The same questions come up in Relay groups every season. We read hundreds of answers and kept the best of them here, in plain words, for any Relay in any country.
Every Relay has a first year, a hard year, and a year when someone new takes over and does not know where to start. The people who have been through it are generous with what they learned. These pages collect that advice so you do not have to scroll for it.
For a team, for a campsite, and for a whole event. Each one comes from a Relayer who did it, with what to watch out for.
See the ideasWhen your Relay has stopped, or shrunk, or the same five people are tired. What the ones that came back did, in the order they did it.
Read the guideA sponsor letter, a welcome email for a new team captain, a press release for a Relay coming back, and a one-hour kickoff agenda.
Open the templatesHow Relayers open, remember, and close. The shape of each ceremony, the readings and songs people return to, and ideas for the overnight hours.
See the outlinesThe groups, pages, and yearly moments where Relayers from different countries talk to each other.
Find your peopleTwo Facebook groups carry most of the conversation between Relayers: the Global Relay For Life Community, where Relayers from more than 30 countries share how Relay happens where they live, and the ACS Relay For Life Community, a much larger group where the practical questions get asked and answered. We read both, sorted the questions that keep coming back, and wrote up the answers that Relayers agreed on.
Nobody is named on these pages and nothing is quoted word for word. The ideas belong to the people who shared them. If one of them is yours, thank you. Every source on this site is listed on the About page.
Nothing here replaces the guidance from your own cancer organisation. It sits beside it.
If your Relay solved a problem that is not covered here, tell us through the contact form and we will add it. The best answers are the ones that come from a track somewhere in the world, not from a desk.
