Despite the cancellation of many other events, Gold Coast Ramble was still able to proceed as scheduled on Sunday 22 March 2020. Due to CODIV-19 public health concerns, several teams did not compete and other teams lost some members but 13 teams collected their maps and had 2 hours fun completing the circuit. Check out the photo gallery.
To allow the event to proceed the event was modified to remove all activities requiring teams to interact with volunteers, other teams or the public. Once team captains had collected their map, the entire event was managed using the Goose Chase App. Missions or challenges went live at 10am and were listed on the App for teams to plan their routes. The challenges were in one of three formats:
- Find a geographic location (confirmed by GPS)
- Answer a question about a particular location (confirmed by correct answer)
- Submit a photograph or video of the team at the required location.
During the event additional bonus challenges were sent out to the team that were not location based and tested the team’s observation and creativity. Finally, to make the event ‘socially distant’, there was no congregation of teams to announce winners and draw random prizes. This was done by email and announced on social media. The App itself had maintained a leader board visible to all teams but adjusted by bonus and penalty points based on photographic submissions.
Looking back at previous Rambles we had volunteers manning every checkpoint and managing the logistics of setting these up was a major exercise. In 2017 we had over 80 volunteers to run the event. This year it could be run on the day with only one! This is the power of technology and the functionality in a new App.
Almost $7,000 in prizes were made available by our generous sponsors:
- Spicer Retreats
- KDV Sport
- Village Road Theme Parks
- Lana Noir Photography
- 94.1 FM Radio
- ISR Training
- Southport Yacht Club
- HopOn Brewery Tours
- Granddad Jacks Craft Distillery
We were able to balance the costs of running the event due to a generous donation from Kevin and Lindy Campbell so if you are looking for storage, please talk to Campbell’s Self Storage at Hope Island.
This year we used a registration site that provided an single easy-to-navigate registration and donation platform for participants. Raisely.com was able to handle the seamless transfer and receipting of team donations directly to the nominated charity at minimum cost.
Total proceeds for the event was $6,644, which included $1,350 in registrations. Several teams campaigned hard to maximise their pre-event bonus points:
- Niopotamus $1,045 raised for Bravehearts
- Good Karma $913raised for Baby Give Back
- Hinterland Heroes $870 raised for The Salvos
Disappointingly the 9 recipient charities only generated one or two teams with over 80% of team registrations coming from Rotarians or their connections. With an average team donation of $300, this was an opportunity missed with Rotary running a fun event for their network to support.
ANDRE'A AND HER BEST DRESSED TEAM FROM AAIC