If you're new to adventure racing, like I am, you may feel like the folks in this sport are speaking another language! So, here's the down-low on the abbreviations, so that you too can be 'in the know'.
A.R. - stands for adventure racing.
T.A. - means transition area - This is where racers switch from one discipline to another. Ex: switching from canoes to bikes or from bikes to trekking (hiking through the wilderness with a compass and a hopeful attitude). Each time racers arrive at a transition area they have a chance to access one of the carefully packed and labelled bins that they prepared before the race. These bins contain things that racers will need for the next leg of the race, such as warm clothes, food, flashlight batteries, paddles for canoeing, headlamps for nighttime trekking, additional medical supplies, etc. Though the racers have no idea what the course will look like prior to race day, they are told which disciplines will be in which order (so that they can pack the appropriate things in each bin). There are volunteers at each transition area watching all of the gear and providing a moral boost, and communication with HQ as part of race tracking and management.
C.P. - Check Point - Checkpoints are the 'Easter eggs' that teams are looking for. The overall goal of the race is to visit all the mandatory checkpoints as quickly as possible. Check points may be staffed or unstaffed. All check points are identified by orange and white orienteering flags. Teams must punch in using their timing chips. This is how we can confirm they visited all the locations, in the right order.
HQ - Head Quarters - This is where the action happens before, during, and after the race. Volunteers at head quarters help with things like pre-race check-ins, registration, handing out GPS trackers and maps, live updates on social media, coordinating team extractions and medical aid, and various other tasks that arise.
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