{"id":540,"date":"2025-08-22T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/?p=540"},"modified":"2025-10-08T19:58:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:58:02","slug":"watergate-roach-race-rules-and-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/2025\/08\/22\/watergate-roach-race-rules-and-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Watergate Roach Race Rules and Regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-04_15_38-PM-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-542\" style=\"width:532px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-04_15_38-PM-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-04_15_38-PM-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-04_15_38-PM-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-04_15_38-PM.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Three cockroaches on a racetrack running towards a finish line created by ChatGPT, August 13, 2025. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Date &amp; Time:<\/strong>\u202fOctober 28 at 4 p.m.\u00a0<br><strong>Location:<\/strong>\u202fTennessee Tech Campus Tucker Stadium<br><strong>Hosted by:<\/strong>\u202fArchives &amp; Special Collections\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>\u202fRace Format<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Each participating\u202f<strong>department\/student club\/organization selects or brings one roach athlete <\/strong>to represent them. These can be homegrown roaches or roaches selected from those available at the event (Dubia roaches).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roaches will race 8 feet on a\u202ffoot<strong> track<\/strong>.&nbsp;There will be 7 races with 8 contenders each, and an 8th race will determine the overall winner. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The race is a<strong> sprint<\/strong>-fastest cockroach wins!&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All roach athletes and departments must register to participate in the run <strong>by 12:00 p.m. on race day, October 28. <\/strong>Earlier registration guarantees participation. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tntech.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_0VyWE5xR7MMMtT0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Registration<\/strong><\/a><strong> is here: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tntech.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_0VyWE5xR7MMMtT0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/tntech.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_0VyWE5xR7MMMtT0<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>\u202fRoach Guidelines<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Roaches must be\u202f<strong>real, live insects<\/strong>\u202f(no mechanical or fake entries).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Each roach must be\u202f<strong>safely contained<\/strong>\u202fbefore the race and handled humanely.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roaches must be <strong>named<\/strong>\u202ffor identification and announcement (no paint or harmful substances). A biography is encouraged.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roach coaches will be required to \u201crelease\u201d their roach on the racetrack at the start of the race.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>\u202fWinning Criteria<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There will be seven races and an 8th final race to determine the overall champion. If a roach wins one of the initial races, it will compete in the final race for the title of overall champion and the \u201cExtinguished Award\u201d.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first roach to\u202f<strong>fully cross the finish line<\/strong>\u202fwins.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In case of a tie, a\u202f<strong>re-race<\/strong>\u202fwill be held between the top contenders.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The overall winning roach athlete and its department will be the holder of \u201cThe Extinguished Award\u201d until the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Annual Watergate Roach Race, where the trophy will be given to the next winner.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>\u202fSpirit &amp; Camaraderie<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Departments are encouraged to cheer, display signs, and show team spirit.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Costumes and themed attire are welcome (for humans, not roaches!).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The event is designed to be fun and filled with Tennessee Tech pride. Bring a good sense of humor.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Share about your roach athlete and roach training on your social media and tag the Tennessee Tech Archives and Special Collections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>\u202fSafety &amp; Fairness<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No touching, guiding, or interfering with roaches during the race.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Judges\u2019 decisions are final.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cockroach athletes are strictly prohibited from using performance-enhancing drugs. Any cockroach found using or testing positive for banned substances will be disqualified from the competition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Date &amp; Time:\u202fOctober 28 at 4 p.m.\u00a0Location:\u202fTennessee Tech Campus Tucker StadiumHosted by:\u202fArchives &amp; Special Collections\u00a0 \u202fRace Format&nbsp; \u202fRoach Guidelines&nbsp; \u202fWinning Criteria&nbsp; \u202fSpirit &amp; Camaraderie&nbsp; \u202fSafety &amp; Fairness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}