MDHTALK - Brief: Competition Hunts

Competition Hunt Preparation Brief

This brief will attempt to outline the items and issues that need to be addressed while planning a large event. Suggestions / examples are available in the brief for issues, planning, planning calendar, committee profile, flyer description and hunt rules.

Competition: The act of competing between individuals using one’s skill, ability and metal detectors to seek a prize or prizes. In a competition event rules are necessary so that all participants in an event have an equal opportunity to seek the prize.

Competition metal detecting hunts are usually held in public parks, at ocean beaches and on privately held grounds. These hunts are fee based and will have pre-planted fields with coin and token targets. The exception is relic hunts that are usually held in open terrain, no pre-planted targets but are also fee based.

Open Hunts: You need not be a club member to participate in the hunt. An open hunt is for any one who is willing to pay the entrance fees and follow the hunt rules.

Closed Hunts: You must be a club member to participate in the hunt and be able to show a current club membership card at registration. A closed hunt is for club members only.

Event Planning: A detailed event planning calendar and event committee are essential when planning a complex metal detecting event.

One of the first decisions to make is: will the hunt be a closed hunt (for members only) or an open hunt (for anyone to participate) and second how much time will it take to implement the event? Once these two decisions are made you can move on with the planning.

Issues that need to be addressed:

Identify the date of the event.
Identify the event location. (hunt field **, camping & picnicking facilities and are motels, eating establishments close by)
Define the number and themes of the hunts.
Determine the amount of moneys to be spent on coins, hunt prizes and other activities during the event.
Determine the entrance fee for each hunt that is held. (plus moneys to cover the cost of targets, prizes, and the overhead cost of other supporting activities)
Will the event have lunch concessions.
Will metal detector manufacturers and retailer be invited to setup display booths. Are these booths free.
What will the targets, and prizes consist off. (gold, silver, clad mix, metal detectors, and accessories)
Will the club solicit local metal detector retailers and manufacture for event prizes.
How to handling the event setup and cleanup.
Where to purchase coins and prizes for the event.
What are the other activities that may be held in conjunction with the hunts.
Will there be guest speakers, if so what facilities may be needed.
How to communicate the event to the general public and hobby community at large.
Who has ownership for implementing the plan.
Hold a retrospective after the event to determine what went right and what may need to be changed for future events.

** Note: The Hunt Field should be free of down trees, large rocks, uneven ground and navigable by senior citizens’.

A Rule of Thumb for the Planning Calendar:

Event Duration-

Five to Seven Day Event: 12 months
Three to Five Day Event: 9 -10 months
Two to Three Day Event: 6 - 7months
One Day Event: 3 to 4 months

A Suggested Hunt Planning Calendar: The calendar below is for a large 4-7 day hunt. It can be shorter for a smaller event, but most of the issues will still apply.

Month 12:

Organize the hunt committee. (Leader, Logistics, Hunt Master, Curator, Activities, Advertizing)
Make decision on open or closed hunt.
Make decision on date and length of event.
Identify the issues and actions to be taken for the event.
Assign ownership for issues and actions.

Month 11 to 10:

Investigate possible locations to hold the event.

Month 10:

Review hunt locations and make a final decision on hunt location.
Identify and review potential critical event issues.
Identify and review all event cost.
Identify hunt sponsors.
Identify event support activities.
Identify types of concessions and who may want display booths.
Identify event speakers

Month 9:

Define event description. (number of hunts, fees, finalize date, event theme, etc.)
Complete first pass of the event flyer.
Make decision on event fees to cover all cost.
Make decision on all support activities.
Make decision on concession and display booths.

Month 8:

2nd pass on event flyer. (see suggested flyer description below)
Finalize hunt sponsors.
Confirm event speakers.

Make decision whether to solicit from local metal detector retailers and manufacturers for event prizes
Discuss and create course of action on events publication to the public at large.

Month 7:

Finalize event flyer.
Make decision on registration cut-off dates.
Publish the event. (place flyer on: website, website forums, to retailers, to other clubs, notification to magazines)

Month 6:

Invite manufacturers and retailers.
Invite concession vendors.
Make final decision on support activities.

Month 5:

Provide a detail review of the plan.
Is the event still a go, if so move forward.
Review open issues & actions.
Re-publish the event to retailers, clubs and manufacturers.
Confirm vendors and concessions.

Month 4:

Solicit metal detectors & other prizes from retailers & manufactures’.
Create Tokens for hunt prizes.

Month 3:

First Pass at purchasing Silver & Gold prizes.
Re-publish the event to retailers, clubs and manufacturers.

