Treasure Hunt feedback

[Pinkpadigal]

I am working with Rick Stratton on the planning committee for 2007 NW Treasure Hunt. Here is some of the things we are thinking about...

No snorkeling/freediving event
Seminars on safety, weighting, buoyancy and navigation
Commercial dive and rescue dive team demonstration
Opportunties to demo gear
Army vs Navy contest
Dive fashion show
contest for the best "diver food"
goodie bags with coupons and other stuff when you register
shore side scavenger hunt

Our goal is to make it more than just a dive to find golf balls. However, I would love ideas from all of you. What have you liked about past events? What would you like to change? What would you like to add? What kind of prizes? What do you think of the ideas above?

Thanks,

[enchantmentdivi]

Amy,

I've been to the last three treasure hunts...two of those my husband and I worked as safety divers (he won the inflatable boat in 2005) and last year, we attended only as spectactors.

The one thing that I highly recommend that you change from last year is the safety plan. It appeared to be fairly non-existent last year, and we witnessed a few things that were downright terrifying! There appeared to be NO safety divers on the beach, there appeared to be NO clear indication of who was in charge in case of an emergency, etc. However, the worst, most frightening, thing we saw was the "safety boat" (a fancy smancy RIB) drive right over 50-100 submerged divers in about 20 fsw because a diver on the surface--only 10-15 ft from shore--looked distressed. Had any diver had a buoyancy problem at that particular moment, they would've been toast in the propellor. Had there been safety divers on shore, they could've easily handled the situation without putting the other 49-99 divers in the vicinity in danger.

Just my 2 cents! Good luck in your planning!

Jenn

[.]

I am working with Rick Stratton on the planning committee for 2007 NW Treasure Hunt. Here is some of the things we are thinking about...

No snorkeling/freediving event
Seminars on safety, weighting, buoyancy and navigation
Commercial dive and rescue dive team demonstration
Opportunties to demo gear
Army vs Navy contest
Dive fashion show
contest for the best "diver food"
goodie bags with coupons and other stuff when you register
shore side scavenger hunt

Our goal is to make it more than just a dive to find golf balls. However, I would love ideas from all of you. What have you liked about past events? What would you like to change? What would you like to add? What kind of prizes? What do you think of the ideas above?

Thanks,

I like all of them, but the fashion show and cooking contest sound the most interesting. Nothing sells better than food and sex.

[Zen Diver]

I especially like education opportunities and the chance to demo gear.

-Valerie

[Cera]

I have attended two treasure hunts and here are my two cents:

1. Don't do away with the free diving! The first year we attended (and the only year we dove) this was the only event we found a golf ball in. Plus there are people who don't dive that participate in this event, that is cool! (the reason we didn't find balls durring the diving portion was because a group of divers were collecting all the balls and burying them! We found out because they were bragging about it afterwards!)

2. I don't think an above ground treasure hunt is really worth it, it is after all an underwater treasure hunt! It seems unfair for those paying to participate.

3. If they are so worried about a freediver finding the treasure chest, make two chests each with 500$ that way two people get to win! I think if a freediver can find the chest that is awesome!

4. I think there should be MORE balls than divers, the point isn't to come up empty handed, everyone wants to find a ball, after all its still a raffle even if they find a ball. I think it would make people feel better about the event.

5. I agree that there should be better safety measures in place and perhaps a demonstration or a larger area to search. The first year I did the treasure hunt I was kicked no less than 7 times. I lost my mask twice, my regulator was pulled from my mouth and I had a diver descend right on top of me! It was the least safe diving event I have ever attended!

6. I would feel better about the even if it weren't so harsh to the sea life there... I don't know what to do about this issue. Maybe some of the money made from the event could go towards REEF or something, it would make it look like NW Dive news cares more about the diving environment than money.

7. Last year we "won" a "trip" to indonesia... which you may think 'wow that is really cool'.. however, it was not a trip, it was a boat ride in indonesia for one... the boat requires double occupancy. In order for us to use this trip my husband and I would have to pay $5000 to get ourselves there, get transfered to the boat, pay for the hotel stay and pay for my boat ride. In other words this was not a trip it was a coupon. I don't think they should give away trips for one (unless they can be used by only one person (ours was double occupancy) and are local OR include airfare). I understand that the agency was giving away their free trip they earned from selling a certain number of trips and I think that is kinda lame.

