Geocaching Victoria is proud to host an annual award program for the Victorian community. Each year we continue to be amazed by the creative, inspirational and adventurous caches that are created within our community and we love to celebrate them.

The current award program began in 2012, thanks to the efforts of LouiseAnn and other community members. The awards have continued to evolve and adapt, with awards being held every year since.

The awards program is detailed below. For the most recent awards, visit the 2024 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards page.

Award Categories

Each year, caches, Adventure Labs and logs are eligible to participate in a range of categories. The current award categories are:

• Best Traditional Cache
• Best Multi Cache
• Best Mystery Cache
• Best Other Cache (incl Wherigo, Letterbox, Virtual and Earthcache)
• Best First Hide
• Best Cache Series
• Best Cache Location
• Best Regional Cache (non metro LGA)
• Best Adventure Lab
• Best Cache Log (includes Found It and DNF)
• Best Overall Cache

Award Eligibility

To help ensure your cache, log, or adventure lab is eligible to participate in the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards follow the eligibility criteria below:

• The awards are open to all caches and Adventure Labs hidden in Victoria and logs posted by a Victorian geocacher on any Victorian cache.
• The awards cover a calendar year from 1 January to 31 December. The eligibility date will be determined as follows:
  1. Caches – publication date;
  2. Adventure Labs – the date of the first review;
  3. Logs – the date of the Found It or DNF log.
• Caches and logs published on Geocaching.com and Adventure Labs published on the Adventure Lab app are eligible to participate.
• Geocaching.com and the Adventure Lab app will be used to confirm cache type, location, publication date and other details where necessary.
• Caches and Adventure Labs published by Wiser than Owls/Geocaching Victoria and other affiliated accounts are ineligible. This also applies to any series initiated by these accounts. Caches owned by community members that participate in one of these series, will remain eligible for nomination in their respective individual category.
• As events and CITOs are temporary and their ability to be found is time limited, they do not form part of the awards.
• Categories are reviewed annually by the committee and may be altered based on new caching trends or other factors.
• Amazing caches can be archived through no fault of the owner. So long as the cache was guideline compliant at the time of archiving, the cache will remain eligible for the awards.

Nominations

Every Victorian geocacher can nominate their favourite caches, adventure labs and logs in the awards. The nomination period is announced early in the year and you can submit your nomination when open. Nomination guidelines are as follows:

• Nomination is open to all Victorian geocachers.
• One nomination form per geocaching team (duplicate nominations and sock puppet accounts are ineligible).
• We encourage you to nominate in all categories, however it is not compulsory.
• You may nominate your own cache, log or Adventure Lab.
• Up to 3 caches/Adventure Labs may be nominated per category.
• Up to 5 caches may be nominated for the Best Other Cache and Best Overall Cache category.
• Up to 5 logs (Found It/DNF) may be nominated.
• To help you nominate, geocaching lists are provided to assist in identifying eligible caches. These include lists for Best First Hide and Best Cache Series. Visit Great Geocaching Lists for more assistance.
• Caches can be nominated in more than one eligible category.
• Caches/Adventure Labs/logs must be nominated by at least 2 geocachers to be eligible for shortlisting.
• Nominated caches in each category will be shortlisted based on nominations and other assessment criteria if needed.
• Any cache type can be nominated in the Best Overall Cache category. As part of the shortlisting process, eligible caches in this category must also have been shortlisted in at least one of the other specific categories (eg Best Traditional Cache etc).
• In order to ensure the quality of each category and healthy competition, the committee may nominate additional caches if a particular category requires it.
• Once a cache, Adventure Lab or log has been nominated, there should be no substantive changes made to it until voting closes. Ongoing regular maintenance is of course encouraged.

Best Cache Series Criteria

• A cache series requires a minimum of 5 caches.
• Caches should be identifiable by a consistent series name and cache page theming which includes wording to indicate it is part of the series.
• A series is only eligible in the first year in which it becomes classified as a series (ie once it reaches a total of 5 hides etc).
• New caches added to a series that qualified in a previous year are ineligible. They may still be eligible as an individual cache.
• A series can have multiple COs so long as all COs actively collaborate and produce the series together (eg Sidetracked type caches do not count as a series, however can be nominated in their own right). They are counted as one CO for voting purposes (see below).

The shortlisted nominees are usually announced at a celebration event at the conclusion of the nomination period.

Voting

To allow the community time to find as many of the nominated caches as possible before voting, the voting period does not open until later in the year. The following voting guidelines apply:

• Voting is open to all Victorian geocachers.
• One voting form per geocaching team (duplicate submissions and sock puppet accounts are ineligible).
• While encouraged, voting in all categories is not compulsory.
• You may vote for your own cache, log or Adventure Lab.
• Caches and series with multiple COs are counted as one single CO for voting purposes.
• The winner in a category is determined by the most votes. In the event of a tie, multiple winners may be announced.

Award Announcement and Sponsorship

The winners of the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards are announced and celebrated at an awards event towards the end of the year. Prizes awarded during the awards are generous donations from the community, sponsors and Geocaching Victoria. If you would like to sponsor an award, visit our online store and select the “Sponsor an Award” option.

The awards are an opportunity to celebrate the community and as such it is an expectation that everyone participates in good faith and with respect for each other.

If you have any questions or feedback about the awards, or the nomination or voting process, please email president@geocachingvictoria.com.au