Declive - Florida KeysShow content
• I like the first Roadblock, diving to find the postcard is something to get racers out of their comfort zone on the final leg and also showcases the beautiful Atlantic waters off the coast of Florida.
• The turtle task is a terrific ARI. It features the ecology and animals of South Florida, yet doesn’t take too long for the teams or detract from the other tasks.
• The final memory Roadblock has the potential to be challenging; airport names could be something the teams gloss over during the race course. However, this task also has the potential to be quite easy for an experienced traveler or aviation geek who is familiar with names of the world’s airports- if the racer knows all the airports, the task could go by REALLY quickly. Recent memory tasks have seemingly always taken quite a long time (hours), even for teams with notes, so maybe another component to the task would help prevent racers from just blazing through (and the task potentially being linear). What kind of decoys are present- totally random names, or names just slightly different than the real ones? What’s the ratio of decoy signs to real ones? Do racers need to search for the plaques and/or bring them to the board from another location? I like this task, but it needs a tad more explanation and potentially a safeguard against being completed too quickly. I also like the fact that you placed the task right before the Finish Line.
• I like the addition of the cryptic clues in this leg; they almost always make for good TV during finale legs. Some of the clues might be difficult to figure out because they take several steps to decipher (figuring out the postcard refers to a movie, then figuring out there was a boat in the movie, then figuring out where the boat is in Florida). The only downside to the cryptic clues are if a team can’t figure one out, and falls way behind. I find it somewhat boring when finales become a two-team race due to this. I *think* you’ve included enough details for each of the cryptic clues to be solvable. Are teams allowed/expected to ask taxi drivers, locals, etc. for help?
• Details are good: flights, maps, money are all there. I like how your flights arrive early in the day to give teams plenty of time to complete the leg. The locations, including the Finish Line, are TV-worthy.
• Transportation-wise, I would have preferred having teams hire a driver who will only go according to their directions as opposed to traveling the whole way in taxis, as you might have some Miami taxi drivers who don’t want to drive all the way out to the Keys, and taxis probably aren’t too plentiful in the Keys. However, I won’t knock you too much for that, especially as you gave teams plenty of money for the leg.
Overall, this leg would make for a picturesque and dramatic finale. We haven’t seen a Florida finish since TAR 18, so this would be nice to watch on TV. It’s excellent to see the side of Florida with the smaller towns; your leg fit the round’s theme well. The length of the leg is appropriate, and the cryptic clues help connect the audience to the locations you chose. A couple more details regarding your cryptic clues and Roadblocks would have enhanced the design further, but this was overall a solid design. I really look forward to your future work!
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• I like the inclusion of the Southernmost Point as a clue pickup location, and the cluebox being a buoy is both culturally relevant and ties into your final task (more on that later!)
• For the first Roadblock, rolling cigars is something that will require lots of attention to detail. I do think this task could have included more explanation- what exactly is the procedure for making a cigar? What materials are they provided? Nonetheless, it’s also a good way to show the Cuban/Afro-Caribbean influence in South Florida. It harkens back to TAR 7 Leg 12, where teams had to find El Rey de los Habanos, a Miami cigar shop.
• Flawless incorporation of the Del Sol color-changing shirt as a clue. I can only imagine a team receiving the shirt, immediately going to the Del Sol shop, not being able to find a clue there and getting frustrated, only to read a sign and realize that Del Sol makes shirts with messages that are revealed in sunlight. It’s both original and has potential for drama, so good job!
• The coral Active Route Info is superb. I enjoy tasks wherein racers have to pay attention to the natural environment. Coral in Florida is being threatened, so it’s nice to see a task that incorporates scientific developments (bioframing) as well as shining a light on an environmental issue (ocean acidification/coral conservation). I appreciate the thorough explanation!
