What The Amazing Race Should Be

Dear The Amazing Race producers,

The Amazing Race is an incredible concept and opportunity for anyone with a knack for traveling and adventures. It’s also exciting and motivating for viewers at home to get up and travel. This show doesn’t just attract people that are eligible to be in the race, however - it also attracts kids who are under 21 years old. The age limit restricts many people from joining The Amazing Race when they are very interested in the show. This is why we’re suggesting a parent-child race for the upcoming seasons.

An Amazing Race with parent-child teams may seem like it would be difficult to pull off, considering the liability risks of the challenges with under-age participants, but that's exactly why the parent should be with the child. The parent will have to approve and sign a waiver for themselves and their children. The parents will be able to fly with their children, and to navigate through foreign countries, supervising and protecting their children in the race. The speed bumps, detours, and road-blocks they have now might be too hard for teens to complete, so for the parent-child race, the challenges will have to reasonably adapt to the teens’ abilities in order to keep the parents from being in charge of absolutely everything; still, the challenges will be just as fun, exciting, and challenging as they are currently, even if a bit more age appropriate.

The age range for the kids in The Amazing Race should be 14 to 17 years-old. Fourteen year olds are mature enough that the challenges could still be reasonably difficult, and the age cutoff should be seventeen because it’s the last year teens qualify as minors.

Parent-child teams are currently on The Amazing Race, but the children on the teams are adults that are 21 years old or older. There should be a parent-child version of The Amazing Race with the children ranging only from 14 to 17 years of age because, in many families, when the child is old enough to be in The Amazing Race, the parent is too old, and not physically able to compete. Families may never get an opportunity together like this past this age range.

There should be parent-child seasons for The Amazing Race because teens may never get this extraordinary opportunity travel and bond with their parents. This would help to build familial relationships and to expose teens to other cultures. Not only will the parent and child have the chance to win one million dollars and compete in crazy obstacles, but the traveling will open teens’ eyes at a young age. They will be exposed to different cultures and appreciate how fortunate they are to live where they are. If a parent and child are on this race, they will create a bond that will never be broken, and teenagers will learn cultural lessons they’ll never forget.

A plethora of teens and their parents are interested and want to be on The Amazing Race, and they may never get this opportunity together again. Viewers would be impressed, as well, and would love to watch a parent-child version of The Amazing Race.

Thank you!

Mia Rapella

The Most Dramatic Season Yet

On Monday night, Ben made the biggest decision of his life on the Bachelor. After ten weeks, he finally made his decision and chose his wife. Not only did viewers get to see Ben propose on the show, but they got to see him propose again, live, in front of their family and friends on the after show. According to Chris Harrison, “This has been the most dramatic season yet.” Although that may be an exaggeration, Ben has been one of the most popular and lovable bachelors on the show.

The two girls with whom Ben claimed to be in love were Lauren Bushnell, a 25-year-old flight attendant from Marina Del Rey, CA; and Jojo, a 24-year-old real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. Before the proposal, Ben spent three months getting to know the girls, including a trip to the girls' hometowns, where he got to meet their families. Jojo’s hometown was a bit dramatic - she received flowers and a love letter from her ex, and her protective brothers gave Ben a hard time. At Lauren’s, her sister questioned whether or not Ben was good enough for Lauren. Ben developed strong feelings for both the girls and really struggled when it came to deciding who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Throughout a season of goodbyes and “blindsides,” Ben claims that there was something special from the very beginning of his relationship with Lauren - something so special that Ben had to say goodbye to Jojo in order to propose to the love of his life, Lauren. However, not to fear! Jojo is now the bachelorette, and America is in for another dramatic season of The Bachelor.

The Amazing Race Really Is Amazing!

The Amazing Race is a TV show that appears on CBS every Friday in September and February, at 8/7 Central. The Amazing Race begins with eleven teams of two (sometimes, a season will have a theme - in the past, there have been blind dates, social media stars, and plenty of other unique concepts!), racing all around the world for one million dollars. The eleven teams racing around the world collect clues and complete challenges that are relevant to the country that they are in.

First, the teams begin in the U.S. They travel to several different continents, never including Antarctica. At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team is given a clue that tells them which country or city they’re going to visit next. After catching the soonest plane to the given destination, they are given more clues that lead them through that leg, and so on. The clues may tell them where they’re going next, or may tell them they must complete a challenge. Sometimes, there is a choice between more than one challenge, allowing competitors to choose the one with which they're more comfortable. The challenges are always specific to each country, and help the contestants get an understanding of its culture, while still being extremely varied: some are easier for more adventurous people or daredevils, like bungee jumping, while others are activities that most people would consider gross, such as mud swimming. The last team to complete the challenges of each leg is eliminated.

This show gives teams the opportunity to experience something very different and go on a crazy adventure. There are also limitless opportunities to learn about the whole world. It tests the mental and physical strength of the participants, and their relationships with their partners. The Amazing Race is also entertaining to the viewers; when they watch average people traveling all around the world completing these challenges, they themselves may feel motivated to get off their couches and take risks - and it also has a blend of drama when the teams get in arguments or when teams plot against each other, which can be very entertaining. Viewers can vote for their favorite teams, see their favorite cities, and experience the relationships between the groups and partners.

Overall, The Amazing Race is a wonderful opportunity for Americans to get out and experience cultures, landmarks, and once-in-a-lifetime activities. This show is also educational, inspirational, and entertaining for the viewers. This show earns five stars.

Stay tuned for season 28 of The Amazing Race, which airs on February 12th, 2016 at 8/7 central on CBS! This season, social media stars will be competing for the million dollar prize!

Interested in being on the show? Auditions for the next season are happening right now, and all you have to do is make a video about yourself and submit it to http://www.theamazingracecasting.com/!

Article by Mia Rapella and Mackenna Doilney