RBC Amazing Race III - Day 1

We held RBC’s Amazing Race III for our High School Youth Group in May and it was an awesome time!  This event takes a lot of planning, but thanks to a great planning team and race staff, it all came together and went off without a hitch – well, okay, it went off without any big hitches! 
Our version of an amazing race includes 3 legs – each leg lasting a day.  Teams consist of 4 players – two girls and two boys.  Our “taxis” are adult volunteers who drive the entire race.  The drivers are not privy to any of the race activities and have no idea about where they are going until the teams receive their clues and direct them where to take them.  Drivers are not assigned to a team – in fact, teams must use a minimum of three different taxis throughout the course of the three-day race.  A few of the other key rules for our race are that players may not bring any money, maps, GPS, cell phones or other electronic devices with them.  During the course of the race, they may not seek the aid of friends, acquaintances or relatives in any manner.    
Our theme for RBC’s Amazing Race III was "Ponder the Path of Your Feet” (Proverbs 4:26:  Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure), and while there is much emphasis on having fun and doing well in the race, this is really a weekend chocked full of life lessons.  Paying close attention to the instruction given in clues, then giving some careful thought to where you are going, how you will get there and how to best complete the tasks is what it takes to win.
Here’s a recap of Day 1 – Friday, May 18^th, first leg of the race:
Teams checked in at 4:30pm.  Check-in consists of loading their luggage, tents and sleeping bags onto the transport truck and then a search of the backpack they will carry with them during the race to be sure there are no race-prohibited items.  At 5:00pm, the complete rules of the race were reviewed with all staff, drivers and teams, and then the race was officially kicked off with all teams receiving their first clue.
LET THE RACE BEGIN!
Your first challenge:  LUCKY LOCKS
Unlock padlock # _____ which is locked to the backstop of the softball diamond on the other side of the church parking lot. 
In this envelope are 10 different padlock combinations.  Your entire team must participate relay-style to try combination after combination on padlock #____, until you find the combination which opens it. 
With all team members standing at the curb on the south side of the parking lot, send one team member with one combination to the lock.  The team member will attempt to open the lock with the combination.  If unsuccessful, the team member will return to the south curb and another team member will take another combination to the lock.  Repeat this process until you find the correct combination to open your lock.  Only one team member is allowed to be away from the south side curb at any given time. 
When you have opened your lock, bring the opened lock to the Amazing Race Task Master located at the south side curb of the parking lot to receive your next clue.

I think the first team opened their lock with the 4^th attempt – and I believe the last team opened their lock on the 9^th attempt.  Once they had opened their lock, teams received their next clue:
CHUMP CHANGE!
Your team will need some money during this leg of the race – exactly $3.00 per person. 
Travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to
XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX Court (they were given the actual address – this was the home of a relative of one of our race staff – an address that was in no way familiar to any of the teams or drivers)
In the back yard of this residence is a swimming pool.  Your team must collect a total of 8 quarters, 7 dimes and 6 nickels per person. 
You may use as many players from your team as you choose to perform this task; however, you may only have one person from your team in the pool at any one time. 
When you have collected enough coins for your entire team in the exact denominations set forth above, locate one of the RBC Amazing Race Lifeguards and count your coins out for them to confirm you have the correct amount.  Once confirmed, you will receive your next clue. 

Some of the teams used only one swimmer and others used a few swimmers.  Once they had all their change, they received the next clue:
GET TO THE MALL!
Take an RBC Amazing Race Taxi to the Northwest Promenade Golden Empire Transit terminal.
Using all the coins you collected, purchase a Day Pass from one of the GET Transit Drivers.  Using your Day Pass, travel by bus to the Golden Empire Southwest Transit Center, located near the Valley Plaza Mall on Wible Road. 
Upon arrival at the Southwest Transit Center, locate an Amazing Race staff person for your next clue.

From the GET bus stop at the Northwest Promenade, there were actually three buses for teams to choose from.  One bus would take them to the downtown center, where they would be required to transfer to one of several other buses, all of which would eventually get them to the Valley Plaza.  The second option from Northwest Promenade would take them to Cal State, where they would transfer and go to the mall.  The third option would give them a nice tour of the Rosedale area before returning them right back to the Northwest Promenade where they started.  
Most teams took the first option, but two teams chose the second option – to Cal State then to the mall.  According to our pre-race research, this should have been the fastest option to the mall – HOWEVER, they got to Cal State just a few minutes late and missed the connector bus to the mall, which caused them to sit at Cal State for an extra hour until the next bus came.  
Another little twist here is that in all the excitement when counting change at the pool, one of the teams managed to get to the bus stop without enough money for their fare.  Lucky for them, they had a few minutes to spare before the buses left so they headed over to Walmart to beg for some money – then ended up finding the extra change needed on the ground.  

