Speed Survivor: What Could Have Been...

In March of 2012 I got it into my head that I was going to organize a fundraiser: Speed Survivor. I wanted to hold it this summer (2014), but that’s not going to happen now. I don’t want all my hard work to be in vain so here is everything I have.

What It Is: A full season of Survivor played out over five days and four nights complete with filming and online episodes, taking place at Lake Wabaunsee, the “Gem of the Flint Hills”, located five miles from Eskridge, Eskridge the “Gateway to the Flint Hills” along the Native Stone Scenic Byway between Dover and Alma, Kansas.

How It Works: Potential players will raise donations from people will that will sponsor them as a player in a game of “Speed Survivor”. The sixteen people who raise the most money from their sponsors will be invited to Lake Wabaunsee during the chosen dates, two additional players will be selected by an online sponsorship drive from the players in the 17-24 spots on the most donations raised list. All players will also participate in a live reunion show at The Buffalo Inn’s Eskridge Labor Day Weekend Rodeo Street Dance where the winner will be announced with live music to follow.

To Be Eligible: Players must be 21 and older, raise at least $500 in donations and meet the requirements as outlined in the Player Agreement Form.

(I had a lawyer willing to help me with legal stuff for free, I had permission to use the public property at the lake and probably would have gotten permission to use the golf course for challenges as well – The bed and breakfast owner was not responsive to my emails about housing the jury and using their property to film exit interviews and act as my “Ponderosa”).

Now let me show you around the lake. Let’s just start with the most impressive site: Tribal Council.

I mean, just look at that – Can’t you just see it all lit up with torches at night? The picture below is of what where my production area would have been set up – conveniently located just 50 or so feet from Tribal Council and the restaurant and bar at the lake.

The next pictures are of the swimming beach, which needed some work, then it received some attention – that I didn’t even have to request the City Council do, they just did it, but… They didn’t fix the real problem. Before:

After: The lack of rain in the summer of 2012 brought the lake water level way down so the concrete barrier was ripped out and the beach was “extended”… Until the rain came again and now the beach is the exact same as it always was, but now the sand washes back into the lake and will have to be replaced every summer.

Camp Areas: I had three picked out, (one campsite would have been used - more economical), two close to the swimming beach, which is close to the Tribal Council area. The first was an actual campsite, the second was an old boy scout camp site. The third campsite was a mostly isolated patch of land between housing areas and a short walk from the golf course, but would have required boats for tribes to travel to Tribal Council.

Old Boy Scout Camp Entrance

Campsite Three Entrance

Oh! You know what I have! A map!

Now let’s get to these challenges! While I have most of the challenges planned out in my head, only about half of them are outlined in my production schedule. I really needed help with challenge production; I was having trouble deciding when to do which challenge, how many double Tribal Councils was too many, if I should do Survivor Classic or roll with an Outcast Tribe so everyone would get to play for more than two days… I needed a co-producer. Here is one version, the Survivor Classic version.

Challenge 1: Buffalo Testicle Eating
Reward: Immunity & Sleeping Gear

This should be pretty self-explanatory. Tribes go head-to-head, each player has to eat a portion of buffalo testicle (my friend’s dad raises them at a farm just outside of town) to score a point. If there is a tie, a timed round is played.

Challenge 2: Shelter Building
Reward: Immunity & Shelter

Callers guide blindfolded and bound tribe mates to bundles of tent-building components; once collected Builders must correctly assemble with help from the Caller who has the instructions. Once built, the tent must be disassembled and repacked then the entire tribe must run back to the starting mat to win. Reward: The tent and a tarp.

Challenge 3: Endurance Tag
Reward: Pizza/Beer Dinner & Bonus Options

Tribe mates are bound clipped to a rope and must carry two 10 pound sandbags around a course; players can drop out at any time, but another tribe mate must carry their sandbags. First tribe to tag the other wins. Bonus Reward Options: Tent/Tarp, Sleeping Gear, Flint, Bonus Rations *** Double Tribal Council ***

Challenge 4: Untie Your Knots
Reward: Immunity/Tribe Breakfast

Phase One: The night before the actual challenge, each tribe is given a locked box containing the other tribe’s flag, a bag of assorted lengths of rope and instructions to use the provided materials to make the box as impenetrable as possible.

Phase Two: After freeing the box from the ropes, it must be carried down the course to stations where a picture puzzle on the box will reveal the number codes to unlock two padlocks on the box; once the flag has been freed, the entire tribe must run to the finish mat with the flag to win.

Challenge 5: Chain Gang
Reward: Immunity/Challenge Advantage

Tribe members are bound together with padlocked chains and must work together to unlock themselves at different stations around a course; once a tribe member is freed, they must run back ahead to the tribe flag; when all tribe members are unlocked and at the flag, they must run back to the starting mat with the flag to win the challenge.

Challenge 6: Wabaunsee Pines Putt-Putt
Reward: Immunity/Tribe Lunch

Players must putt all nine holes of the Wabaunsee Pines golf course; each player must putt once then it’s a “free-for-all” putt. Advantage Won from Last Challenge: Automatic Hole-In-One; cannot be used on the last hole. Lowest score wins.

Challenge 7: Stack It
Reward: Individual Immunity/Dinner for Two

At the host’s discretion, players will have to stack coins on a small pedestal that they must hold with one hand while balancing on a block. In intervals, the players will add more coins until the host is satisfied then the endurance test begins; last person from each tribe standing wins Immunity and Reward.

And… That’s the Merge. It’s the Individual Immunity challenges that I really needed help to organize, but I pretty much know what they are. There was a trivia challenge that would take place AT Tribal Council immediately following a vote out, a Story-telling challenge where the players would have to answer questions to collect tokens, the second chance challenge – the compilation of previous challenges, and of course, the final three endurance challenge. Speed Survivor, of course, is a Final Two – Not a lame Final Three. Speed Survivor would have NEVER had a Final Three. NEVER!

So... That's what I have to share with you about Speed Survivor. I have half of a production schedule written up with specific directions and times for setting up and tearing down challenges. I've put so much thought into this. I mean, I have website graphics made! I created that logo! It took hours and hours and hours. If anyone out there wants to help me make this happen sometime in the future, I have a lot more plans laid out than just the game. I have a strategy to gain sponsors to help pay for materials, food, etc. I know people that have facilities and connections. I COULD HAVE MADE THIS HAPPEN THIS SUMMER. I just knew it would be very difficult to gain the support of local businesses and community members, but THAT is a whole other story...