Charity Challenge - Take The Challenge!

A professional truck driving skills competition to benefit the Kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

THE CHARITY CHALLENGE (Please Read!)

Here you'll find everything you need to know about registering and competing in the Charity Challenge and participating in the event. Online resigtration has closed, but you can still register on Sunday. Please download the Sponsor Sheet and start fundraising!

The Charity Challenge is a truck driving skills competition similar to the ATA State and National truck driving championships. It is a slow speed, tight maneuvering course with obstacles similar to those you would encounter on the job. It is also a fund raiser for the kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A minimum entry fee of $75.00 is required to compete. Drivers are encouraged to fundraise their entry fee. It is our job as the Committee to raise as much company and corporate funds to cover the approximately $11,000 expense of the event with our goal being to donate all driver fund raising efforts to St. Jude. Please make every effort to raise above the $75.00 minimum. All checks to St. Jude are fully tax deductible, and many companies will match your fund raising efforts for selected charities. It never hurts to ask. The average donation over the years has been $150, and trophies are awarded for exceptional fund raising efforts. Last year there were two drivers who raised $1000 or more, and two drivers who raised over $3000!

You do not need to bring a truck to compete; all trucks are provided for the contestants. You must have a valid CDL license (except Step Van) and be an active driver, retired driver or currently in management. First time participants will need to show their license at the sign-in on Sunday. If you have competed in the past, then this is not necessary.

This is a family affair. We have activities planned for the kids that include a bike competition, craft area, magician, moon walk, face painting, etc. There is a large grass area next to the event area for activities. We will also have a food tent set up with refreshments, hot dogs and meatball subs, ice cream, chips at 10am. Please note that no alcohol is allowed at this event. The food tent will open at 7:00am with breakfast from Devens' Grill, Dunkin' Donuts coffee, donuts, pastries, cereal, juice.

On-site registration begins at 7:30am on Sunday. If you are pre-registered, it will only take a minute at the sign-in table to hand in your sponsor sheet and fund raising efforts, and to receive your name tag, program book/driver manual and t-shirt. We will accept entries right up until Sunday morning, but it will take a little longer to register since you will have to fill out the application. Currently we've had just about 100 drivers, but we've had as many as 150 drivers in the past. The limit for the competition is 160 drivers as that is the most drivers we can run through the course in one day. Please register ASAP. It makes the morning of the Charity Challenge much easier and smoother if the bulk of the paperwork is taken care of before the event. If you are not sure if you will be able to attend, please register anyway. You can always email us if you change your mind, and we will gladly accept a donation in your absence.

Please help us by pre-registering online. It only takes a few minutes to complete the online registration form. For those drivers who may be working Saturday night and cannot make the sign-in, please email us ahead of time and we can make the necessary arrangements for a late arrival.

After the sign in, there will be a description of the course under the tent. Diagrams of all the problems will be shown and discussed. After the “Talk Through” drivers will have approximately 30 minutes to walk the course and check out the equipment. All equipment will be on the course for the drivers to examine. Trucks cannot be started or driven prior to the competition.

This year there are nine classes available at the Charity Challenge: Straight Truck, 3 Axle Van, 4 Axle Van, 5 Axle Van, 5 Axle Sleeper, 5 Axle Tank, 5 Axle Flatbed, Twin Trailer, and Step Van. Every driver in a particular class will drive the same vehicle, and a truck leaves the start line every two minutes. There will be ten problems, each worth a maximum of 50 points. The Step Van drivers will have a separate course specifically sized for that class. There will also be a tie-breaker problem to eliminate the need for a runoff.

At any one time there will be five trucks on the course. A minimum of 20 judges is needed to score the drivers. Drivers can volunteer to judge for half the day. Please indicate when registering if you will be willing to help judge, and we schedule it so as not to conflict with your driving time. Helping is not mandatory, but we sure could use the help!

Only judges and committee members are allowed on the course at any time and are required to wear safety vests (supplied by event staff).

Optional Pre-Trip Inspection and Written Test

There will also be a Pre-Trip inspection and a Written Test for separate trophies. Both are optional and are not included in your final driving score.

The Pre-Trip Inspection usually consists of a total fifteen (15) major and minor planted defects. Drivers will need to thoroughly inspect a truck within a prescribed period of time. Sign up for the pre-trip inspection will be available on Sunday morning at sign-in.

The written test consists of fifty (50) multiple choice questions. The exam topics will cover general knowledge taken from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) manual and will include hazmat, rules of the road, and questions on the new CSA2010 program. If you have a Facts for Drivers book from a state-level ATA competition, there will NOT be any questions from the trucking industry section. Any questions taken from First Aid and Firefighting will be general knowledge questions that a driver should be familiar with. Sign up for the written test will also be available on Sunday morning at sign-in.

SAFETY FIRST!

+ Seatbelts are required while on the course.
+ Only authorized personnel are allowed to walk on the course.
+ Fire extinguishers and first aid kits are available onsite.
+ Devens Fire and Ambulance is one mile from the site.
+ The Charity Challenge is held on state property and food permits are required. Grilling by contestants will not be allowed.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us. All numbers are listed on the Contact Us page.