Prairie Winds District Presents the Prairie Winds Adventure Race

September 26, 2020 Don Williams Recreation Area and Holst State Forest

In order to facilitate social distance guidelines due to COVID-19, we have changed the traditional Fall Camporee to a day event that will be unlike anything you’ve done before. We have designed the first ever Prairie Winds Adventure Race, in which teams of 3 to 5 Scouts will compete in either a 3-hour or 5-hour multi-sport adventure race. This event will challenge your Scouts to prove their Scout skills, build teamwork, foster leadership and fulfill their need for real adventure, all while doing it in a fun and safe setting. It will surely generate great memories and perhaps spur on a new interest in a sport called Adventure Racing.

Register on the Mid Iowa Council website by Wednesday, September 16th. The cost for this event is $12.00 per Scout and $8.00 per adult.

This event is for Scouts BSA members, sorry no Webelos or Cub Scouts this time.

Scouts teams on both the 3-hour and 5-hour races will complete the course using the following disciplines; trekking, orienteering using only map and compass, special challenge activities, and canoeing. For the 5-hour teams, we added a 13-mile gravel grinder bike trek, a different kind of ‘spring break’, plus a bonus orienteering section! Scouts must bring their own bikes. Helmets are required for all biking activities.

Scouts teams will stay together during the entire race and draw from each other’s strengths to complete the course, while locating as many checkpoint flags as they can within the allotted 3-hour or 5-hour race time frames.

Teams: We advise that similarly aged Scouts to be teamed together, but that’s not a requirement. Team divisions are set by the team’s average age (Ave. Under 14 yrs. / Ave. 14 yrs. or older) on the date of the event. To add to the fun, each adventure racing team should come up with a creative team name.

Start times / Social Distance: We will assign Troops staggered start times ranging from 8:00 to 11:00 AM, this will help us spread out the teams and insure as much social distance as possible. Teammates may still social distance within their team as there won’t be any events that require them to get closer than 6 feet apart.

Prairie Winds Adventure Race - Team Divisions Teams Average Age Less than 14 Teams Average Age 14 or greater 3-Hour Race Boys Boys Girls Girls

Teams Average Age Less than 14 Teams Average Age 14 or greater 5-Hour Race Boys Boys Girls Girls

Canoe section: Upon registration will we need to know the current swimming ability level of each Scout. We can make accommodation for Beginners and Non- Swimmers by having a registered Swimmer adult skilled in canoeing ride along, plus a second adult kayaking near that team to give us 2-deep adults. Let us know if your Troop’s leaders can fill these roles for your teams and others.

Bike section (5-hour race only): Scouts must bring their own bikes. Bikes must be in good working order and will be inspected upon check-in. Helmets must be worn and fastened for all biking activities.

Food and Water: Teams should bring food and drink along with them to eat during the race, such granola bars, protein bars, dried fruit, cheese sticks, trail mix, Gatorade. Troops may plan their own meal for after the race. No meals will be served as part of this event. The leaders lounge (HQ) will have coffee and cookies for the adults waiting for their Scouts to complete the race.

Adult leaders: If you want to stay with your younger Scouts while they are doing the course, we require that there are two adults with each team. Two teams from the same Troop may be supervised by the same two adults, but those teams would need to stay in proximity to each other. Adults should not assist the Scouts while they are racing, but may give them coaching and instruction. We will need volunteers to help run the events, so please ask Al or Paul how you can help.

Service Project: In the tradition of the Prairie Winds District, we are happy to show our gratitude by giving of our efforts in a service project to benefit the origination that graciously let us use their facilities. We are asking that each Troop to spend one hour after the race helping remove invasive species from the woods around the lake. Please bring gloves, saws, and loppers. You will be guided in this effort by the Boone County Conservation staff.

Camping: No arrangements have been made with BCCB in conjunction with this event for unit camping. If a Troop wishes to camp during this event they must make their own reservations.

Troops Check In: The HQ for the event is the ‘Lodge on the Lake’ at the marina. If you are doing the 5-hour race, this is also where you will drop your bike and helmet, after a bike inspection. Remember to check in no sooner than 30 mins prior to your assigned check in time.

