Fundraising Directory

Organising a Coackroach or Toad Race

Cane toads, cockroaches, whatever, we all hate the little so and so’s – but what great fun you can have racing them! You can eradicate the pests and have fun at the same time. BUT WE DO REMIND YOU, THEY ARE LIVING CREATURES AND YOU CANNOT ABUSE THEM.

These guides have been prepared over time from suggestions sent to us by volunteer event organisers.
Please use all of our resources as a guide only, and modify them for your own circumstances.
Corporate Events takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained within.
Best of luck organising your event, and please stop by later to contribute your own ideas, resources and photos!

What To Do:

The first thing you will need to race is a field of runners. If you live in Queensland, you’ll have no shortage of cane toads, if you live in NSW, you’ll have no shortage of cockroaches – is somebody asking about Stage of Origin? Gather up a decent number of the little b*****s. You will need to identify them – maybe make a little jacket for the canetoad, or mark with non-toxic face paint.

You then offer these fine pedigrees for sale at auction. Once they have been purchased, you are ready to race. The new owner can take their purchase home with them after the races or leave them to be dealt with humanely.

Charge an entry fee for each race, and give a percentage of this back as prize money, say 25% for the first out of the circle and 10% for the last – the balance of the monies is profit for your charity.

A circle is an ideal race track. Mark a decent sized circle using a piece of string, a stake, and some chalk – (we’ve all watched Burke’s Backyard). A diameter of about three metres is ideal. Then mark a small circle inside the larger one – 50cm should be about right. Then you let the games begin. Keep your thoroughbred stallions in a bucket or calico bag, let them go in the inner circle and start yelling. “They’re off and racing ……”

The winner is the first thoroughbred to break out of the big circle.

You can run several races over the course of an evening. Remember, it is highly illegal to run a book on any of these races and at the end of the night, you must dispose of your thoroughbreds in a humane manner. The suggested method for cane toads is to place them in a plastic bag in a freezer, where they will simply fall asleep in the cold and eventually pass away. Cane toads are the biggest environmental pest ever introduced into Australia. They are slowly moving both north and south, sightings have already been reported in Kakadu National Park – an ecological disaster in the making. So have some fun and do a bit for the environment at the same time.

Originally published 21 May, 2017

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