 When teams arrived at the Southwest Transit Center near the mall, they received their next clue:
WHO'S WHO?
Travel by foot to the Valley Plaza.  Once inside the mall, find these 3 people – in the order shown below.  When you locate each person, ask them to validate their identification.

After receiving validation from the third person, ask them for your next clue.

These three people were wandering the mall – but they did not appear exactly as they do in the pictures above, which made it a little more challenging.  In addition, the mall is a busy place on Friday evenings, so this was no easy task.  I think it took a little over an hour for the first team to finish – and I think the last team left the mall at about 8:45pm. 

 When teams found their third person, they received the next clue:  
TUNE UP!
Make your way to the top level of the JCPenney parking structure, then travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to Tec Services, located at 8534 Golden State Highway.
Upon arrival at Tec Services, you will need to find the instructions for your next challenge, located in a GMC pickup within the Tec Services yard.

In light of the fact that teams were given the address to Tec Services, finding it proved to be a challenge. You see, there is Golden State Highway and then there is Golden State Avenue, and most people don’t realize they are not one and the same. Golden State Avenue is also known as Highway 204 and is the one most are familiar with; Golden State Highway is a frontage road that runs parallel to Fwy 99, and Tec Services is located on this one, just south of Seventh Standard Road. So needless to say, several of the teams left the mall thinking they knew where they were headed, only to find themselves lost and needing direction. Our rules allow the drivers to share their knowledge if they know how to find where they have been directed, but they are not allowed to participate in a team’s strategy or help them in deciphering a clue and deciding where it is they need to go. If a team needs help or driving directions, they can ask strangers or look at a map at a gas station, etc., but may not “call a friend” for help.

Let's take a short break to give some free advertising to one of our sponsors:

If you need your car repaired, you should visit Tec Services - they'll do a great job! 

Open Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday: By appointment
Closed Sundays

(If you read any of the above, you'll know where they are located, but there's a map on their website if you're still not sure -- www.tecrepairservices.com

Now, back to the race...

When teams arrived at Tec Services, they had to retrieve instructions for their next task from an old pickup that was in the yard.  They were then given tools and instructions to change the spark plugs in another vehicle.  Once completed to the satisfaction of shop owner Bob Kopp, they received their next clue:

DETOUR:   WORK OR PLAY?
Select one of the following challenges:
WORK – Travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to Abate-a-Weed, located at 9411 Rosedale Highway.  
PLAY – Travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to xxxx Baptist Church, located at xxxx xxxxxx Avenue.  
You may switch tasks of the detour at any time, as many times as you wish.   

  Teams that chose WORK traveled to Abate-a-Weed, where they were tasked with transferring a full pallet of 50-pound fertilizer bags from one pallet to another. 

 Teams that chose PLAY were tasked with making five baskets from five marked locations on the basketball court – one of which was a half-court shot. 

 I realize it hasn't been very long since the last one, but this seems like the perfect time for another break -- to give some more free advertising to another one of our sponsors:

If you need any type of lawn and garden products, you should visit Abate-a-Weed -- they have everything you need and you'll receive great service!

Abate-a-Weed

Now, back to the race..

Only one team chose the PLAY option and they were fortunate enough to have a hoopster on their team who made the shot in short order – which  gave that team a pretty strong lead going into the next challenge.  Upon completion of this challenge, teams received their next clue:

ROADBLOCK:  Who’s Ready for Some 9-1-1- Fun?
Travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to the xxxxxx Fire Department xxxxx Station.  
Select one person from your team to be “Captain”.  When you arrive at the fire station, your entire team should locate the Amazing Race Task Master for further instruction.
Upon completion of the task, you will receive your next clue.
At the firehouse, teams had to untangle a firehouse that was tied up in a big ball of knots, then roll the hose in accordance with the firemen’s standards.  Then two members from each team had to suit up in full gear and use the firehouse to shoot down a row of hazard cones.  

 The race was pretty close at this point, as the last team arrived at the firehouse just shortly after the first team departed.  After completing the firehouse challenge, teams received their final clue for this leg of the race:
PIT STOP
Travel by RBC Amazing Race Taxi to the pit stop for this leg of the race – the home of xxxx, located at xxxx xxxxxxx Avenue in Shafter, California.  
Remember, there is only a prize for the first team to arrive!

And that’s it for the first leg of the race!  The last team arrived at the pit stop at approximately 11:00pm and after setting up tents, all had pizza and rehashed the night’s events before turning in for the night.  The first team would start at 7:00am in the morning for the second leg of the race -- with the other teams following at 5-minute intervals in the order that they finished the first leg of the race.