Month 2:

Purchase metal detecting related prizes.
Second pass at purchasing silver & Gold prizes.
Review of all issues and actions one more time.

Month 1:

Final review of the event.
Final Silver & Gold coin purchase.
Final Week: Setup the event fields for hunts, parking, concessions, support activities display booths, and create name tags.
Hold the event and have fun.
Cleanup the event location.
Hold retrospective after event

A Suggested Event Committee.

Participants on the planning committee:

Committee Leader (provides leadership and may assume certain duties)
Logistics Person (location, setup and cleanup of event)
Hunt Master (responsible for the number, themes of hunts plus implementation of the hunts)
Curator (responsible for obtaining all coins, and prizes for the hunts and other raffle events)
Support Activities Person (responsible for concessions, lunches, retailer booths, and raffles, name tags)
Event Advertizing Person (create a flyer, put event on the web, send flyer to clubs & retailers within 250 – 400 mile radius of the event, get event in local newspapers and national hobby magazines, etc.)

The Event Flyer should contain the following:

Must have Event Date and Duration.
Must have Event Location and Directions. (map or detailed directions to event)
Must have Detailed Event Description. (schedule of events with description and admission fee breakout)
Must have Event Admissions Form. (registration cut-offs, entrant’s information, payment method, contact information, mail form to)
Should have Coin and Prize Description for each Hunt.
List event speakers and their discussion topic.
Must list the available Support Facilities. (camp grounds, motels, eating places, etc.)
Must have Hunt Sponsor identified. (club, manufacture, retailers, etc.)
Must have the Hunt Rules listed. (see list below)
Must list the main Sponsor Contact Information. (website, contact name, phone number, email address, mail to address)
How to obtain the event flyer should also be on flyer. (website URL, email address, phone number)

Competition Metal Detecting Hunt Rules

Hunt Field Rules:

Hunt Master is totally in charge of the hunt.
The hunt field should be divided in quadrants before the hunt. If hunt participants help in planting the hunt field the participant should be assigned a quadrant for target planting and he or she should not be allowed to hunt in their previously assigned hunt field quadrant.
Registered hunters must wear hunt registration badge while on the hunt field.
The Hunt Field Gate Keeper will check all registered participant badges before allowing individuals to enter the hunt field perimeter. Only registered hunters are permitted entrance to the hunt field.
No Walking across the Hunt Field while getting to your hunt field line-up position.
No talking during the hunt.
No littering on the hunt field and on adjacent events lands.
No alcohol permitted at the metal detecting event.
No discourteous conduct toward others will be permitted.
All Trash recovered during the hunt must be put in a target recovery pouch and be removed from the hunt field.
All holes dug to recover targets must be filled once the target has been removed.
Failure to follow hunt rules will result in the forfeiture of all hunts, prizes and the offender will be requested to leave immediately.

Hunt Prizes:

Coin Targets and Token Prizes ** will be regulated according to number of hunt entries.
Coin and Tokens targets should be no greater than two inches deep in the soil. Or
Coin and Token Targets *** will be planted or tossed in the ground cover.
Free hunts will consist of all clad coins and are only for registered hunters.
Token Prizes may be Gold Coins, Gold Nuggets, Silver Rounds, Silver Coins, metal detectors or other metal detecting related accessories.
If Prize Tokens are not found during a hunt, the token prizes will be raffled off by using the entrant’s registration numbers written on individual raffle tickets. These raffle tickets will be drawn at the end of the hunt event for the left over prizes.

** Note: None Coin Token Targets should have a value greater than $35, all other gifts of donated items less than $35 should not be part of the seeded hunt but used as door prizes, etc.

*** Note: Tokens should be easily identifiable by event participants and consistent from hunt to hunt.

Metal Detector Rules:

Entrants must provide their own metal detector and target recovery tools.
All hunt participates must wear headphones.
No Search Coil larger than twelve inches are allowed. Note: No oversized Coils off any kind will be allowed on the Hunt Field.
No Pulse Induction (PI) metal detectors allowed on the Hunt Field.
The exception to the (PI) statement above is that small electronic pin-pointers will be allowed.

Recovery Tools:

No Hand Tools allowed in Public Park Hunts when coins are tossed in the grass.
Small Hand Recovery Scratching Tools or Small Recovery Hand Trowels allowed. (Less than 3” in size)when hunt events are held on undeveloped land.
Sand Scoops allowed at beach hunts.
Recovery speed baskets not allowed.
No target recovery plugging tools allowed.
All hunt participates must wear target recovery pouch for trash removal.

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