8. Finally, I last year I was highly offended by some of the comments Rick made while on the PA system. Being in a position such as his, he should be a little more careful about the things he says they made him (and everyone involved in the treasure hunt) look bad! (if you want to know what it was PM me and I will discuss it with you)

[Cera]

I don't understand the Army vs. Navy thing either?

[Scubak]

Here's my 02 cents...
I have never attended a treasure hunt at Owens Beach. I don't want to deal with trying to find parking and then shlepping my gear to the dive area. I don't want to deal with a freediver finding all the cool stuff. I don't want to deal with a million divers decending on each other, kicking each other, ripping regs outta your mouth to find a chance to win cool stuff. I don't want to endanger myself and I don't really like that other divers are endangered. I don't like that the "cool" trips that you "might" win are for ONE person minus air fare and lodging...how cool is that to win???
I think the treasure hunt is one of the most unorganized, unsafe, insane events that is happening in the PNW...and I won't have any part of it.
Again, just my 02 cents..
Kirsten

[Pinkpadigal]

Thank you everyone! Keep the comments coming.

[Cera]

My husband had a really good idea.
Why not enter everyone in the raffles who pays to dive (or freedive). Then have an actual treasure hunt (not for golf balls)! For example, they could set aside 25 prizes (just a random number) and hide things in the water related to them; for example a new wet suit you could hide a boot, for a charter trip hide a boat, or for a framed print they could hide a ceramic tile etc. that way you are sure to get a prize if you find something and if you don't you still have a chance of getting a prize. Everyone wins! Especially the environment (no stray golf balls in the sound). The rules could be like one item per diver in the water and maybe don't tell them what each item is until they are done! (That way they couldn't just swim around collecting all the items and pick the one they want.)

[coachrenz]

Seems like a good solution may be to make the whole event a top side event.

Don't have anything official organized for in the water. Just have the event somewhere that diving is convenient and if people want to dive, they can. You could have gear demos that people could actually try the gear out in the water.

I like the raffle idea.

I have attended the UWS Dive fair many times, and I am kind of envisioning something along those lines, only stationed at a Dive Site.

Just a quick thought.


Tim

[Pringster]

Since I've not been to one of these events, this opinion doesn't come from experience. However, that being said...I would expect a good number of people attending this event. If the majority of them dive, that could simply put too many divers in the same area, which could lead to be a problem. I tend to think on the same lines as coachrenz and make the event top side, but allow a location with reasonable parking at a dive site allowing divers to get wet just for the enjoyment of the dive. There's no need in taking the chance of putting ANYONE at risk underwater, regardless of the prize.

[RSdancey]

I have done the treasure hunt the past two years.

Here are my general thoughts:

1) Kill the freediving components of the event -- make the event just for SCUBA. This will reduce complexity, and shorten the time you need to manage people in the water, allowing you to focus on operational excellence throughout the event.

(90% of the people who pay to support this event are SCUBA divers, shops which sell primarily SCUBA gear, exhibitors for SCUBA related businesses, etc. You owe it to those people to maximize their enjoyment of the event.)

2) Block off the row of parking spaces adjacent to the grassy areas just behind the beach, and designate them for load/unload zones. Station a monitor there to ensure compliance. Give people 15 minutes to get their stuff out of their vehicles, and allow one vehicle per space (those of you with the Monster Trucks -- one space is one space, don't hog two!)

3) Make the treasure chest reward a part of the drawing. The last year, the chest was found within minutes of the start of the event, before many divers were even in the water, which kills a lot of the excitement. Give everyone a chance to win the big prize!

4) Have a clear and streamlined process for people to check in their ball # AFTER getting out of their gear. Set up a specific place, out of the traffic pattern, to do this, and set up a clock or timer so people know how long they still have to register their find, and can therefore CALM DOWN and not freak out about missing the deadline.

