Event Overview

DATE

3-4th of June 2023. Your team will start on Saturday and will have 20 hours from the start time to get to the finish line, which may mean they will be walking through to the early hours of Sunday morning. 

DISTANCE

48km through D'Aguilar National Park

TIME LIMIT

Teams have 20 hours to complete the 48km course

CUT OFF DATE

FUNDRAISING: Fundraising is due 1 week before the event

TEAM CHANGES: Teams must be finalised by May 5

MINIMUM AGE

Kokoda Challenge Pinnacle: turning 15 the year of the event

48km Kokoda Challenge: turning 13 the year of the event

START TIME AND LOCATION

48km teams will start at 7:30am. The start line will be held at Brookfield Recreation Reserve located on Brookfield Road, Broofield (across from Brookfield Hall where you will collect your event packs).

FINISH LINE LOCATION

Brookfield Recreation Reserve

TEAM SIZE

Kokoda Challenge Pinnacle: 4 team members

48km:  3 or 4 members

School teams: 5 team members, 4 students and one guardian/teacher/blue card holder

FUNDRAISING MINIMUM

OPEN team Pinnacle - $3000

OPEN 48km - $1000 for 4 person teams, $750 for 3 person teams

SCHOOL team Pinnacle - $1350

SCHOOL 48km - $500

What to expect at our start and finish line

START LINE

We recommend that you arrive at the start line a minimum of 30 minutes before your start time, or an hour if you haven't picked up your event pack from pre-registration. This will allow you enough time to park, take some photos, take part in the ANZAC memorial service and hear from Vietnam Veteran and Founder of the Kokoda Youth Foundation Doug Henderson.

FINISH LINE

YOU DID IT! You've just spent hours walking or running through the bush line, you see bright lights up ahead and the Kokoda Challenge archway that marks the end of your journey! An announcer will call out your teams name and each team member will be presented with dog tags

We will have hot food and drinks available for purchase, so you will finally be able to kick back, relax and reflect on the journey that was the Kokoda Challenge.

Rules and Regulations

As this is Australia's toughest team endurance event, we do have to implement some rules and regulations to ensure everyone's safety and security. We also need to make sure our event can run smoothly, and this can only be achieved with your help! Please familiarise yourself with the following points:

TEAM SIZE

48km teams must have 4 or 3 competitors

All SCHOOL teams must have 4 student competitors, and ONE leader

DROP-OUTS

If a team member needs to drop out at any time, this must be done at a checkpoint. If a member cannot make it to a checkpoint, please call the emergency number on the back of your race bib, and a Kokoda official will come to collect you for a safe extraction from the track, you are not to be collected by your support crew. All team members must wait for the removed member to be extracted safely before continuing the challenge. Teams can continue one man down, but if your team is reduced to a team of 2, then you MUST link up and walk with another team. Teams of 2 will not be allowed to continue.

WALKING AS A TEAM

You must walk as a team, you only walk as fast as your slowest team member. If at any point, your team is found to be walking separately or if you are found to have left a member behind at any point, your team will be instantly disqualified. We are a TEAM endurance event, our events are all about leaving no team member behind, racing ahead to achieve your own personal best does not align with the values of the Spirit of Kokoda.  

ATTENDING EACH CHECKPOINT

You are tracked at every checkpoint to ensure you do not go missing or attempt to take any “shortcuts”. To successfully finish our event, you must go through every checkpoint with your team. You cannot leave the event and resume it at a later time. Any team found taking short cuts will be disqualified.

FUNDRAISING

The minimum fundraising amount must be met by the cutoff date, or your team will not be able to participate in The Kokoda Challenge. The reason our events exist is to raise funds for our Kokoda youth programs, our charity receives no government funding and we would not be able to operate without the donations raised from this event. 

WAIVER FORMS AND PERSONAL DETAILS 

Every team member must complete their online registration and waiver to be able to compete in The Kokoda Challenge. 

SUPPORT CREW REGULATIONS

Support crews are to meet their teams ONLY at support crew checkpoints. If teams are found meeting their support crews outside of designated areas, the team will be instantly disqualified.

