Outdoor Adventure and Education Seminar Event Caches.

Below is a listing of guidelines, recommendations, and good ideas for hosting an outdoor adventure (OA) or Education Seminar (ES) event caches. It’s based on my experience and discussions with the reviewers and with Geocaching.com (GCDC).

Do you have any experience with OA or ES events you would like to share? Please drop me a line on Geocaching.com’s message service. My username is kilroy18. I would like to get this page as accurate as possible.

Event Caches.

Geocaching.com defines an event cache as a gathering of geocache hunters, focusing on the social aspect of geocaching. They range from meet-and-greets, to education seminars, to environmental cleanups. They are a great way to meet fellow geocache hunters, learn about geocaching, and get involved in the geocaching community.

Below is a list of GCDC’s guidelines for hosting an event cache.

Include all geocache hunters and anyone interested in learning the game,
Dedicate it exclusively to geocaching activities (e.g. meet-ups at concerts, fairs, sporting events, scouting events, etc. are not permitted),
Don’t promote a business,
Don’t set them up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches (although finding geocaches in the area can be a fringe benefit),
Focus on the social aspect of geocaching,
Host them at the posted coordinates,
Define a clear start and stop time, and
Schedule them for at least 30 minutes.

Up until now, most event hosts limit their event caches to the simple meet-and-greets at coffee shops, picnics at city parks, potluck lunches, breakfasts at local diners, and CITO events. If you take a close look at the guidelines, nothing in them limits event caches to these. GCDC will likely let you host any event so long as you meet the over-arching guidelines above.

Are ready to go beyond D1.0/T1.0 events? Then read on!

Outdoor adventure and education seminar events.

Outdoor adventure (OA) event caches that promote meeting and socializing with other geocache hunters while participating in any outdoor recreational activities like canoeing, kayaking, boating, biking, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, swimming, SCUBA diving, off-road riding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and camping.

Education seminar (ES) events are event caches that promote meeting and socializing with other geocache hunters while developing skills necessary for finding many geocaches in GCDC’s inventory. Examples include classes in canoeing, kayaking, boating, biking, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, swimming, SCUBA diving, off-road riding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and camping.

Why host outdoor adventure and education seminar events?

Here are four reasons:

Introduce new players to the game. Face it, using kayaks, climbing gear, and snowshoes to find caches is much more interesting than lifting lamp post skirts and checking street signs. Introducing new players with an OA or ES cache will get their attention.
Earn rare D/T ratings. Quadrant II caches are those low-D (1.0 – 2.5), high-T (3.0 – 5.0) ratings (the upper right corner of the Fizzy grid). Those are really hard to come by. In the Omaha metro area, only 6.2% caches fit in quadrant II – only 0.6% have a D1.0 rating. OA and ES events give you a chance to earn those rare D/T ratings. Since GCDC allows you log your own events as attended, it’s not cheating.
Earn rare cache attributes. At the time of this writing (December 2019), I have found, attended, or taken webcam photos at, 2,278 caches. Of those, only 20 had the “Boat Required” attribute (0.9%), six had the “Climbing Gear Required” attribute (0.3%), and three had the “SCUBA Gear Required” attribute (0.1%). OA and ES events give you a chance to earn those rare D/T cache attributes. Since GCDC allows you log your own events as attended, it’s not cheating.
Draw more people to your caches. Face it, using kayaks, climbing gear, and snowshoes to find quadrant II caches with rare attributes is much more interesting than lifting lamp post skirts and checking street signs.

How to host outdoor adventure or education seminar events.

Hosting an OA or ES event is simple. All you need to do is plan an interesting outdoor adventure activity (kayaking, climbing, snowshoeing, etc.) that meets all of GCDC’s guidelines.

Include all cache hunters.

Ensure that your event is open to all geocache hunters and those interested in learning the game. The following will help you follow this guideline:

Plan events that can accommodate at least eight cache hunters on the outing or in the class. Most events draw at least eight people so it’s a good number to start with. The more you can accommodate, the more likely the reviewers will approve your event.
Plan the event with at least 3 weeks notice. Since OA/ES events are more elaborate than your conventional event, the extra week gives cache hunters more time to clear their schedules.
Host a meet-and-greet period 30 minutes before stepping off or starting class. This will promote the social aspect of geocaching.
Expressly state in the event description that all that is required to log the event as attended is to physically show up to the meet and greet period. This allows for those who cannot go on the outing or to the class (due to logistics, size limits, mobility impairments, etc.) to still get credit.

