Spring Training! WEG's 2018 Baseball RallyIE Event Cache

The 2018 West End Geocachers Geo-RallyIE is coming... This year's theme is going to be baseball!

It's a beautiful day for baseball.

"Let's play two."

Yes, that's right. This year's RallyIE is all about Baseball.

As the famous comic George Carlin noted, "Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.

Also: in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring. In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen Andy Reid in his Kansas City Chiefs uniform, you'd know the reason for this custom.

Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park! Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life. In baseball you wear a cap. Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up? In baseball you make an error. In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody. Baseball has the sacrifice. In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play. Baseball has the seventh inning stretch. Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings. In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness. In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!"

You don't need to participate in the Rally to attend this or any other event that might be remotely associated with this one, nor do you need to attend the event to participate in the rally. You don't need a baseball or a mitt to participate in the rally either.

As in previous years, teams can be formed and the day will consist of a photo scavenger hunt. Teams scoring the most points at the end of the day will win some awesome prizes!

All you have to do is pick the way you want to score points and head out. You do not need to find any caches while out and about to be competitive or maybe even win. Finding caches while out and about is a bonus! Point values for tasks will be announced during the Spring Training event. For those not able to make it to this event, all the details will be made available to download once the event gets under way.

This year, we're moving the rally back to it's traditional start time of the first Saturday of August. The details of the rally are being worked out, new caches are being designed and hidden in case you want a little extra fun along the way. Expect the RallyIE to run from roughly 9:15 AM until 5 PM, but is subject to change as we get closer.

During our Baseball RallyIE, you'll get a chance to possibly visit every Major League Ballpark, see some great Baseball Movies and possibly attend the Fall Classic. Who knows? It might even go extra innings!

So get your team in working order. Stretch out those muscles and make sure the entire team is organized and ready to go. This is what Spring Training is all about!

Here are some items to be aware of...

1. Make, find or get on a team. It’s lots more fun to cache with others, but you certainly may cache solo, as a duo or any number you prefer. The fine print: Teams CANNOT split up!
2. Take a selfie of your entire team with the "WEGs Baseball RallyIE Icon" at or near a Baseball Scavenger Hunt item. Everyone needs to be visible and so does the icon.
3. You may travel by car, truck, motorcycle, taxi, UBER, scooter, skateboard, horse, bicycle, stilts, bullpen cart… to participate in the Baseball RallyIE. Just BE CAREFUL!
   1. Each team needs to have a designated “hitter”… actually “logger”! That person will represent the team and log in for each cache found. They will be the one posting finds and photos of your travels and the one we will use to verify your efforts. This person will need a smartphone with a camera and an app of their choice to log photos to this event page.
   2. All photos should be uploaded to this Rally Event Page using a "write note" log.
   3. "Photoshopped" images are not allowed.
   4. Photos of your phone showing an image is not allowed.
   5. There is an example 'Write note' and photo upload posted by Webfoot. There is no limit to the number of photos that may be posted to a 'Write note' log. (This is confirmed with HQ). Please use a title similar to the one in the example log so it is easier for us to find the note containing all of your photo ops for the day.
4. All team photos must include all members of the team and the "item" handed out at the kickoff must be visible in each photo in order to score points.
5. Scavenger Hunt Bonus points will be awarded for finding and taking photos of items related to and/or found near the baseball parks you might visit. (Similar to last year's photo rally, but we aren't going to tell you where to find these things. Most scavenger photo items can be found near the baseball parks you will visit. There is no restriction on where you may find these items.)
6. Bonus points will be awarded for cachers in themed costume and decorated rides.
7. We have geocaches being published the day of the event. While you do not have to find any of them to participate or be competitive in the rally or this event, there will be Bonus points attached to them. All traditional Baseball RallyIE caches found will be worth 1 point. Non-traditional Baseball RallyIE caches will be worth 2 points.
8. A handout with scoresheet will be available at this event and for download for those unable to attend this event.
9. As the Award Ceremony Event begins at 5pm, Teams submitting scoresheets after 5:30pm will have 5 un-bonus points assessed for every ten minutes after 5pm, up to 30 un-bonus points maximum (Yes, these are penalty points).
10. All scoring items must be posted online by 5:15. The official event computer(s) will be refreshed at that time and posting items after this time will be denied.
11. Awards will go to the top three (3) teams. Teams must be present to receive awards.
12. The Team Réd Rule: Teams must actually turn in a scoresheet. In person. Before the end of the Award Ceremony Event (or when the last WEG event official leaves the event, whichever is later), in order for points to be scored.

Disabled or Injured participants: We recognize the difficulty some geocachers may have with exiting and entering a vehicle or riding a bicycle. A pre-printed facial image (head on a stick) of a participant that is currently disabled in some way may be used in lieu of that person physically appearing in each image. Just let us know before the event if you or your team will have someone with this exception. Your team will be responsible for providing the life size image. Photoshopped images are still not allowed.

We also recognize that some people may have exceptional reasons to not have an image of their likeness published on the event pages. In this case, an alternate image/icon on a stick or stuffed animal held in a way to obscure a person's face while the rest of them is in the photo. Alternatively, the event 'item' may be held in a similar fashion covering the face. Please notifiy event hosts if you are seeking this exception.