Important! The awards categories have changed. For the nominations and awards being given out in 2024 (for the 2023 caching year) please read the most current post.
Each year NoVAGO honors some of the best caches that were placed in Northern Virginia. Nominations are an opportunity for you to recognize the efforts of your fellow NoVAGO cachers who have placed hides that you have enjoyed. This list is meant to help you think of some of the best geocaches you found last year.
Best Traditional – The familiar green box on the map, which one made an impression on you?
Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache – Whether the puzzle or the mystery was creative, innovative, obscure, devious, difficult, head-banging hard, unbelievably easy in hindsight – or all of those, which mystery or puzzle cache are you still talking about?
Best Other (Multicache, Earthcache, Letterbox Hybrid, Wherigo, or Virtual) – These non-traditional cache types do not see as many placements each year. Pick one or more to honor!
Best Event (Event, CITO, or Community Celebration) – Whether you were gathering just for fun (Event/Community Celebration) or were also giving back to the community (CITO), which caching event in 2022 was the best experience for the attendees and participants?
Best Adventure Lab Series – The fastest growing segment of the caching world has resulted in some creative series and some that have taken cachers to great locations. Which series was the most fun, most inspiring, most educational, most devious, or otherwise most creative?
Best Theme/Series (three or more caches in a series or that share a common theme) – The whole of the series was even greater than the sum of the parts. Which series did you absolutely have to finish and kept you waiting for the next cache to be published?
Cache of the Year – From the moment you read the cache listing through making the find – and then telling all of your caching friends about how great the cache is, this is the cache that made the year the most memorable for you.
Best Camouflage – Whether an evil micro or an in-plain-sight regular, which cache made you do a double-take?
Most Outstanding Location/Scenery – Everybody has different criteria for a great location, although the amazing smoothness of the parking lot paving is probably not it. Which cache took you to your best location – and why was it the best?
Best Historical/Educational Cache – Many caches offer more than the satisfaction of the find by sharing some history of the area in the cache description, along the journey, or at ground zero. Some caches can teach you something you didn’t know. Which cache provided the best history or educational lesson last year?
Most Creative Cache – It was new, it was different, it was unique – it was probably inspirational. Which cache made you say, “I would have never thought of that?”
Most Physically Challenging to Find – Which cache made you push your limits to complete it?
Best Kids Cache – Perhaps it was the story on the cache page, or the location, or the hide, or the container, or the trade items. Ask the mini-cachers which cache they would most like to visit again.
Best Log – “TFTC” is not going to be enough. Which log entered during the past year for which cache entertained you the most, educated you the most, or just kept coming back to you? (Although the log has to be from last year, the cache doesn’t.)
Best Photo Post in a Log – Which photo made you say “Wow!” – for some reason? Perhaps it was the scenery, the laughs, the cachers, or something else. Regardless, which photo did you want to share with other cachers…or wanted it shared on social media?
Rookie of the Year – Every year thousands of people start geocaching and many of them are in NoVAGO’s area. What new name caught your attention in the logs or with their caches? Check the profile to see if the caching career started during the previous year, plus six months. For example, For the 2023 Rookie of the Year, this person must have logged their first cache no earlier than July 1, 2021.
Volunteer of the Year – Which great NoVAGO volunteer (non-officer) gave the best effort in furthering our cause?
Cacher of the Year – Great finder, great hider, great log-writer…any or all of these could be the foundation for cacher of the year. Who stood out to you as the epitome of “Cacher” this year?