Syndicate
Read all of this. You'll be happy you did.
The Chiditarod is probably, most likely, we assume, the largest mobile food drive in the universe. This year you must finish the race with at *least* 40 pounds of quality, non-perishable, preferrably high-protein food in your cart. This year all food and monentary donations go to The Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation. If you have friends who aren't racing or volunteering, ask them to participate by bringing food to the start or finish line. Times are tough; especially tough for those in real need. Chiditarod isn't just a wild, incredibly EPIC race to glory. You are doing good work. Please dig deep and help your fellow citizenry.
There are 6 checkpoints between the start and the finish. Your team will have to visit 5 of them, as designated on your individual route map. You must follow this route map to ensure glory and the optimum ratio of teams to checkpoints and avoid being humiliatedly disqualified. The checkpoints, in no particular order, are:
You must spend at least 20 minutes at each checkpoint. At each checkpoint, you'll present your race card (found in your racer pack) to the volunteers, who will hold it until they give it back to you. After twenty minutes, they'll hand it back to you and you can go on your merry way. If you're having a blast and you want to stay longer, you're welcome to take as much time* as you like at the checkpoints (*as long as you aren't there past 4pm which is the last possible time to check in).
Note that there are many racers this year. Epic proportions. There's a good probability that checkpoints will get crowded with lots of teams wanting to perform, with limited time slots, and limited time. If you're dead set on performing something incredible, make sure you speak up when you arrive, as well as during team checkin at the starting line. Talk to the judges. Good luck!!
(1) Karaoke of Champions
Be a real winner. Bear your heart. Your soul. Make it count. Do it big. Do it well.
Bring a normal audio CD containing your music. and your A-game. and some dance moves.
(2) Chaiku
Create your haiku
Perform it at a checkpoint
Bask in the glory
(3) Pole Dance Competition
Yep. There's a pole at the Rod - bring yer dance.
(4) Cheerditarod
Express your inner cheerleader. Or not. Coordinate a cheer, BRING IT ON. Bonus points for outrageousness, gratuitous showage of legs, and high-kicks.
Bottom Lounge - 1375 W Lake - Map
The finish line awaits your trimphant arrival (by 5 pm). You must have your race card fully completed by all the checkpoints to be valid for timing prizes and the biggies like Best in Show, Spirit of Chiditarod, DFL, etc. The clock stops when the slowest 5th member of your team finishes. Sabotage ends as soon as you cross the finish line. Park your cart in the parking lot, packing it in; volunteers will be helping herd. Then please help load your food into the truck. Enter using the front door, as the stairs in the back of the parking lot are closed off. You will be carded and should get a wristband for re-entry. Once inside, use the front stairwell to head upstairs to the "volcano room", which is where awards ceremony is. At the top of the stairs will be a table with cart deposit vixens and the boss judge where you'll hand in your SUPER BONUS CHALLENGE. You can also hang downstairs but you might miss something! You can smoke outside, or up on the back deck (accessible through the upstairs room). The awards ceremony will be held near 6 pm in the upstairs volcano room. Cart Deposit Refund Vixens will be located upstairs, inside the Bottom Lounge.
Safety is our number one priority. You are responsible for keeping yourself and your team safe and in compliance with the law. That means obeying traffic signals and laws restricting public consumption of alcoholic beverages, staying on the sidewalk, and being respectful and responsive to pedestrians, motorists, and especially members of the Chicago Police Dept. (should you have the occasion to interact with them). Please note that checkpoints can and do confiscate open containers of alcohol outside. If you're endangering yourself or others, you will be asked to stop and you may be asked to leave. All decisions of the Chiditajudges are final. No exceptions. We're bigger this year than ever before, and we are watching. Have fun! We salute you!
Our Bike Marshalls are back this year. And they rule. Our mobile team of volunteers will brave the cold and watch over you along the route. They're there to help, keep people safe, judge the coveted "Bike Marshal's Choice awards", and ensure that there aren't any egregious violations of the rules. We're all about competitive spirit, but if we catch you loading your cart in the back of a pickup or taking off on a bike, don't be surprised if you find yourself going home empty-handed. Take another look at the rules to save yourself some potential embarrasment:
We cannot stress this enough - ensure that whatever you bring with you, you take home with you. This means your CART, your trash, empty cans, sabotage instruments, silly string, wet sticky pillow filler, etc. Littering is for douches. Picking up trash is hot, sexy sexy-hot.
Chiditarod is a leave-no-trace event. Make plans to take your cart HOME (not down the street, in a dumpster, or laying in the street) with you after the race. When your team is leaving the finish line, basking in glory, head on over to the cart deposit booth. Bring your cart bib with you to turn in. A cart vixen will then follow you out to your vehicle/destination, and ensure that you're properly taking your cart with you. Basically we're going to make it a lot of work to try to pull anything over on us, so much work that it would be easier to just take your cart and swag with you. We may ask you to send in photographic proof that you've taken your cart home. If so, send a photo to the address on the slip of paper you receive showing your cart safely home to complete your refund. Refunds will be processed up to a week after race day; thanks for your patience. If you paid for your cart deposit on race day, you will receive your refund in cash instead of paypal. Forfeiting the deposit is NOT meant to be an alternative to removing your cart from the finish line. Failure to remove your cart on race day will result in your refund being forfeited. This is historically a huge pain point and threatens to jeopardize future Chiditarods. The decisions of our nice cart deposit volunteers are law.
Post your photos and videos to our ning website and whatever else you like (like flickr, picasa, facebook, etc). Use the tag "chiditarod2010" everywhere so we can easily find this year's ossmness easily. We can't wait to see you all out there in...hours.
Chiditarod Coreganizers
Forums, legendary teams, event listings, media site.