5) Reduce the number of prizes but increase the total prize value. The key rings, dolls, and various other fluff slow down the awards process and most people don't value them highly. I'd rather not get something than get something essentially useless. In fact, I think it would be more exciting, and more fun, to give away 10 "prize packages" with significant value than give away several dozen individual awards of little value plus a handful of really nice prizes.

6) I'd like to see the event built around a rational dive plan:

A) Assume that the divers will be in the water for one half hour (we lugged all that gear down there, paid for gas, etc. and we'd like to do a real dive, even if there's not much to see except other divers!) That means that if it takes a half-hour for all the divers to get submerged from the time the whistle is blown, the last diver should surface an hour after the start of the event. Give the divers a half-hour to get out of their gear, get to the checkin station and stand in line; which means checkin for balls should end one and one-half hours after the start.

B) Keep all the golf balls below 20fsw -- people will be making safety stops at 15fsw; keep that zone clear!

C) Spread the balls more evenly along the shore, and up and down the slope at all depths from 20fsw to the planned max depth, to encourage divers to spread out, and not cluster too close together. Especially make a point that the "special" prize items have been spread across the whole area.

---------------

Three important "rules" should be made clear to everyone which will improve everyone's experience greatly:

1) THERE ARE MANY MORE BALLS THAN DIVERS AND VIRTUALLY EVERY DIVER WILL GET A BALL

2) ONLY ONE BALL PER DIVER WILL BE COUNTED SO THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO TAKE MORE THAN ONE

3) THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL BETWEEN BALLS -- TAKE THE FIRST ONE YOU SEE

----------------

If you want to run some kind of seminar or special event, you need to plan to set up a space other than that used for the "general announcements", which is inadequate for a group to gather, hear, ask questions, and generally gain value from any lengthy information exchange.

Frankly, I don't think you need it (the treasure hunt is already enough draw), and I think that you'll either get a) very low attendance for a lot of effort, or b) everyone in sight will want to participate and you'll be overloaded.

Master the logistics of getting everyone parked, unloaded, checked in, briefed on rules & safety, in the water and safety ensured, out of the water, ball #s recorded, prizes awarded, sponsors thanked, participant gear re-loaded, and everyone and everything broken down, cleaned up, and shipped out of the park before you start taking on more task loads.

[Diver_C]

Don't have the Hunt on the weekend of May 12-13. Thank you.

[Cera]

Don't have the Hunt on the weekend of May 12-13. Thank you.

Its in June this year

[Cera]

[quote="RSdancey"]I have done the treasure hunt the past two years.


1) Kill the freediving components of the event -- make the event just for SCUBA. This will reduce complexity, and shorten the time you need to manage people in the water, allowing you to focus on operational excellence throughout the event.

(90% of the people who pay to support this event are SCUBA divers, shops which sell primarily SCUBA gear, exhibitors for SCUBA related businesses, etc. You owe it to those people to maximize their enjoyment of the event.)

2) Block off the row of parking spaces adjacent to the grassy areas just behind the beach, and designate them for load/unload zones. Station a monitor there to ensure compliance. Give people 15 minutes to get their stuff out of their vehicles, and allow one vehicle per space (those of you with the Monster Trucks -- one space is one space, don't hog two!)

3) Make the treasure chest reward a part of the drawing. The last year, the chest was found within minutes of the start of the event, before many divers were even in the water, which kills a lot of the excitement. Give everyone a chance to win the big prize!

4) Have a clear and streamlined process for people to check in their ball # AFTER getting out of their gear. Set up a specific place, out of the traffic pattern, to do this, and set up a clock or timer so people know how long they still have to register their find, and can therefore CALM DOWN and not freak out about missing the deadline.

5) Reduce the number of prizes but increase the total prize value. The key rings, dolls, and various other fluff slow down the awards process and most people don't value them highly. I'd rather not get something than get something essentially useless. In fact, I think it would be more exciting, and more fun, to give away 10 "prize packages" with significant value than give away several dozen individual awards of little value plus a handful of really nice prizes.

6) I'd like to see the event built around a rational dive plan:


quote]

I just wanted to talk about a few of your points...

