It’s a well-known fact that geocaching is a community-based game. After all, what would the game be without creative cache owners and the engaged cachers who log their finds?

Another vital aspect of the game is the group of geocaching community volunteers who dedicate their time, passion, and talent to support the worldwide geocaching community.

• Reviewers review and publish geocaches that meet geocaching guidelines
• Moderators guide and monitor participation in the Geocaching Forums
• Translators translate geocaching content into 25+ languages
• EarthCache reviewers use their expertise in geology to review and publish EarthCaches

The geocaching community currently has nearly 400 volunteers who support geocachers and provide guidance to new players—all for the love of the game. Though most volunteers are also active players, a large portion of the community hasn’t yet had the chance to meet them.

Here’s a brief introduction to volunteers you might have seen in your community!

Guy – FlameCarrier

Location: Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪Reviewer since: 2020

Behind the username: “I wanted a username with a meaning where I could express my love for the game and how to bring that to the community. So I came up with FlameCarrier which stands for keeping the flame burning for this wonderful game of geocaching and carrying this flame to the community to spread this love.”

Fun Fact: Guy is an early bird, so most of his reviewing is done very early in the morning. His spouse is a fellow reviewer for Belgium, HartenDame. When not geocaching, they both enjoy playing board games, and own over 100 different games!

Why he volunteers: “When asked to become a reviewer I waited 24 hours before answering yes/no. I considered all possible scenarios and finally accepted as I knew I could make an impact to this great game we all love. After some years of experience, it is not pushing the green button for the birth of a new cache that gives me the greatest satisfaction. It is meeting up with other geocachers, cache owners, volunteers and HQ Lackeys during walks, events and gatherings that is the most fun. Discovering places, locations and meeting up with new friends is what makes this game so great!”

Cathy – Rock Rabbit 

Location: Washington, U.S. 🇺🇸
Reviewer since: 2009

Behind the username: “Rock Rabbit is a nickname for the Pika, a cute alpine mammal that lives in rocky areas at high elevation. Though they resemble hamsters, they are not rodents. They are the smallest member of the Lagamorpha order and related to rabbits. They’re best known for the loud high pitched squeak they make as an alarm call.”

Fun Fact: Cathy has geocached in 42 countries (and counting)! She retired from Geocaching HQ in 2022 after many years working on HQ’s Community Team. When she’s not geocaching, her hobbies include gardening, cooking, and making elaborate sculpted Christmas stockings for her family.

What she wants the geocaching community to know: “Most geocaching review territories have a wiki with the local land policies… Bookmark that and check it out before you go out to hide a cache.”

Urs – srebeelis

Reviewer for: Switzerland and Liechtenstein 🇨🇭🇱🇮
Volunteer since: 2016

Behind the username: “​​Since we started caching as a family, our player name contains our last name. It’s basically the Swiss German take of “The Millers”. Since the reviewers in Switzerland have traditionally been out in the open from the very start I wanted my reviewer name to be recognisably related to my player name. I debated whether to stick the “re” of “reviewer” to the start or the middle and ended up turning “sbeelis” into “s-re-beelis” which became ‘srebeelis.’”

Fun Fact: Urs is a big fan of the geocaching tool, GSAK, and has regularly contributed to it. Since Urs’ family does not own a vehicle, they geocache by foot, bike, or public transportation.
Why he volunteers: “At first it was the chance to contribute to our fantastic game and its community. Geocaching has given me so many great experiences, taken me to so many extraordinary places and brought me together with so many wonderful people. The chance to give back some of this and allow others to enjoy our game were my main motivations. Since then I have come to appreciate the incredible family of international volunteers which just turns out to be another benefit of geocaching.”

While we’d love to introduce you to all the hardworking volunteers out there, that might take a while! Stay tuned for more features where you may see your local volunteer, and check out our past volunteer features.