Do to recent events that have transpired in the finalization of plans to put on our 4th Annual WMG Picnic, the state is now requiring us to get a S.U.P. (Special Use Permit) and provide Insurance on our event and all of our future events on any State Owned Land as a way to help protect them, and our self's.
In a way this is a bad thing since what they require is a LEAST $1,000,000.00 in insurance, and this can be quite costly to any one individual that wants to host an event. The cost to get the Event Insurance is anywhere between $100.00 / $500.00 every time you want the insurance for just a short amount of time.
Fortunately for us we have some great members that want to help out when ever and where ever they can, and one of our members informed me of a great program that will help us to get the insurance that we need to continue our events. For just one event, it would cost $200.00 or, we can get it for one year and cover all of our events for only $400.00. I believe that if we get the insurance for an entire year the benefits will far out way the cost of this insurance.
I would also like to point out that some of you may be thinking that this is only going to affect some of the events on state owned lands, or events that have been going on for a while will be exempt, but as the state needs all the funds it can get, its going to get it from where ever they can. They have known about our events in state parks for some time and really have never pushed the issue as each individual land manager does do some things differently but, its only a matter of time before they really start cracking down on them and making us get the proper forms and fees taken care of. It only takes one person in DCR to get a Geocaching name and see what events are going on, and report them to someone to make sure the forms have been filed.
For all intense purposes, any and all Geocaching Events on any D.C.R. lands need to get the S.U.P. as I am now seeing the updated info about what type of event is required to receive a S.U.P.. For more info and to see for your self, you can go to: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/permits/index.htm
Q) Why do we need it now? A) In the past we have been able to skirt the border of needing it and not needing it, but do to the increase in size and what we are always trying to think of to do next, it was always in the back of my mind that it was just a matter of time before the S.U.P. was needed and we would have to get insurance. Unfortunately now that there is only 2 months before our big event, we need to raise a good chunk of money to keep our event alive for the future.
Q) Why should I care about this? A) This insurance is becoming more and more important to have no matter who you are or where you hold your event, be it on State Owned Land or in your back yard. With out some type of event insurance you put yourself at risk to be financially responsible for any thing that may happen at an event YOU host. If anyone gets hurt at an event that you list and host, you are responsible for there well being no matter what you and others think.
Q) Can't GroundSpeak cover us on there insurance? A) No. GroundSpeak does not have any type of insurance that covers events. Every state is different on what is needed and they do not have the type of money that would be needed to cover every event world wide on any given day.
Q) OK so I just List it as a WMG Event and I'm covered right? A) NO. This insurance will only cover officially Sponsored Events by members of the Western Massachusetts Geocachers in Good standing with the Group. You can't just put it on the GC listing and expect to be covered. Our territory only covers from the Connecticut River west to the NY border. There will be rules set up in order to be able to access this insurance, as we will need to come up with the insurance money every year. Once we obtain the money to start the insurance we will post how you will be able to access it.
Q) I want to help! What do you need from me? A) Anything you can spare. We need to raise enough money in order to be able to pay for this insurance to begin with. At every event in Massachusetts we should all try and get others to chip in, even just a little so we all can be able to access this insurance when ever we want to have an event, not just me.
Q) I live on the other side of the Connecticut river, what about us in the East? A) At this point in time it is not possible to cover the entire state. We are looking into how to do it, but its going to cost more and the paper work involved is going to take a lot more time then I have available right now. As soon as I see how much people really care about this issue, and how fast we can generate the needed funds, I will go from there.
If you have any other questions, please post them to the WMG forums and post them to the "Web-Site" forum in the "News" Section
Below you will see a chart and how much we have raised and how much we still need to raise. Will you please help us to reach our goal?
Help us raise $425.00 for our Group Insurance that will cover ALL Officially Sponsored WMG Events in Western Massachusetts.