MAP AND ELEVATION PROFILE

To view the interactive All Trails map, please click HERE.

Your Role

SUPPORT CREW ARE VITAL TO A TEAM’S SUCCESS AND ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF ANY SUCCESSFUL TEAM.

Congratulations on being asked to be a part of the Kokoda Challenge as support crew! Ideally you give food, changes of clothes, medical attention and much needed encouragement to your team. The checkpoints you will be visiting to assist your team will be the bright points through their event experience. However, it is a big commitment so it is important to make sure you not only have the time to be available on the weekend, but also the enthusiasm to keep your team motivated and will encourage them though the tough times

ALL SUPPORT CREWS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH US

At least one member from each support crew must register their details with us . If your details change (ie. the support car you are using is changed, or support crew members change), don't worry! All details will be reconfirmed on the morning of the event. Register your details via the link below! (scroll down the page until you reach the "register my details" section):

REGISTER SUPPORT CREW

Preparation

Preperation is the key to success when it ocmes to support crews! 
before the event weekend, you should knwo the in's and out's of how your support crew checkpoint will run. 

Please familiarise yourself with the following points for guidance: 

• Be sure you have met with your team and created a support crew plan PRIOR to the event weekend! 
• Only competitors in the 48 & 96km Kokoda Challenge require a support crew
• Use the meeting agenda on the next page to ensure you’ve covered all topics to ensure you know where to meet, approximately what time to meet, what food to bring and more
• Look into apps such as Find My Friends or Live360 to track your team as they are walking, being mindful that they will be in and out of reception. We will also provide you with a link where you can track when they check into checkpoints
• You will need to get each competitors belongings before event day or at the start line if you’re droping them off. We recommend having a tub for each team member.
• Please note there is no limit to how many people are in your support crew but you are only allowed one car per support crew at the checkpoints. You must register your vehicle here as well as all members of your support crew for COVID tracing purposes.
• When your team pick up their event pack at pre-registration on the 27th of May (details here) there will be a support crew car parking pass in this pack which will give you access into the support crew checkpoints.
• Please attempt to have every member of the support crew watch the online support crew briefing video (released 1-2 weeks prior to the event).
• Our event must respect the day users visiting these beautiful locations

WHAT IS A SUPPORT CREW?

A support crew is the saving grace for teams throughout the 96km and 48km challenge. They provide teams with support at designated support crew checkpoints along the track and are the key to finishing the challenge. Behind every great team is a phenomenal support crew!

WHEN DO I GET MY SUPPORT CREW CAR PASS AND WHAT IS A SUPPORT CREW CAR PASS?

Each support crew will be provided with a support crew car pass to put on their car dashboard. This will allow your car access into support crew checkpoints. On this pass, you will write your cars registration number. Each support crew is allowed ONE pass. Support crews found copying or sharing passes to have more than one car in the support crew checkpoint at one time will have their teams immediately eliminated. If you are using different cars in different checkpoints, simply cross out the registration number once you are done with vehicle A and then write the registration number of vehicle B. 

Passes are received during kit collection and are packaged with the participants race bibs. 

WHAT DOES A SUPPORT CREW DO?

Everyone’s support crew is different, but most provide the following at major checkpoints: a hot meal if you have a portable gas stove (warm soup or curry is very popular) or sandwiches, strapping and medical attention, refill water packs and re-pack backpack with essentials, provide a change in equipment (fresh socks, different clothes, walking poles etc) and most importantly they encourage you to keep going!

WHAT CHECKPOINTS DO WE ACCESS OUR TEAMS?

For 48km participants, support crews can only be accessed at our major checkpoint 3. Location and address as per below:

• CHECKPOINT 3: BELLBIRD GROVE Bellbird Grove: 113 Mt Nebo Rd, Enoggera Rervoir

DO ALL 48KM TEAMS HAVE TO HAVE A SUPPORT CREW?

YES. All 48km teams must have a support crew.

HOW BIG OR SMALL CAN A SUPPORT CREW BE?

