| Whether you are looking to raise money for a | | | | You may want to consider getting Public Liability |
| school or a charity, a rubber duck race is a great | | | | insurance for your rubber duck race as you are |
| way to raise some much needed funds for a | | | | holding an event with the public. The emergency |
| worthy cause. Rubber duck races are easy to | | | | services may also be required to help with the |
| organize and are great fun for the whole family | | | | safety of your event. A rubber duck race is |
| to participate in as sponsoring a duck is fairly | | | | meant to be a fun event, but this can turn sour |
| cheap and a rubber duck race in full swing is a | | | | quickly if someone gets hurt or falls in the river |
| fabulous spectacle. | | | | after getting a bit too excited from following their |
| To hold a rubber duck race there are two basic | | | | duck too closely! Volunteers can also help marshal |
| requirements, a stretch of running water and a | | | | the event to provide extra safety and keep |
| whole bunch of rubber ducks. | | | | some order. |
| The best thing to do is to initially locate a stretch | | | | You should also consider the environmental impact |
| of water, either a river, canal or stream can be | | | | of your race. You can't simply let the race finish |
| ideal for a race. Whatever you find, the stretch | | | | and leave the ducks in place so you'll need to |
| of water should be long enough to hold a decent | | | | prepare a rescue plan for collecting all the ducks |
| length race and have enough flow so that the | | | | after the race. Fishing nets can help scoop up |
| ducks can traverse the course easily. The last | | | | ducks, or perhaps you can consider asking a local |
| thing that you want is for your ducks to be stuck | | | | kayak club to come along who can also help |
| in one place, so a lake isn't the best choice for a | | | | collect the ducks. If you're event is for a good |
| race! Make sure that there aren't too many | | | | cause then you'll generally find that volunteers are |
| obstacles along the stretch of water that you | | | | fairly easy to come by and are only too happy to |
| choose else you may find the ducks get trapped | | | | help. |
| and you have a lot of unhappy sponsors. | | | | Finally you'll need to find ducks for the race. For |
| Unfortunately you can't just turn up to any | | | | rubber duck racing there are two types of rubber |
| stretch of water and hold a rubber duck race. | | | | ducks - weighted ducks, that self right in the |
| You'll need to obtain consent from the owner of | | | | water or non weighted ducks. The weighted |
| the water, or relevant agency, whether that is | | | | ducks are probably better for racing, but they will |
| the local council or water board. Once a stretch of | | | | cost more so non-weighted ducks may be the |
| water has been identified and consent has been | | | | better option. |
| gained then you can move on to the next stage | | | | Preparation and planning are key when organizing |
| on planning your duck race. | | | | a rubber duck race, however you'll find that the |
| In the UK a rubber duck race is considered a | | | | whole process is fairly straight forward and can |
| 'lottery' therefore you could fall foul of the law if | | | | be very rewarding for fund raising. Also many |
| you don't get the relevant license. Depending how | | | | races are held on a yearly basis so provide an |
| much you want to charge for your duck | | | | income stream that can be repeated. Also once |
| sponsorship depends on who you need to speak | | | | you've bought your ducks once you can use |
| to. In the first instance your local council can help | | | | them year on year, helping to save costs. |
| you out and point you in the right direction. | | | | |