Rogaine Rules
International rogaining rules will be in effect during our events. Since our events are not championship events, some modifications have been made. The significant rules are outlined below and we recommend that you familiarize yourself with all the rules.
- Team members must stay together (within unaided verbal contact) the whole time they are on the course (IRF rule B10)
- All team members must go to each checkpoint visited by the team, meaning all must simultaneously approach within 20 meters (IRF rule B15)
- All participants are required to respond to a distress signal and to assist a competitor who is injured and needs assistance (elaboration on IRF rule B30)
- All participants are responsible for their own safety while they participate, and participants should make themselves aware of the hazards associated with traffic, weather, rugged terrain, health risks of extreme exertion, equipment malfunction, and remoteness from emergency assistance
- Except in case of emergency, all participants must check in with event staff before leaving the area; in case of emergency, an evacuated participant or his/her team members should notify event staff of the situation as soon as possible after attending to the emergency
- Teams in the Bike or Duathlon divisions may travel only on bicycles (non-motorized) or on foot (exception to IRF rule B9)
- Participants traveling on bicycles may leave their bicycles on the course and come back to them later, as long as the bicycles are out of the way of others, and the participants have the bicycles with them whenever they return to the start/finish (elaboration of IRF rule B13). Race management is not responsible for bikes left on the course.
- Teams with be ranked first by their score and second by their time
- Points will be deducted from the scores of late returning teams, and the per-minute point penalty will be announced at the event; teams finishing more than 40 minutes late will receive a score of zero (exception to IRF rule B27)
- Duathlon teams may return early from their biking leg and spend more than half their time on foot, but they will receive substantial point penalty for returning late from their biking leg.
- Points may be deducted from the scores of teams that fail to record their visits on the checkpoint log sheets, and the penalty will be announced at the event
- A team may be assessed point penalties or be disqualified, at the discretion of the organizer, for infringing these rules (modification of IRF rule B23)
- Solo participants are allowed in the 2, 4, 6, and 8-hour events (exception to IRF rule B1)
- Minimum age for a participant not accompanied by an adult is 16 (exception to IRF rule B2)
- Dogs may accompany a team on the course, but they must be under close control and may not be allowed to harass wildlife or people (exception to IRF rule B5h)
- GPS devices and altimeters (such as GPS tracking watches) may be carried on the course (to allow tracking analysis afterward) but not used for navigation by teams competing for an official result and awards. If carried, any such devices that have a display must be presented to race officials to be sealed (after tracking is activated, if desired) before the start. Without going into the details of the sealing method, we can say that participants with GPS watches should plan to carry them, not wear them. (exception to IRF rule B7)
- Teams that wish to use additional navigation aids are welcome to do so if they notify the organizer, but their results will be listed separately and they may not be considered for awards (exception to IRF rule B7)
- Following another team is allowed if consent is secured from the followed team (exception to IRF rule B12)
In an effort to add consistency to other rogaine events in the Pacific Northwest, the rules and modifications to international rogaining rules above have been duplicated from mergeo with permission.