A support crew can be as big or small as you like! However please note that at each support crew checkpoint, only ONE car will be allowed into the designated support crew area as we have limited space available. We suggest a support crew of 4 or 5 people!

WHEN WILL THE SUPPORT CREW BRIEFING VIDEO BE RELEASED?

The support crew briefing will be available online. This will be released with the event briefing video 1-2 weeks out from the event. It is compulsory for all support crews to watch this video. Support crews will also have the ability to ask questions to our event staff at the start line of each event if needed. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• If you meet your support crew outside of the designated support crew checkpoints, your team will be disqualified unless permission is granted by event organisers.
• Support Crews are discouraged to arrive at checkpoints more than 20 minutes before their team is due to arrive. Work out a plan with your team to communicate their ETA.
• Support Crews must bring their own toilet paper at checkpoints as none will be provided.
• The Kokoda Challenge is an environmentally friendly event. Support Crews MUST remove and dispose of all rubbish. There will be no rubbish bins provided.
• Strap your team’s feet and sensitive areas BEFORE blisters and chaffing occur.
• Only one Support Crew Vehicle of standard size is permitted per team (NO Trailers or campervans allowed). Vehicles are to park in the designated parking area. Please keep your driving speed down to 5km/h. 
• A $5 cash donation will be required at all the support crew checkpoints. All donations are provided to the volunteering local organisation or community group, not the Kokoda Youth Foundation.
• Support Crews are encouraged to visit local attractions and cafes in between meeting their teams to support the local communities.

Support Crew Meeting

We recommend that support crews utilise the following agenda during their first support crew meeting:

Our Eco Policy

LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS, TAKE ONLY PHOTOS

We are all so incredibly lucky to be living in such a naturally beautiful country; let's keep it beautiful! Much of The Kokoda Challenge course will wind through national parks or state forests where it's very important to respect the the flora and fauna by being considerate of the following:

LITTERING

Yep, even your banana peels and mandarin skins count as littering, don't be a tosser! These food scraps only decompose unless composted properly and can also negatively impact the native wildlife and plants, take ALL rubbish with you. 

If you don't want to carry around rubbish with you then consider unwrapping your muesli or protein bars before you get to the event and store these instead in reusable containers.

REUSABLE CONTAINERS

Our food and drink vendors will be offering discounts for those who BYO keep cups, tell your support crew to bring theirs and yours as well to help reduce the impact on the environment and your wallet!

CONTAINERS FOR CHANGE

You can help us reduce our carbon footprint by putting all 10 cent containers in the bins marked CONTAINER FOR CHANGE. Not only will this stop all your recyclables from going into landfill, but all the money from your bottles will be donated to the Kokoda Youth Foundation to help us help more young people. 

Event Weekend- Checkpoint information

IF YOU MEET YOUR TEAM OUTSIDE OF THE DESIGNATED SUPPORT CREW
CHECKPOINT'S, THEN YOUR TEAM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED

START LINE: Brookfield Recreation Reserve: 48 Boscombe Rd, Brookfield

• Only one support crew car is permitted per team
• Parking is at Brookfield State School oval only, please ensure surrounding car parks and roads are kept clear for day area visitors for Brookfield Reserve
• Parking will be $5 per car at the start line, this fee goes directly to Brookfield State School and not the Kokoda Youth Foundation
• Once the 48km competitors have set off at 7:00 am. there will be opportunity for support crews to ask event staff questions. 
• After competitiors have left, we encourage support crew to visit local businesses as there is no accessing your team until checkpoint 3 at Bellbird Grove
• Please advise there are no pets permitted here or at Bellbird Grove
• There will be a coffee van at the start line and a cafe across the road

CHECKPOINT 3 SUPPORT CREW CHECKPOINT: BELLBIRD GROVE Bellbird Grove: 113 Mt Nebo Rd, Enoggera Rervoir

NOTE: SCHOOL TEAMS can access their support crew at checkpoint 2 and 3 (both located at Bellbird Grove). It is up to your school team as to whether or not they want to access their support crew twice, or once. We recommend only utilising the support crew ONCE as this can minimise the possability of a student pulling out however, this is completely the teams decision. Open teams are NOT permitted to access their support crew at checkpoint 2. 