• Finding where X marks the spot probably shouldn’t be too difficult for the racers. How big are the parcels? If they’re fairly big, they might be easy to spot considering how clear the water is in the pictures
• The Final Memory Roadblock should be a good test of racers’ memory, as well as navigation and search skill looking for all the clueboxes. Islamorada Sandbar is a really unique location for this task, too. After reading the design, I’m left with some lingering questions about the logistics of the task. Can teams bring multiple clueboxes back in one canoe trip? Are the clue boxes small and light enough to be transported into the canoe and paddled back by one racer? How big of an area are teams searching in? Are they given a map or told the boundaries of the area? While I like how you specified in your notes that racers would have a little bit of privacy to avoid cheating, I think it’s still possible for a racer to ride the coattails of another racer by following them around or peeking from afar. Other than that, this looks like a quality memory task and Roadblock.
• I like the boat trip leading up to the foot race to the finish mat (as long as all the boats are equal for all the teams- one type of boat being faster than another would be too unfair for a final leg IMO).
• The amount of detail you use to describe the locations you selected is great! I learned a lot of new things about the culture, history, and people of Key West reading this design. Flights, maps, and money were also there
• I LOVE how this leg incorporates several different forms of travel- taxi, on foot, taxi again, boating, canoeing, boating again, and then on foot to the Finish Line. It forces teams to be multifaceted and adaptable, which makes for a great component in a final leg.
This was an awesome debut leg for you as a designer. The leg felt really balanced between physical and mental, and included a couple cryptic clues and diverse transportation. Historical and ecological lenses in the tasks built up to a solid Final Memory Roadblock. There were a few similarities to the final leg of TAR 18, but this leg outshines it. This leg would simply be incredible to watch as a finale on TV. A few more details here and there would have elevated the design further, but overall your presentation was on point. Fantastic job!
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• Teams start on Easter Island and fly all the way to Northern Michigan. We don’t see the Upper Midwest on TAR much at all, so I’m eager to see your leg in Mackinac Island!
• The first Roadblock combines physicality and memory with the flags. I imagine this task to be very taxing, as it requires repeated strength and ability to tie knots. I’m almost wondering if this task would be better with two team members, instead of one. I do like how it’s relatively okay to not get the clue the first time, because you might only have two boats out of order. A potential negative is that the racers could probably see another racer’s boat order if the boats are within eyesight of each other, but I don’t think it detracts from the main idea too much. Overall, a fairly good memory task.
• Teams are then instructed to go on foot to May’s Candy Shop. The task requires teams to make their own fudge, which is culturally relevant but might take a long time. Your notes said the entire process is 4 hours, which is rather long for an Active Route Info task. The delivery component is good; I like how they have to keep their eyes peeled for the buildings, based on architectural styles. I’m just worried that between making, sorting, and delivering the fudge, this task might take too much time.
• The inclusion of an animal-related task, specifically a horse task, on Mackinac Island is good.
I don’t see a list of steps or a time estimate for this task in your design, so it’s hard to know the difficulty of the task. I think it would take a lot of tools to put together and tear apart a carriage. Do they have to assemble first, then disassemble? It could be easier to take one apart, then do the steps in backwards order to put one together.
• For the final Roadblock, I like the idea of using bikes to search for the flags. However, I do have some problems with the execution of the task. They have 20 minutes to do a 15-minute bike ride, so they have just 5 minutes to search for 50 different flags. To be honest, I don’t think the 5-minute penalty for going over 20 minutes is necessary. It rewards racers who are naturally stronger, and doesn’t exactly encourage safe biking practices. I could see racers intentionally going way over 20 minutes in order to just get the 5-minute penalty once, which kinda defeats the purpose of it. With 50 flags to spot, this task will probably require multiple laps out of the racers anyway. Despite all of that, I do think this task is appropriate for a final memory Roadblock, because it does require a ton of qualities out of the racer who’s doing it (attention to detail, thinking quickly on your feet, tenacity, and memory of the flags).
• I like the Finish Line! I do have to say, the tasks in this leg certainly aren’t linear, so the team that gets to the finish line first will have definitely deserved their win.
• Money, maps, and flights are all there, so that’s a thumbs-up from me.
