First to find

A First to Find (or FTF) occurs when you are the first geocacher who finds a geocache.

The kudos for being First to Find occurs as soon as you find the cache first. In most cases, the only prize is glory (or infamy), however some hiders leave FTF prizes or FTF certificates as special swaps intended for the first finder.

The statistic for a First to Find does not occur automatically. (This is because the cache sites only record the date of find, not the time.)

You can claim a First to Find at Geocaching Australia by selecting the First to Find link under the Actions list on the right hand side of the cache page. This will add your First to Find claim to the database.

In your log at Geocaching.com you can also add the string *FTF* (include asterisks, case insensitive) and when your log makes its way to Geocaching Australia, the site will add your FTF record. (see also GCA log tokens)

A FTF, Rating or Recommendation will ONLY be applied ONCE. It will ONLY be applied the FIRST time a log is loaded.

This stops the potential issue of: A cacher giving a rating of 3. Coming in and editing the rating directly, changing it to 4. Someone else loading an old GPX file which would change the rating back to a 3.

So even if you edit a log on GC, because the log has already been loaded, the FTF, rating or recommendation will not be applied as we cannot guarantee it's not going to overwrite a manual update.

There is nothing to stop you claiming a First to Find on a cache that you did not actually find first, but if you do claim a First to find on a cache you didn't find first, then be prepared to bear the scorn of your fellow cachers.

There is no additional kudos for claiming a First to Find. It's a statistics thing.

Some geocachers are very competitive about obtaining the FTF on new caches - these cachers are known as FTF Hounds.

It is good etiquette for the first finder to log their find online as soon as possible, as a courtesy to other FTF Hounds.