Amazing Race Jyväskylä leads 600 students for an adventure through Jyväskylä, in which they’ll have to solve tricky problems, complete tasks and compete against other teams! 

The race will be on 21st of April 2026 starting at noon.  The event is part of Minnan matka. 

Teams 

The event will be raced in teams of three, with a maximum of 200 teams. The team ticket will cost 15 € and sales will begin in JYY kide.app event on 31st of March at noon. The team ticket includes a performance pass, three ARJ overall patches, and contestant wristbands. 

The team captain will receive a captain letter on the morning of 20th of April, and it will have all the up-to-date information.

Start and finish 

The start and end location is Paraatiaukio, which is in Kirkkopuisto. The teams will start tha race in three sets at 12.00, 12.30 and 13.00. You can pick in which set you’ll start when buying the team ticket. Teams have four hours to compete.  

Prizes 

This year, ARJ will offer cultural experiences and gift cards to the three fastest team and the team with the best vibes.  

The specific prizes will be announced later. The prizes are handed out in Paraatiaukio at 17.30. 

Rules 

General rules 

  • Amazing Race Jyväskylä is a competition, that includes solving clues to find tasks, and completing tasks within their competing time 
  • The maximum competing time for each team is 4 hours, and it starts when the team’s set begins. 
  • Not all teams might have the same tasks, there might be multiple routes. The time it takes to complete each route is designed to be as equal as possible. 
  • All members of a team need to be students at a higher education institution and 18 years old. The specific institution doesn’t matter. 
  • Teams must have 3 members, since the tasks have been designed for 3 people. 

Start of the race 

  • The teams will begin competing in three sets at 12.00, 12.30, and 13.00. 
  • Teams need to sign up at the start area before their set. Signing up for each set will begin 25 minutes earlier.  
  • A team that signed up late will not get any extra time. Their competing time will start at the beginning of their set regardless of when they were able to start. Do come early to the sign up, the wait in line might take some time! 
  • When signing up, the teams will receive a performance pass, contestant wristbands, and hints to the task locations. The hints can be opened only when the set starts. 

Task locations and completing tasks 

  • You can find the task locations with the hints given at the start. Extra hints are available by texting your team name and the task location you need a hint with to the number provided in the participant letter. You can get two extra hints for one location. Each extra hint will bring the team a 10 minute time penalty. 
  • Each task location will have organizers present, and there will be an Amazing Race Jyväskylä 2026 emblem. 
  • All members of a team need to be at the location when completing the task. 
  • The team will receive a mark on their performance pass after successful completion of a task. 
  • A failed completion of a task or giving the task up will result in a 15-minute penalty. The penalty will be marked on the performance pass, and the penalty will be added to their completion time at the end. If a team arrives at the location and chooses to get the time penalty immediately, the team will have to wait 5 minutes before proceeding. 

Goal and completion time 

  • When a team is ready to finish, they need to go to the finishing area in Paraatiaukio, in Kirkkopuisto.  
  • For a completion to be accepted, all members of the team need to be in the finishing area within the maximum completion time. 
  • The final completion time of the team will be the time it took them to complete together with the possible time penalties. The team completion times will be marked down in the order they arrived to the officials. 
  • The winner of the competition will be determined primarily by the amount of completed tasks, and secondarily by their final completion time. If these result in a tie, the team that received less time penalties wins. If these also result in a tie, the order is raffled. 

Forbidden modes of transport 

  • The teams are allowed to travel only by foot or by necessary aid, e.g. wheelchairs. If you need any aid, please be in contact with the event organizer in advance. 
  • The team is not allowed to travel with, for instance a bus, a car, a scooter, or a bike. 
  • If a team uses forbidden modes of transport, they will be disqualified. Other teams and organizers can report the teams breaking rules to the organizers by sending a picture to the number provided in the participant letter. 

Principles of Safer Spacer

The JYY Safer Space Principles will be followed at the event and JYY Trusted Person will be at the event the whole time. You can recognise the Trusted Person by the JYY grey hoodie and the Equality Officer pin. You can contact the Trusted Person with a low threshold if you feel that the principles of a safer space have been violated. The Trusted Person is Suvi Liukkonen, JYY’s Event Producer, and you can contact her by emailing tapahtumatuottaja @ jyy.fi or by calling, texting, sending a WhatsApp or Telegram message to +358451371961. Find out more about the safer space principles here. 

Questions?

If you have any questions or would like to give feedback, please contact Matti Heikkilä, coordinator of Amazing Race Jyväskylä, by email at matti.heikkila @ jyy.fi. 

We reserve the right to make changes.

Banner picture: Annu Suvilehto