fundraising--duck race

[Laurie Piwonski]

Has anyone out there ever run a duck race? Specifically where did you get your ducks? Is it OK for the river to run through private property at some point in the race?
Thanks, Laurie

[smurfgirl]

Hi Laurie,

I have not ever run a duck race, but it sounds like a neat fundraising idea for your team. Would you like to share more about it? If the river you are considering using runs through private property, you may want to contact those property owners to talk to them about your idea.

-Ellen

[DonRotolo]

We've never run one, but the ones I have seen used rubber ducks, not live ones. These can be had at toy stores, or try Oriental Trading Co.

As for private property, it would be the right thing to speak with the owners and ask permission to enter their property to retrieve any 'lost' duckies, so as to not pollute the river.

I can't speak for Connecticut, but in NJ a river cannot be privately owned, the state has an easement to all waterways, up to flood stage.

[DUCKIE]

I've yet to run one... although it is a goal one day to do so...

I assume getting permission to run the race is a need-to-do (is it considered gambling like a lottery?) Along with finding a body of flowing water, buying the ducks, numbering all the ducks (& allowing buyers to decorate?), and collecting them all afterward (& returning to buyers?).

A while back I was doing some "research" (for a prank yet to be pulled/my collection which is probably getting close to 300 now) and it seemed like buying ducks in bulk from one of the duck-race companies might be the most cost effective. That was a while ago however, and I do not know what prices are now.

At the time I was looking for unique ducks anyways... and I got ~150 in a mixed lot off ebay but they were not all the same size like I thought they would be.

[artdutra04]

We (228) have never hosted one, but the Meriden Lions Club does one every year.

They use a large (about 15-20 foot wide) brook running through the park for the entirety of the race. However, because the brook has a lot of rocks, they have volunteers stationed throughout the race with sticks to make sure no ducks get jammed in stagnant pools or in small openings between rocks.

You also will need a lot of volunteers with waders and nets to catch renegade ducks trying to make a run for it after the finish line. Sometimes putting up construction netting across the river/brook will usually catch most of them. Also, it helps having a "funnel" type of thing at the finish line only big enough for a single duck to fit through at once. It will help you a lot in very close tie situations.

If you were to run through private property, you would need the approval of the property owners. Ducks will get stuck midcourse, and even if the start and end are not on private property, you would have to trespass to get all the ducks.

As for ducks, if you buy them wholesale in a huge lot from an import company, they would probably be pretty cheap. After searching quick:

http://www.escoimports.com/shop/html...ber-Ducky.html

As ducks for $14.40 a case if you buy at least 24, and each case includes 48 3-1/2" rubber ducks. So if you bought 24 cases, that's $345.60 before tax and shipping, which would give you 1152 rubber ducks. If you "sold" a duck for $5 each, it would only take 70 ducks to break even. If you sold all, that's $5,760. But the best thing is that if you do it as an annual event, the ducks would essentially be free in future years. If you sell out of ducks, you can invest some of the profits into purchasing more ducks for future years.

I always had fun at the Meriden Lions Club duck races when I was a kid, so it's a great community outreach event as well.

[Molten]

A very interesting story is at the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_Floatees

This link is not really what you were looking for, but I thought anyone interested in rubber ducks would find it amusing.

[Elgin Clock]

Laurie, another local Duck Race is also held in Naugatuck.

http://74.125.93.104/search?q=cache:...t=clnk&g l=us

I can't seem to find an active website for them (the old one is down - duckday.org), but they basically get a lot of non-profits together to have one large fundraiser.
Maybe partnering with them is an option?

Let us know how you make out!
I'd be interested in seeing how feasible it would be to add that to Team 237's list of yearly fundraisers as well!

[Laurie Piwonski]

Thanks for all the great info. Yes, rubber duckies, not live ones. Yes, we would want to do this as an annual event (not just buy the ducks for one year). CT gaming regulations say the ducks must be identical and under the control of the race supervisor, so no decorating. One of the private property owners on the route may be a problem. I've never seen so many "No Trespassing" signs in one place. Will keep you posted. Our race will likely be mid-fall. If we all think this is a great idea for our team/community, we should find a way to share the ducks and schedule the races so they don't conflict.

[KathieK]

Connecticut has strict regulations concerning raffles of any kind (as do most states I would think) and I strongly urge teams to follow these regulations when thinking of holding a raffle as a fundraiser (this includes the ever-popular raffling of door prizes at pasta dinners and pancake breakfasts). You don't want to be fined as a result of ignoring the state laws. It will defeat the purpose of holding the fundraiser in the first place!
http://www.ct.gov/dosr/lib/dosr/Oper...rs_Raffles.pdf The last section speaks of specific regulations regarding duck races.

[dricks]

I participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day as well as mentoring team 704. We did a rubber duck race as a fundraiser for the 3-Day walk. We bought our rubber ducks from Oriental Trading company. We numbered them, sold numbers and dumped them in a creek running through an outdoor shopping mall. We had prizes for the first 15 ducks to finish, the last duck to finish and several others prizes. The prizes were donated by the shops around the area. We did quite well. The biggest hurddle we hit was a need for liability insurance that the shopping center required. It was a lot of fun.

[mathking]

We have never run one, but we did build the launch platform for the rubber duck regatta to benefit a local counseling center. That one was done on a pond, with the fire department spraying the surface to keep a current going and a couple of kayakers pushing the strays back into the main mass of ducks. The ducks were, I believe, originally from Oriental Trading Company. They can be reused from year to year. There were something like 7500 ducks on the launch platform before they were released. It was pretty cool looking. When they did it on the river I know it took a little more time to gather up all the ducks.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by dricks

I participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day as well as mentoring team 704. We did a rubber duck race as a fundraiser for the 3-Day walk. We bought our rubber ducks from Oriental Trading company. We numbered them, sold numbers and dumped them in a creek running through an outdoor shopping mall. We had prizes for the first 15 ducks to finish, the last duck to finish and several others prizes. The prizes were donated by the shops around the area. We did quite well. The biggest hurddle we hit was a need for liability insurance that the shopping center required. It was a lot of fun.

How did the prize for "last duck" work"?
What happened if 2 (or more) got stuck & thus never finished (re: crossed finish line)??
Was there a time limit for ducks after a majority of them crossed the finish line for the "last duck" to cross & that one was declared the winner??
I can see something like that (maybe) being an issue if there wasn't a clause written into the rules to say something about those stuck ducks.
Just wondering!

[Laurie Piwonski]

The Litchbots have successfully completed all state application requirements and will be holding a duck race on 9/27/09. Tickets $5. First prize 40" TV,
2nd prize Wii with Fit package, 3rd prize $50 Stop and Shop gift card, 4th - 8th prizes from local restaurants. Request tickets through PIWONSKIL@GMAIL.COM

The state of Connecticut does not allow anyone to touch the ducks during the race. If one gets stuck, you finish the race, decide you winners, then go searching for stuck ducks (who don't get any prizes)
They have what I called the "unwritten rules". It turns out that they are in writing, just not available through the website. If anyone wants to hold a duck race in CT and wants these additional guidelines, please contact me at
PIWONSKIL@GMAIL.COM
One of these rules is that you must use rubber ducks, not hard plastic. Apparently, someone threw in a batch of plastic ducks and some smashed on the rocks below. Also, you must go to the state office in Newington for a face to face meeting to review all rules if this is your first raffle.