Gorge Rules and Etiquitte

These Rules are designed to set forth standards in which athletes can participate and compete in a positive, fun and fair atmosphere. These Rules are intended to promote and maintain sportsmanship and to protect the health, safety, and well being of participants.

General:
- Each team will be provided with Maps, Passport, and Passport Instructions.
- Event Management reserves the right and authority to alter or change the course, route and stages of the race/event at any time due to a real or perceived threat to the safety of the participants.
- The Race Director has the final say in any decision regarding safety, interpretation of the rules, enforcement of penalties, or general race related decisions.
- Competitors may appeal a decision by submitting a written appeal to the Event Management staff after the close of the race. Appeals must be received before race participants leave the site of the race.
Non-support:
This is a non-supported race. All event related activities from registration, staging, racing, etc., are to be completed by team members only.
Racing Bib:
All competitors must wear the official Racing Bib or Team Number provided by the race management, from start to finish. The Racing Bib or Team Number must be worn in such a manner as to be visible at all times. You may not alter or change the race bibs or team numbers in any way.
Gear Checks:
- Teams will be randomly subjected to a gear-check and it is the teams’ responsibility to oblige the Race Official in a timely and civil manner.
- Any missing "mandatory general gear" items will result in a time penalty.
- Any missing "mandatory safety gear" items will result in the team being immediately disqualified from participating further in the race, and from being officially ranked.
- Mandatory "general" and "safety" gear will be clearly labelled and provided in the Required Equipment information pages.
Hydration/Nutrition:
All participants are required to be self-sufficient and therefore you are responsible for your hydration and nutrition. Race managment, staff, and volunteers will not provide any support (including hydration or food) to racers during the race.
Course-Route:
Competitors are required to follow the course-route as designated. You must physically visit all CPs in the order prescribed by the Race Director. "Physically visit" means you must be able to reach out and touch the CP marker.
Certain time cut-offs and requirements will be established and provided to the competitors during the pre race meeting (see "Schedule" for details). If you miss a time cut-off you may be directed to a shortened course, which either bypasses CPs in a discipline, or completely bypasses a discipline completely. Pro Course teams will NOT be redirected to a Sport Course and finish under a Sport Course finish position. You will start in one class, and finish in that class.
Teams must declare entry in the Sport Class prior to starting the race. In this case they will not be required to meet the skill check requirements for the ropes course or be required to carry the mandatory ropes course gear, and will not be allowed to compete on the ropes course. Any Pro Course team choosing not to complete the ropes course during the race will recieve a stiff time penalty for each team member that does not complete the ropes section, this will be fully outlined during the pre-race mandatory meeting.
The Race Director has the final say on whether a team will be allowed to continue to compete if they fail to meet the time cut-offs and requirements.
Garbage/Trash:
Leave no Trace! Any team that liters will be assessed a time penalty. Minimum time penalty will be 1 hour.
Cut off time:
Cut off times are established to ensure the safety of racers and will be enforced. Cut off locations and times will be provided to your team during the pre race meeting. A Race Official will notify any team that reaches a cut-off location after the official cut-off time. Any team directed to a shortened course segment will be required to comply with the race official's request.
Finish time:
A teams’ finishing time will be the time from the Official Race Start to the time all team member cross the finish line, plus any assessed penalties.
Passports:
- Each team will be provided with a Passport
- Passports must be presented to Race Officials upon request.
- Each team must maintain possession of their race Passport throughout the race. You must surrender your race Passport upon crossing the finish line.
- Loss of your race Passport will disqualify you from the race.
- You may not alter or change the race passport in any way except to mark it as designated.
- You are required to keep you passport in the best condition possible. You must keep it in a waterproof bag (ziploc, etc.) during section of the course that require travel in, on, or through water.
- If proof of reaching a CP requires writing in your passport - you must insure your writing is clear and legible. Any written CP answers that are illegible will immediately be discarded, and a penalty will be assessed.
Check Points (CP’s):
Competitors will travel from CP to CP requiring navigation, orienteering, and route finding skills. CP’s must be acquired as noted in the Passport Instructions. There will be both manned and unmanned CP’s. CPs will only be considered "acquired" once all members of the team have reached the CP together, and all members of the team can physically touch the CP marker. You will not know in advance which CPs are manned or unmanned.
Be safe:
All teams and athletes are required to observe, follow, and obey all local traffic rules. In addition teams must provide right-of-way to citizens on the streets.
Be courteous:

All teams must be curteous and polite to citizens encountered on the street, trails, or wilderness areas. Any complaints registered against a team may incur a time penalty and could result in a team being disqualified from the race.
Please be polite and curteous with race volunteers and staff. These people have graciously donated their time, energy, and enthusiasm to make your race safe and successful. All Volunteers and Race Staff can issue an immediately 30 minute time penalty to any team who displays unsportsmanlike conduct directed at volunteers, race staff, other racers, or non-racers. Further infractions may result in the team from being disqualified and asked to leave the race course and race venue.
Team Rules:
Team members must stay within 50 meters of each other throughout the event. Any team that does not maintain the 50 meter contact rule will be assessed a penalty, and multiple infractions may cause the team to be disqualified from the race. If you see any teams not maintaining the 50 meter contact rule, you may report them to any race course official (race director, race volunteer, etc.).
Time Penalties:
A time penalty may be imposed for a violation of any of the event Rules. In the event that a team is assessed a time penalty, the time penalty shall be served by the Team prior to crossing the finish line in some cases. Time penalties shall be cumulative and a team may be assessed more than one time penalty for violations of the same rule. If a team violates the same rule repetitively, or violates multiple rules, they may be disqualified from the race.
Missed CPs:
Teams missing a CP will have the opportunity to acquire the CP prior to finishing. You must complete the entire course and visit all CPs as described during the pre race meeting to be officially ranked. Teams not visiting CPs will be listed as "DNF" (Did Not Finish) and will not be eligible for prizes. DNF ranked teams will still be eligible to obtain series points. They will only receive 50% of the possible points earned for their finish position. DNF teams will automatically be ranked after all full course finishing teams.
Teammate Drop
Teams that have a teammate drop during the race course (either due to injury, fatigue, team dynamic issues, etc...) may finish the race without that team member. These teams will be considered "Unranked" in the final finish standings. However, a 2 Person who loses a team member may not continue on unless they travel with another Unranked team or another ranked team that allows that person to race with them.
Time Penalties:
Penalty times range from 10 to 120 minutes.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have fun!