Race Rules DARS
Note: these are the translated race rules of the DARS. The original text is available at the DARS site. If there is any confusion, the original Dutch version of the race rules prevails.
All races of the DARS competition have a set of basic rules concerning the design and qualification of each race. Every organization of a race has the opportunity to diverge from these rules, as long as this is clearly communicated upfront.
Standard rules of adventure racing
Adventure racing is an endurance sports. You will be competing in a team of 2 people, engaging in a mix of various outdoor sports. Carrying a backpack filled with food and drinks you will be at least running/trekking, mountain biking and paddling, but you may also be inline skating, swimming, kick-biking, climbing, rappelling or else. This racing may last from 6 up to 32 hours.
Check Point (CP)
The main target in adventure racing is to find as many CP’s as possible. This can be done by proper navigation, mainly using a map and compass. At every CP you will find a ‘control punch’ to mark the appropriate box on your control card. With this you can prove that you have visited the CP, the organization will check the control cards for results.
Bonus Point (BP)
It may also be possible to earn Bonus Points (BP). These can be part of a stage, or even a complete stage. They have the same kind of ‘control punch’ as a regular CP.
Stage
A stage is a series of CP’s between two Transition Area’s (see below). In a stage you will have one discipline to move forward (e.g. running/trekking, mountain biking, paddling, or else). A stage will only count when at least 1 CP of that stage has been visited and punched.
Obligated Point (OP)
There will also be Obligated Points (OP) you don’t want to miss. These are the most important ones.
Transition Area (TA)
At a Transition Area you will change discipline/stage. For example you change from a mountain biking stage into a paddling stage.
Time / Deadline
The race has a certain time limit. In this time you need to visit as many OP’s, CP’s and BP’s as you can. During the race there might be deadlines at some point, for example at a certain Transition Area. You have to be there on time, failing to do so will result in a penalty, costing you CP’s per minute/5 minutes (depending on the race).
At the finish the time will be registered. Most races have a deadline for finishing as well. After calculating all points, with 2 teams having the same amount of points, the fastest finishing time will determine the winner.
Special Tasks (ST)
During a race the organization might have come up with some awesome tasks for you to carry out, like repelling or climbing. These we call Special Tasks (ST). These special tasks can also have CP’s, BP’s or OP’s.
Scoring sequence
The ranking of a race will be made up as follows:
- Achieved Obligated Points (OP’s)
- Achieved Stages
- Achieved Check Points (CP’s)
- Achieved Bonus Points (BP’s)
- Achieved Finish time