My favorite memory from summer camp was the Howdy Olympics.
 It was a series of competitions at Camp Howdy that culminated with an amazing race-styled team challenge.
 I still remember the details of the challenge - row a boat from one end of the camp to the other, run from the dock through a forest following clues, go through the ropes course, find the Howdy flag hidden behind one of the cabins, then sprint back to the assembly area for the finish.
 The combination of mental, physical and interpersonal skills, the variability of the challenges, and the time pressure of the competition made it truly exciting.
  The Amazing Race TV show is built on the same ideas.
 And parents who want to create this kind of challenge for their kids' birthday parties can sometimes pull off the greatest of events.
 One needs to remember, however, that reality TV is not, in fact, reality.
 They have production crews, craft services, abundant support staff and, most importantly, editors.
 The fast-paced adventure on TV sets the expectation for the home party planner and without the production crew - with just mom and dad - the home version runs the risk of having a lot of dead time and, quite possibly, a lot of confusion.
Presented here are some major caveats to the planner of an amazing race style birthday party and well as some specific ideas on how to prepare and execute such an event.
  1.
Plan Plan Plan The most important advice is to plan every minute of the event for every participant.
 While this may seem impossible, the alternative is that participants find a lot of down time and the essential fast-paced aspect of the party is lost.
 The key to ensuring every minute is used is to line up competition activities in sequence and place an open-ended activity at the end.
 As an example, if participants have to race through an orienteering activity, then line that up against a treasure hunt where they find hidden candy.
 The candy need not be part of the overall race, but obviously the more time they have to search, the more candy they get.
  Have a written schedule of events (i.
e.
a "run sheet") that lists the time in 5 or 10 minute increments down the left column, and adjacent columns for each group of participants and for the organizers of the event.
 The run sheet is your operating manual for the event, and in creating it you should be able to recognize where problems might arise.
 The run sheet will also show you where each person should be at any given time.
2.
Break event into rounds Even the most carefully planned event can run into problems, so contain those problems by breaking the event into rounds.
 Doing so is likely to limit unforeseen problems to the current round, and then you can get back on track at the start of the next round.
 To keep the competition flowing through the rounds, you will need to keep score and have a plan for communicating the score to all the participants every so often.
3.
Write instructions Don't allow yourself to get in a situation where you have to answer a million questions.
 It is a lot quicker and easier to hand over an envelope than it is to explain things to kids or show them how to do things or where to go.
 Written instructions must be clear and simple.
  4.
Keep all the participants in the game Kids give up.
 If you run a competition with kids and your kids have a range of mental and physical skills, then it is likely that some kids will succeed more often than others, and one of the classic coping strategies kids use to avoid losing is giving up.
 To keep all participants in the game, build in some competitions that are based on chance rather than skill.
These four caveats are the guiding principles of the Amazing Chase kids' party plans available at chase-games.
com.
 Whether you plan from scratch or purchase a party plan that is ready to go, an amazing race party is one of the most ambitious and most rewarding events you can produce for your kids.
  Further information can be found at www.
amazingraceparty.
com