Starting Line Task

In Season 15, teams had to search a rack containing 1,000 vehicle registration plates for one that contained the kanji characters for Shinagawa.

A Starting Line task is a task at the Starting Line that teams are required to complete before they can proceed with racing.

Overview

Starting Line tasks are usually related to the season's first destination, such as finding a particular registration plate found in Tokyo in The Amazing Race 15 or finding the Chinese characters for Guangzhou in The Amazing Race: All-Stars (2014). Starting Line tasks may also require teams to get approval from the host.

Some Starting Line tasks may feature penalties for the last team to complete the task. In The Amazing Race 15, the Starting Line task featured a Surprise Elimination for the last team. In The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business and The Amazing Race 19 respectively, the last team was penalized with an automatic U-Turn and a Hazard task.

Summary

The Amazing Race (US)

• In The Amazing Race 15, teams had to search through over 1,000 license plates to find one of eleven Japanese license plates to earn tickets to their first destination: Tokyo, Japan. Eric & Lisa were unable to find a license plate and were eliminated in a Surprise Elimination.
• In The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, teams had to search through a field containing hundreds of paper airplanes for one matching the clue "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", leaving teams to figure out that this referred to Qantas, which was written on the correct airplanes to earn tickets to their first destination: Sydney, Australia. Amanda & Kris were the last team to complete the task and were penalized with an automatic U-Turn at the first Detour they encounter.
• In The Amazing Race 19, teams had to search through hundreds of oil-paper umbrellas for one with the correct set of letters that would reveal their first destination, Taipei, Taiwan. Kaylani & Lisa were the last team to complete the task and were penalized with the Hazard.
• In The Amazing Race 20, teams had to search through 100 balloons with baskets at the Bridlewood Estate Winery for one that held their next clue.
• In The Amazing Race 21, teams had to rappel together down ten stories off of the side of the Colorado Street Bridge.
• In The Amazing Race: All-Stars (2014), teams had to find one of several of UCLA Bruin Marching Band members with the Chinese symbols for Guangzhou on their shako's badge, matching the badges displayed on the shakos of the band conductors to earn tickets to their first destination: Guangzhou, China.
• In The Amazing Race 26, teams had to run through a mud run obstacle course by the shore of Castaic Lake to earn tickets to their first destination: Tokyo, Japan.
• In The Amazing Race 29, prior to the official start of the Race, racers had to follow a series of cardinal directions to the F&M Gallery luggage store and pick up a piece of luggage with a tag that has the flag of Panama on it. The order that racers returned to the Starting Line with the correct luggage determined the order they would choose their partner.
• In The Amazing Race 31, teams had to dig for their first clue hidden within an octopus-shaped sand sculpture at Hermosa Beach Pier, then search through jellyfish-shaped balloons along the beach for one that held their next clue.

The Amazing Race Asia

• In The Amazing Race Asia 5, teams had to search through 1,000 compasses for one of only 10 that displayed 210 degrees southwest. Lisa & Nicole were unable to find a compass and were eliminated in a Surprise Elimination.

The Amazing Race Australia

• In The Amazing Race Australia 1, the team member had to participate the Roadblock to scale 75 metres (246 ft) above the towers on Melbourne Cricket Ground to get their next clue at the top.
• In The Amazing Race: Australia v New Zealand, teams had to take part for a Nation vs. Nation on a "Trans-Tasman tug-of-war" battle divided into two groups by nationality to pull the flag past the route marker. The Australian team suffered a 10-minute penalty.
• In The Amazing Race Australia 5, teams had to choose to run one kilometer (0.62 mi) up to the beach or travel three kilometers (1.9 mi) upriver onto a slow tinny to locate the cars.

The Amazing Race Canada

• In The Amazing Race Canada 8, teams had to search for five marked plaques in order to decode a book cipher to unscramble those letters to their first destination: Old Montreal.

The Amazing Race: China Rush

• In The Amazing Race: China Rush 3, teams had to search hundreds of flags with the Hanzi symbol one (一) to earn bus tickets to Yangcheng. Rob & Jia Jia were unable to find a symbol and were eliminated in a Surprise Elimination.

The Amazing Race (Latin America)

• In The Amazing Race 4 (Latin America), teams had to search amongst hundreds of maps for one of the eleven maps of Brasília. Billy & Gean were the last team to complete the task and were penalized with an automatic U-Turn at the first Detour they encounter.

The Amazing Race Norge

• In The Amazing Race Norge 1, teams had to search a word phrase written in three different languages (Russian, Arabic, and Chinese) and match onto a corresponding phrase. They would then travel to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to locate ten clues at the airport to their first destination: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kenneth & Hakan were eliminated after without a clue in a Surprise Elimination.