• You will need the car pass that was in your team’s event pack to enter this car park
• You will be asked to return the car pass upon leaving the Bellbird Grove car park
• Please do not arrive more than 1 hour before your team arrives. They will walk past a sign that will prompt them to message you to let you know to leave if you are at Brookfield Reserve.
• From Brookfield Reserve, it takes approximately 25 minutes to get to Bellbird Grove
• Please follow the directions of our volunteers
• A gold coin donation is appreciated to park at Bellbird Grove which goes to the local SES
• Please respect this area: do not play loud music, take all rubbish with you, leave your pets at home and respect other day-users

NOTE: $5 parking per support crew car applies at this checkpoint. Have your support crew bring along some cash as EFTPOS is not accepted, these funds will be donated to the community organisation running the support crew car park and not the Kokoda Youth Foundation. 

FINISH LINE: Brookfield Recreation Reserve: 48 Boscombe Rd, Brookfield

• Invite along all the family and friends you can to cheer your teams accross the finish line! 
• Parking is at Brookfield State School oval only, please ensure surrounding car parks and roads are kept clear for day area visitors for Brookfield Reserve
• Parking will be $5 per car at the start line, this fee goes directly to Brookfield State School and not the Kokoda Youth Foundation
• Please advise there are no pets permitted here or at Bellbird Grove
• There will be a coffee van at the start line and a cafe across the road, bring along some spare change and support these local vendors (this is the highlight of their year!)
• Come along and cheer the teams across the finish line as they collect their commemorative dog tags, to recognise the journey they have just completed! 

What equipment your teams will need

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

The 48km course treks across many different types of landscapes. Being based on the South Easy Coast, the weather can also change at the blink of an eye, so you need to make sure you are prepared for all possible changes in weather or personal circumstance. The items on the compulsory list are to be always carried. Those on the recommended list are to be carried at your own choice.

NON NEGOTIABLES FOR EVERY PARTICIPANT IN EVERY EVENT:

• Head torch and spare batteries 
• Ability to carry at least 2 litres of water at all times (water bladder or water bottles)
• If you have a phone, all competitors MUST download the emergency app
• Race bib

Please ensure you are prepared with ALL of the following compulsory gear:

• A day backpack
• Reflective safety vest that MUST be worn at night and when crossing roads
• Hat and sunscreen
• A water bladder than can carry at least 1 litre of water at all times (equipped with hydrolytes!)
• A headtorch
• Water shoes for creek crossings (do not cross creeks bare foot)
• Pealess whistle 
• Snacks
• Race bib
• Mobile phone 
• Roll of toilet paper and a shovel (in case you're stuck between checkpoint toilets)
• Personal first aid kit (yes, everyone needs their own! Be sure this carries all essential needs in case you are to get separated form your team at any time)

The following items are not compulsory, but are HIGHLY recommended:

• Walking poles
• Gloves, beanie and thermals (it can drop as low as ZERO degrees on the track, plus wind chill!)
• Waterproof/windproof jacket
• Portable phone charger
• Back up head torch and batteries
• Spare pair of socks
• Small lightweight microfiber towel to dry your feet after creek crossings or before re-strapping
• Blister packs
• Instant heat pads
• Chapstick
• Sunglasses
• Portable phone charger

EVENT PACK COLLECTION

Before you can take on The Kokoda Challenge, you will need to collect your team's event pack. This pack contains your race bibs (you can't start without these!), your official event t-shirts, plus some goodies from our partners! 

You can either collect your event pack at pre-registration the day before the event or you can collect the morning of the event. We highly recommend collecting your event packs the day before the event to avoid rushing around on event day. You can have someone collect your event packs on your behalf, all they will need to do is let the volunteers know at pre-registration when they arrive that they are collecting on your behalf. For all the details regarding pre-registration and collecting your event pack on the day of the event, please click on the button below: 

BOOK A TIME TO COLLECT

All support crews must register their detials below!