I know that some might be thinking that it’s not fair that someone can get credit for an OA/ES event even if they don’t fully participate. We must consider the following:

It is GCDC’s guidelines to allow all to attend an event. We must play by their rules.
Most cache hunters are honest people who won’t log the event unless they can fully participate.
If someone does do this, remember they are only hurting themselves. Their logging doesn’t affect your statistics in any way.

Dedicate it to Geocaching.

Ensure that your event is dedicated to geocache hunting. The following will help you follow this guideline:

Select an OA or ES activity that is on GCDC’s list of cache attributes. GCDC is more likely to approve a guided snowshoe hike, a class at a local climbing gym, or a kayaking outing over skydiving or hang gliding.
Expressly state in your event description that this event is for those with at least a basic membership on GCDC.
If possible, reserve the outing or class time for geocache hunters. GCDC will more likely approve a class where all the students are members of GCDC over having cache hunters sign up for a class open to the public.

In some cases, it may not be possible to limit things to just members of GCDC (e.g. a group bike ride on a public bike trail that cannot be closed off). Simply state this is the case in the reviewer notes when submitting your event for approval. GCDC will understand. (If the bike ride will be guided by a professional instructor, then you can limit participation to members of GCDC).

I know some might be thinking “How can I introduce a new person to geocaching if you must be a member of GCDC to attend?” The answer is simple. Have them register on GCDC. A basic membership is free. If they decide geocaching is not for them, they can simply un-register or let it go inactive.

Don’t Promote a Business.

Ensure your event has no overtones of advertising, marking, or promotion. The following will help you follow this guideline:

If you will be using professional instructors or guides, choose public or non-profit organizations (state recreation area, university outdoor adventure center, YMCA, etc.) over private business whenever possible.
If you will be hiring a private business to instruct or guide your OA/ES event, avoid listing their name or showing logos in the event description. The exception would be if you are actually holding the event at their place of business. In those cases, limit it to just their name.
If a private business will be involved as instructors or guides, explain to the reviewer why you chose them. GCDC will look more favorably if you chose them because of their experience and expertise, they are the only one in town, or they can handle a large number of attendees. They will look less favorably if the business is owned by a friend of yours or is trying to corner the market on the local geocaching market.
When planning the event, choose your words carefully. Don’t let the business think that you are endorsing them in any way.
Only plan events that do not require attendees to purchase products. GCDC does not allow sales of anything other than items trackable at GCDC (attaching travel tags to products doesn’t count).

All Other Guidelines.

Follow all other GCDC guidelines on event caches.

Don’t set them up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches (although finding geocaches in the area can be a fringe benefit),
Focus on the social aspect of geocaching,
Host them at the posted coordinates,
Define a clear start and stop time, and
Schedule them for at least 30 minutes.

Pitfalls.

Watch the following pitfalls:

Reimbursement: As the event host, you may need to front the costs of an event yourself. GCDC allows event hosts to request donations or entrance fees to cover legitimate costs of organizing the event.
- “Entrance Fees” are the small fees that are required to enter places like state or county parks, state recreation areas, public biking trails, etc. GCDC allows to list these on your event page if they are small.
- For the other costs; however, the most GCDC will let you do is request donations. They won’t let you require people to pay to attend. It is true that many cache hunters are honest people. If you let them know there is a cost, many will likely contribute; however, there are no guarantees.
High Costs: High costs can have the same effect as excluding people from the event. The cheaper the event, the more likely GCDC will approve it.
Logistics: Sometimes, there is only so much equipment, so many instructors, or so much time for the outing or class. Make sure your event can accommodate at least eight cache hunters – preferably more. The more people you can accommodate, the more likely GCDC will approve your event.

Go For It!

