TRMN:BlackSphinxCup:ReconChallenge

Reconnaisance Challenge (Geocaching Challenge)

Overview and Purpose

The Reconnaissance Challenge is a competition in which the chapters of a fleet strive to officially discover and create the most geocaches by the end of the three-month challenge period allotted by their fleet commander. These rules are based on similar challenges conducted by TRMN fleets in the past in an effort to standardize them for unified competition under the Black Sphinx Cup.

The chapter that accumulates the greatest number of instances of officially logged geocache finds and creations, and correctly submits this information during the challenge period, wins the Reconnaissance Challenge. This challenge requires the use of a registered Geochacing.com account, which is free, and while use of a smartphone is recommended, it is still possible to geocache without one and register your finds manually on the website via a desktop-based internet browser.

Reconnaissance Challenge Rules

In order to be compliant with the Black Sphinx Cup, the fleet cup’s Emergency Relief Challenge must adhere to the following rules.

• All participants must create a FREE account at www.geocaching.com. Premium memberships are not required for participation in this challenge. All geocaches that are discovered and reported must be officially registered on the Geocaching.com website.
• For this challenge, an “officially logged find” instance is defined as a participant, or team of participants acting as a group, signing the geocache’s log, signing in to the Geocaching.com website, and logging their visit on the specific geocache’s page.
• For this challenge, an “officially logged hide” instance is defined as a geocache that has been created and hidden by a participating member, or team of participants acting as a group, then submitted for and cleared by Geocaching.com volunteer review, and be listed as a discoverable geocache on the Geocaching.com website.
• All Geocaches that are created by participants must fully follow the geocache listing requirements / guidelines as found here: https://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx.
• A geocaching instance can be achieved by an individual or a group. The number of individuals involved in a find or a hide is not relevant to this challenge, only the total number of instances of hides and finds correctly reported by the chapter. Example: Spacer Bill finds a geocache, signs its log, takes a photo for evidence, and then officially logs the find on Geocaching.com. This is a single officially logged find instance, worth a single point. Spacer Jane, Spacer Dave, and Ensign Fuzzy find a geocache together, all sign the log, take a photo for evidence, and each officially log the find on Geocaching.com. Each member then reports the find to the chapter liaison and each member will earn a point, for a total of 3 points.
• Geochache hides count as one point per hide regardless of the number of members present when hiding a cache.
  • While the same geocache can be found and recorded as instances multiple times within the same chapter, each geocache can only be found and recorded as an instance once per chapter member during the challenge period. Example: Spacer Bill finds geocache “alpha” on Friday and records it as an instance. He cannot personally find and record geocache “alpha” as an instance again during the challenge, though any of his chapter-mates who have not already recorded geocache “alpha” may.
  • When possible and appropriate, it is suggested that members photograph or video themselves wearing TRMN related attire, such as con minimum uniform, while performing their geocaching activities. This is not a rule, just a recommendation that could further bolster their portfolio for the Black Sphinx Cup.
  • The Reconnaissance Challenge will be scored based on the total number of officially logged and created geocaches per chapter, based on the reporting method outlined in RECORDING & REPORTING THE RECONNAISANCE CHALLENGE.

Winning the Reconnaissance Challenge

At the conclusion of the challenge period, the chapter that has submitted a report that indicates they have accumulated the highest number of points from hiding and finding geocaches as outlined in the rules above, wins the challenge.

In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by comparing the photo/media documentation of the chapter’s geocaching activities as judged by the fleet commander. In the event that the fleet commander is a member of a chapter involved in a tie-breaker, or is otherwise featured in their submitted photos, videos, or other media, they are disqualified from judging and must recuse themselves from the process. Authority to judge the winner is then given to the fleet challenge director. In the event that the fleet challenge director is also a member of a chapter involved in a tie-breaker, or is otherwise featured in their submitted photos, videos, or other media, they must also recuse themselves from the judging process. Authority to judge the winner is then given to the staff Intelligence officer for the First Space Lord. If this individual also is disqualified and must recuse themselves for the same reasons as above, authority to judge the fleet’s winner is given to the First Space Lord. This process continues until a Space Lord can be found who does not meet the criteria for disqualification.

Recording & Reporting the Reconnaissance Challenge

Chapter liaisons are required to create a spreadsheet to record their chapter’s activities in the challenge. This spreadsheet must include:

• A header with:
  • Chapter name
  • CO name and contact information
  • Chapter’s challenge liaison name and contact information
  • The most recent date updated
• Numbered rows.
• Each row represents one instance of a geocaching activity.
• Each geocaching instance row must include the following information in the columns:
• Date of instance
• Member name, TRMN ID number
• Type of geocaching instance (‘find’ or ‘hide’)
• URL link to the found log (if a ‘find’, mark N/A if a ‘hide’) on Geocaching.com (for finds only)
• URL link to the geocache’s listing on Geocaching.com (for hides only)
• A footer with the total number of hides, finds, and total points of chapter

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