All in all, this leg was a pretty good showcase of a location that fits the round’s theme perfectly, Mackinac Island. The amount of detail you provided for each location and task was in-depth, so I feel like I know a lot more about the culture of Mackinac after reading this leg. That’s a good thing, and it’ll help your score this round. Some of the tasks could have been less complicated to help on time (only delivering fudge instead of making and sorting it; either assembling or disassembling the horse carriage, instead of both). Since your leg started in the morning, there’s a lot of time allowed for the leg to complete, so it’s probably okay. I would like to see this leg on TV, but it would be one of the most demanding final legs we’ve seen in a while. This was a pretty good Round 1 submission, so I anticipate your future designs!
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• All right, we’ll start in Japan and fly to Alabama. It hasn’t been visited since TAR 8, so I’m ready to see it again.
• Teams can opt to travel by taxi or by driving themselves? That’s unique, but I’m not sure it’s necessary to include in a final leg. Why give them $200 for the leg if they might be driving themselves? Why would a team drive themselves if a taxi driver who knows how to navigate is available? It’s an interesting twist, but I would’ve preferred you simply picking one or the other.
• The first task of the leg is a Roadblock, which requires one team member to mill one pound of cotton. With no real explanation, photos, or videos to show how this task is done, it’s tough for me to know what racers have to do here. One website I found lists 10 different steps in the process, which would make for an exceedingly involved task. You also didn’t specify whether there was an ongoing demonstration or some other way for teams to learn what to do. Furthermore, this task raises the possibility of not even being PC - there was enough backlash with the Vietnamese song in TAR 22, and this task could potentially be even worse in terms of public reception. I could understand certain groups in America not being OK with this task, considering the historical connotations of the cotton industry in the South. On top of that, you didn’t really explain why cotton is especially important to Talladega - some agricultural maps I’ve found online don’t have Talladega as part of an area with major cotton production or acreage. I think there are much, much better ways to respectfully pay homage to the “period of slavery leading to the Civil War” than this task.
• The Hall of Heroes ARI is meant to shine a spotlight on five people who played a part in school desegregation, but I have some issues with this task. A quick Google search tells me that this museum is dedicated primarily to people who have served in the US military, meaning the historical figures you listed likely wouldn’t be present in this museum. I also would have liked to see a little bit more explanation on why the Brown v. Board decision warrants a task in Alabama. I understand that the ruling had its effects on Alabama and was a major part of the Civil Rights movement, but it was a case regarding a Kansas school district and was decided in Washington, D.C. Also, none of the people teams are supposed to be taking pictures of are from Alabama (to my knowledge). Explanation here is key!
• The house-finding task in the Silk Stocking District is okay. The clues are easy enough for teams to not be stumped, but hard enough for them to still have to interact with locals for confirmation and directions to the houses. Having a map of where these houses are located would be nice, or at least noting how far they are from each other and the station.
• The Civil Rights quiz ARI is okay in theory, but watching two people sit down to take a quiz on what is supposed to be the most exciting episode of the season could be underwhelming. The Russia time zones quiz was at least somewhat humorous, but this setting for this task is much different. What type of content is on the test? Is it true/false, multiple choice, or otherwise? Are there any measures taken to ensure teams don’t cheat (separate rooms, dividers, etc.)? How long do you anticipate the quiz to take the racers? If they fail the first time, do they have to do the same quiz or a different one the next time? Details, details, details, details.
• Teams then get a clue which leads them to Talladega Speedway, setting us up for the final Roadblock. One team member gets to drive in a NASCAR, which fills the adrenaline/adventure task often present in final legs. Wait, they have to drive at race speed?! How are teams supposed to safely drive at speeds of 180 MPH (290 KPH) as amateurs, much less be looking out for flags while doing so? How big are these flags and what is the design of a typical flag? I’m not quite sure what the point is of looking out for the flags while driving, then just finding the ones in a field. I like how teams have to remember all the way back to leg 1, and being waved to the Finish Line by the green flag is a cute detail. However, this task is extremely messy, not to mention unrealistic and likely unsafe. It needs more details about the logistics and equipment of the task.
• Please try to include a picture of the actual Finish Line location in your design next time. You said it’s the Victory Lane, but let’s see a photo!
• I like the addition of the cryptic clues. The Swayne Hall one might be the hardest one to figure out, but if you can get Swayne’s name from a local or your taxi driver, you can find the next destination pretty quickly.