OA/ES events are an exciting way to promote the social aspect of geocaching. They are worth doing. Don’t hesitate to try a new idea and see what GCDC thinks. Remember that the worst that can happen is GCDC will say “no.” They are more likely to suggest changes than reject it. So far, my experience is that GCDC likes the idea of OA/ES events and would like to see more.

Enjoy and Good Hunting!

Template.

Below is a template for OA/ES events that should help you get it approved. Text inside of brackets or braces is for you to edit. Text outside of brackets or braces is text I found works well.

[Event Title: date]:

Posted Coordinates: [N DD° MM.mmm" W DDD° MM.mmm"]

Additional Waypoints: [Parking, trailhead, or other significant waypoints]

Time: [enter start and end times].

Background Image: <img src="picture of people performing the subject of this event">

Description:

This will be an [outdoor adventure/education seminar] event cache. In addition to meeting and socializing with other cache hunters, you will get an opportunity to [develop/practice] skills that will enhance your geocache hunting skills. This event cache will specifically be dedicated to [list skills here]. [If this will be an education seminar or guided activity, state “It will be taught by trained and experienced professionals in a safe environment” if appropriate].

[Enter a nifty description about the outdoor adventure activity that this event promotes. Look to Wikipedia for inspiration.]

This event cache is open to all cache hunters who have at least a basic membership on Geocaching.com. Simply show up to log the event as “attended.” [Attending the class/going out on the excursion] is not required to attend. [If you must limit the number of cache hunters or students then state those limits here. It’s important to make it very clear that: 1) all who show up at the start coordinates may log the event as “attended” even if they don’t go out on the adventure activity or class and 2) the only thing that limits the number of cache hunters on the outdoor activity or class is logistics.]

[List the location name with street address here.]

[List any prices attendees must pay to attend. Remember that Geocaching.com does not allow events to require purchases of items unless they are trackable at Geocaching.com.] According to the guidelines for event caches on Geocaching.com, event caches can require an entrance fees to cover legitimate costs of organizing the event. Also note, [participating in the activity] is not necessary to log the event as attended.

[Clearly state the following if a waiver is necessary: While the purpose of this waiver is ensure all participants are fully aware of the risks of {the activity}, it will provide {the facility/outfitter/ etc.} your contact information. According to the guidelines for event caches on Geocaching.com, event caches can require separate registration. Also note, {participating in the activity} is not necessary to log the event as attended.]

See you there!

Reviewer Note: [Include the following reviewer notes when submitting this event cache]

This event cache will provide an opportunity for cache hunters to meet and socialize and an opportunity to develop and practice skills needed to hunt for caches with the [identify attribute] attribute.

[If this will be an education seminar event, then say “This event will be an education seminar on {topic}. Subsection 3.1 on Geocaching’s help page states that event caches can be education seminars. Since Geocaching.com wants all cache hunters to be safe and to follow all rules, regulations, and laws when hunting caches; I figured a formal training by experienced professionals would be in keeping with Geocaching.com’s guidelines for education seminar event caches.]

[Explain how you are keeping the event open to all cache hunters, even if they don’t go on the outdoor adventure excursion or the class. Geocaching.com doesn’t allow exclusion of any geocaching.com member from an event. NOTE: Geocaching.com considers excessively high fees to be a form of exclusion.]

[Explain how you are limiting the event to Geocaching.com members and that it is not part of another event occurring at the same time. One of Geocaching.com’s guidelines for event caches is that they be stand-along events. You cannot make them part of a muggle event. E.g. Reserving a class time exclusively for Geocache.com members is okay. Having a group sign up for a class that is open to muggles is not.]

[Explain how your are not promoting a business or enterprise – even charitable ones. E.g. you chose an outfitter to teach your kayaking class because they are the only one in the area that offers such classes. Be sure that your cache description page excludes company logos or need to purchase anything to attend.]

Samples.

Here are some sample OA/ES events I successfully listed:

GC8G9WK “Kayaking Class at Montclair City Pool: 11 Jan 20.” D1.0/T5.0
GC8GMR5 “Bouldering at UNO OVC: 13 Jan 20.” D1.0/T4.5.
GC8GQ6X “Snowshoe Hike at Hitchcokc Nature Center: 8 Feb 20.” D1.0/T5.0.