Questions, contact Al Jergens [email protected] 515 460 1205 or Paul Podhajsky [email protected] 641 691 1593 Prairie Winds Adventure Race

Rules:  Team members must stay within verbal and visual sight distance of each other, and no greater than 50 feet from each other during the race.  Teams are to placing helping injured or lost Scouts over competition.  Individual and team gear must stay with the team during the entire race  Checkpoint flags are not to be moved or removed.  Biking only on right-hand tire track or shoulder of gravel roads.  Bike helmets must be worn and fastened at all times while biking.  Lifejackets must be worn and fastened while on the water.  GPS units or cell phones are not allowed to be used during the race.  Only the maps provided may be used.  Failure to follow any of these rules may get your team disqualified.

Scoring:  To be ranked your entire team must finish no later 3 or 5 hours after starting the race. Teams finishing outside the allotted time will not be ranked.  Checkpoint punches must be punched on passports to be counted.  Checkpoints may be gathered in any order.  Ranking priority criteria: o Teams finishing under time limit with most check points collected wins. o Ties in number of checkpoints collected with go to the team with the shortest time. o Teams finishing over time will be ranked with other teams who also went over time, but regardless of the number of checkpoints collected they won’t bet any teams who finished within the time limit.  Time credit will be given if a team has to wait for a canoe, equal to the amount of time they had to wait.

Prairie Winds Adventure Race

Mandatory Individual Gear Whistle Compass (base-plate type recommended) Long pants, preferably nylon with zip off legs, for added protection from thorns and poison ivy. Means to carry at least 1L of water (hydration bladder recommended) Emergency blanket (foil type) Pocket Knife Rain poncho Pack suitable to carry required gear

Recommended Individual Gear Hat Bug spray Sunscreen Food to eat along the race Electrolyte replacement

Mandatory Team Gear Waterproof map case (We will provide each team with a 9x12 zip top bag) Wristwatch (at least one per team) 30 foot section of 1/4” rope or Para cord First Aid Kit with these suggested contents: (2) 2x2 or 3x3 sterile dressing, (2) 3x4 non adherent sterile dressing, (1) conforming gauze bandage, (4) 1x3 adhesive bandage, (1) tape ½"x 10 yards, (1) swift wrap elastic bandage, (1) moleskin, (5) towelettes, (3) antibiotic ointment, (2) pair nitrile gloves, (1) tweezer, (3) safety pins, (1) duct tape (1) waterproof bag

Mandatory Bike Gear (5 hour race only) Mountain bike, Hybrid bike, cyclocross bike. (no road bikes due to gravel route) Bike helmet (Must be worn and fastened while biking.) Gloves, biking or otherwise (Gloves must be worn while biking.) 1 spare tube Tire patch kit (one per team) Bike pump or CO2 inflator (one per team)

Prohibited Gear GPS units Maps other than those provided Cell phones

Here is an orienteering technique that works very well for an orienteering race. 1) Draw vertical magnetic north lines on your map. Some maps will be provided with these lines. You need to travel from the Frankel Pool to Blank Dinning Hall and there are no roads or trails. Think of these two locations as checkpoints on an orienteering race map, CP1 and CP2.

2) Don’t worry about the compass needle or orientation of the map now, but position your baseplate so it is pointing in the direction of travel. Don’t point it in the opposite direction of travel or you will go away from your desired destination. 3) Next turn your compass dial so the north lines on the dial are parallel to drawn north lines on the map and north on your dial is pointing north on the map. Again, don’t worry about the needle or map orientation at this point.

4) Now hold your map and compass level together and rotate yourself, map and compass, so the needle is in the north shed of the dial. You can read your bearing and share that heading with your teammates. Sight your compass and “keep the red in the shed”.

5) Study your map to understand the topography you will travel and make your best decision. Do you follow the exact bearing line, or do you consider following the terrain features that will get you to your destination in the fastest time with minimal energy exerted? In this example following the exact bearing may be best. Use a ‘leap-frog’ method to travel from tree to tree, etc.