• As far as your presentation: picture sizing could have been more consistent, transportation details could have been more complete (your design doesn’t make it clear how teams get from BHM to Talladega), task descriptions could have been clarified better (what number of correct answers on the quiz is a C or higher, exactly?). However, I did appreciate the details you did include, such as money, maps, and flights.
• I would have liked if you had included estimates of how much time it takes for each task to complete, as it’s hard for us to guess.
Mike, this leg was tumultuous from start to finish. I admire your intention to showcase the Civil Rights Movement in various tasks this leg, but the execution was subpar. There are at least three of your five tasks that I honestly can’t see ever making it on to an actual episode of the Race. If I had to give you advice moving forward: Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and strive to be original. Do lots of research on the places you want to visit. Also, try to use graphics and materials that are your own.
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• Teams begin in Ghana and are instructed to fly to Vermont, the land of Ben & Jerry’s, maple syrup, and Shane Meaney. Vermont hasn’t been visited before and would be really nice for a leg in pretty much any season, from summer to winter, so I’m excited to see what you’ve done here.
• Visiting the Tool Museum, creating a broom ties in nicely with the history of the area as well as the round’s rural theme. I also like how teams must immediately use the broom they just created to perform a task. Sweeping the rooms to reveal the Detour names one at a time makes for a good risk-reward scenario; deciding whether to spend another few minutes sweeping will force teams to make a critical decision in the heat of the final leg, which could provide suspense and drama. Good job on that ARI!
• I don’t mind the idea of a Detour in the finale at all, especially if it’s closer to the front of the leg. Tasks requiring teams to transport cheese are almost always entertaining on TAR, so the Cheese side of the Detour is promising. I’d like to think that most teams would be wise enough to try to get the exact weight on the scale instead of trial and error, so this task could go by pretty quickly for teams who can do math. If one of the varieties is exactly 20 or 25 pounds, then they could get to 500 by using just one type of cheese. Requiring at least one wheel of each variety to be on the scale could help add another layer of thinking into teams’ strategy. Still, it’s a fine task.
• It’s hard to predict how teams would perform the Trees detour. Teams could either guess random 6-letter words, search for three or four leaves and try to guess the word, or go for all six leaves and then figure out the word. The task does have a good mental component, and should provide an a-ha moment when teams do figure out the word “apples”. Are teams allowed to make unlimited guesses, or do they have to wait a certain time before guessing again? I would have liked to see teams writing down their answer on a chalkboard, giving them privacy from the other teams and preventing rapid-fire guessing of six-letter words. Also, a minor nitpick is that this Detour task has the potential to be dominated by one racer, while the Cheese task requires both members’ effort to do the task in the fastest manner. Overall, both sides of the Detour are strong, and the Detour seems fairly balanced with each side able to be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
• Yay, an art gallery! Champ is a symbol of the area, so a task requiring teams to make a replica using local materials should be a lovely penultimate task. I only hope the judge for this task is as objective as possible, as it’s difficult to quantify adequate creativity. Local art is very important in the Northeast, so this task fills that role well. I do like how creativity is part of the task, instead of a pure physical test.
• This Final Roadblock is reminiscent of TAR 13, yet it puts its own spin on the challenge. How many birdhouses/photos are there? You said the task would take about 30-60 minutes, so I’m guessing not an overwhelming amount. Having the pictures from different tasks and locations for each leg should really test the memory of the racer completing this task. This RB is challenging without being ridiculous, and should be easy to follow along with watching on TV.
• Details throughout this design were assiduous, including the flights, maps, leg money. Estimates for the time of each task are always appreciated, so good job!
All things considered, you hit the round’s theme perfectly. Your design and notes were concise and uncomplicated. Putting a Detour into a final leg might be seen as risky, but yours was well-balanced and would be great to see play out on TV. The only thing that could possibly bring this leg down is the lack of a scary/adventurous task that WRP seems to like to include in final legs, but this design hits all the high notes with culturally relevant locations, tasks that are non-linear without relying on luck, and a straightforward flow. Can’t wait to see what designs you’ll bring in the future!