1. I totally disagree with doing away with freediving. I think it takes skill to freedive and that alot of divers use this opportunity to 'get extra chances to win'. Last year there were alot of freedivers who got golfballs. And quite a few people who did the freediving and not scuba. Often freediving leads to scuba and I think that ignoring this population defeats the point of the event.

2. I agree..

3. I think having two chests would be a fix to this.. and last year it took a while for it to be found. But it was lame because the guy was 'tipped off' that is was hidden under debris.

4. the only time limit for registering the ball is the start of the drawing. People could register for like an hour after the event. But I do agree that it should be in a better spot.

5. I agree and disagree with this, becasue if less people win, more people will feel ripped off, but it if does away with 'coupon prizes' I am for it. Winning a prize you can't use it totally lame. But I think that giving away small prizes is ok too.

6. I agree that there should be more time allotted for the contest. and having the announcements be in the general area where people are gathered, not by the food area... I agree with making the points (or rules) clear

[straitscuba]

I have attended two treasure hunts, the first in 2005 I volunteered and did not dive(couldn't get anyone from Port Angeles to go) and 06 I did dive and brought a small group with me. In 05 I did not like the fact that the freedivers (mostly from the Canadian freediving team) got the vast majority of the balls/prizes some coming up with more than 12 balls. I Liked the lay it was run last year better although I heard people complaning about finding balls and not getting prizes. I can understand why more were placed out there and then raffled but my group was complaning about it being a raffle rather than a treasure hunt. I like the other ideas, demo gear, dive food contest and such. I think the freediving event should stay, Snorkelers are people too! Keep the freediving and SCUBA prizes seperate though

[Pinkpadigal]

Treasure hunt will be on June 9th.

I love all of the ideas we are getting. I know Rick is reading these, along with others who are working with him.

One of the reasons we would like to offer more "topside" events are for the reasons many of you do have not attended in the past. Not everyone wants to get into the water. We want it to be a fun day to socialize and experience other things. So, even if you don't want to dive, come down and see what is happening.

I told Rick parking is a huge concern, and he agreed with me. I like the drop off/pick up area idea a lot. I told him I thought we should also get a couple of golf carts and have dive "caddies" to assist people with getting their gear down to the beach.

Freediving is controversal. After what happening in 2005, a lot of people (me included) thought it was unfair that a professional freediver won the $1000. I feel this is a scuba event and a freediving demontration is cool but this event is about SCUBA.

Expect to see changes with prizes. As a FYI, most of the prizes are donated. We are working with many of our vendors to offer so cool new prizes this year. I agree with Cera, if you win a trip, it should not cost you $5000 to use it or have unrealistic strings attached. One of the changes you will see is more gift certificates, which gives divers more flexibilty to use it toward what they want.

The safety info everyone has included is great! I love the idea of hiding golf balls from 20-55 feet, and a organized entry and exit point.

Keep giving more ideas. The more feedback we get, the better this event is going to be. Thanks everyone!

[Cera]

What is the difference from a free diving professional winning and a scuba professional... I know last year there were TONS of instructors entering the diving portion; I guess I don't understand the difference.
I think if you view this as a scuba event the name should be changed to scuba treasure hunt. I know the skin-diving population is small, but they still count. Maybe you should just have the whole thing at one time, freedivers could dive with the scuba event if they wanted to? IDK?
I agree that there should be topside events to keep divers involved and increase the social activity for non-divers or divers not participating.

[Zen Diver]

What is the difference from a free diving professional winning and a scuba professional... I know last year there were TONS of instructors entering the diving portion; I guess I don't understand the difference.

I could be wrong here, but I'm thinking the difference is that a Professional Freediver may have endorsements, get some kind of finanacial support, coaching etc, while a professional scuba diver usually refers to a divemaster or instructor who gets little if any pay. There is no "competition" per se in scuba diving, while there is in Free Diving.

-Valerie

[Cera]

I understand the job of a professional freediver, but not how its different in a treasure hunt. Im pretty sure MARES isn't sponsoring them to come to seattle and dive for a little plastic box. They had to pay to enter just like everyone else.
And usually a professional scuba diver has had coaching and schooling as well and usually gets paid to dive. Although may not be sponsored by a company they usually get inscentives to wear thier gear.....