I'm guessing 120 to 130 people."

Matt says he believes that the biggest appeal to Moncton's Race for Cache for Atlantic Canada's geocachers is the fact it's a unique event.

"There is no other geocaching event in our region that does this kind of thing. It's unique and very family friendly," says Matt. "It's something different. You can spend your entire Saturday doing something you enjoy."

Matt says that it helps for participants to have some prior geocaching experience, but it is not required
"Both experienced geocachers and newbies will be there," says Matt. "I've had teams before who do the Race for Cache as their first geocaching experience."

Ken Arsenault of Moncton has participated in every one of the Race for Cache events in Moncton over the past three years. This year, he decided to take a shot at helping to organize the event. He says that the competitive nature of the race was what drew him to it.

"Geocaching is not competitive naturally, so this added a competitive side to the activity," he says.

Ken says that geocaching combines the outdoors with technology. "It gets computer geeks out into the woods," he says Ken, confesssing that he is a computer geek himself.

Matt says that it's important for participants to have a sense of adventure and an open mind. It also helps to be at least a little familiar with Metro Moncton, as teams will be visiting Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe on their hunt for clues.

Several area businesses are involved in this year's event, and clues may be hidden on their premises.

Matt says this year's event will feature a variety of new and old challenges.

"Competitors should expect some of the familiar and some of the not so familiar things from previous years," he says. "There will be more creative ways of finding the clues."

Some clues are in plain sight, while others provide a greater challenge for participants. One of last year's clues included an advertisement in the Times & Transcript.

"You need to be able to seek out what the clues are asking you to find. In most cases, it's very easy to find the things that you're looking for but you do need to have an open mind and keen observation skills," says Matt, who adds that participants also need to be willing to try some new things.

"Last year's teams had to drink a cocktail that had a raw egg in it."

If teams are not comfortable with a certain task, other options are available.

The event lasts four hours, but most participants are expected to finish in less than three hours