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Sabotage Rules

These rules are in addition to the general rules and all participants are required to understand and adhere to them.

Everyone enjoys good competition. At CHIditarod, that includes sabotaging other teams! There even is an award for the best sabotage. Past winners of this coveted prize and fully sanctioned as deserving of an award include:

  • Area 3 All-Stars AKA The Lady Gaga’s – handed out “skip this checkpoint” certificates that many teams fell prey to
  • CJ Ownz – screwed wooden ‘traffic boots’ onto wheels of unattended teams carts to prevent them from moving.
  • Red Baron – engineered the ability to remotely lock and unlock casters using science.

Be prepared to give and receive, racers! You might become a victim even if you don’t plan to sabotage anyone else. It comes with the territory.

Here’s the deal — while we LOVE and encourage creative, non-destructive use of sabotage, there are rules…follow them to avoid being DISQUALIFIED. If you are caught doing any of the items below, regardless of whether you engage in sabotage or not, you will be DISQUALIFIED! If you do the crime, be prepared to do the time. We work too hard to produce this event for the good of the community to deal with repeat offenders. You have been warned.

  • Sabotage starts after you are outside of the starting line, after the starting gun and can continue till you cross the finish line. After that, NO SABOTAGE is allowed. Go inside and get a drink, already!
  • Art Carts are OFF LIMITS! Art is to be appreciated, not engaged in battle.
  • Liquids – such as glue, oil, baby oil, paint, body products, baby powder, cleaning solutions, honey, mayonnaise, syrups and food based liquids, etc., may not be used against other racers or their belongings. Be creative, not gross.
  • Food may not be used for any kind of sabotage. This is a food drive! Think about it. Yeah, exactly. This includes chocolate syrup, eggs, oil and flour. You’re smart, and beautiful, and far more creative than that.
  • Do not engage with any substances that are chemical, flammable, corrosive, or caustically malodorous. This includes stink bombs, smoke bombs, firecrackers, smudge, etc. Do nothing to invite flashbacks, migraines, allergic reactions, or chemical fires.
  • No silly string, glitter, or feathers of any kind. See: MOOP (Matter out of place).
  • Do not use anything that leaves behind a mess or MOOP. This is a leave no trace event. (See feathers, above).
  • Vandalism is not sabotage.
  • Do not do anything permanently someone else’s property (See: Vandalism). e.g. cutting another team’s cart in half or removing cart wheels.
  • Do not damage public property and/or the property of checkpoints. We want to come back next year.
  • U-LOCKS are BAD and will disqualify you. They create bad situations that Coreganizers then have to deal with because teams abandon their carts and create MOOP. Anything that locks, needs a key or uses chains to immobilize other teams will disqualify you. Simple as that. It will be humiliating.
  • Do not endanger each other.
  • Do not endanger anyone.
  • Don’t do anything illegal, because the laws actually do apply to you.
  • Stealing is not Sabotage. Do not take items out of other carts. In case you forgot.. stealing is illegal.
  • Teams must do their own dirty work. Only the 5 racers on each team are allowed to sabotage – no outside goombahs.  Don’t be a coward!
  • Get Creative!!
  • Keep it fun.
  • NOTE: judges have the final say and their calls stand regardless of these rules.

Check out this blog post for a full guide on how to “Not Suck at Sabotage.”

PS. We survey racers every year and put together a big report on the different kinds of sabotage that occurred.

See past years’ Sabotage Reports here: