CREATING AN ACCOUNT

Before you can buy / gift / activate a balloon you must create an account here otherwise we do not know who you are if your balloon wins a brilliant prize! Each balloon costs just 21 GBP and you can buy as many balloons as you want to increase your chances of winning, and of course, indirectly donate more to your favoured charity, MS Ireland

RACE DETAILS

The MS Ireland virtual balloon race launches at 12 noon on Saturday 30th May from St Mary’s Hospital in Dublin. You are advised to enter all your balloons by 11:30am at the latest to ensure all transactions go through smoothly. The race finishes at 12 noon the following Saturday, 6th June 2020.

Our advanced mathematical and physics algorithms use live weather data from meteorological group Aeris and balloon tracking is available 30 minutes after the race has started on Google maps and satellites.

100% ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Unlike a traditional latex balloon race, where the balloon can cause death or serious injury to wildlife and farm animals, the MS Ireland's virtual balloon race is 100% environmental and litter abuse friendly! Plus, with no actual balloon, string or label, and no helium gas either, it’s climate change positive too.

BUYING / GIFTING / ACTIVATING BALLOONS

For all these options first sign-in to go direct to your dashboard and click the [ buy / gift / activate ] button in the top bar.

Buying

Select the Buy balloons for you option and buy as many balloons as can afford.

Gifting

Select the Buy a gift for a friend option and fill in their correct email address, select how many and then go to cart. For extra friends and relatives, please repeat the process.

Activating a gifted code

Select the Activate a gifted code option. Enter your code in the code field and click Activate. Repeat if necessary, with more codes. Well done, a balloon has been added to your account and will appear in your dashboard.

CUSTOMISING YOUR BALLOON

Decorating

Sign in to go direct to your dashboard. Either click the [ edit balloon ] button or click on an individual balloon to decorate. Remember to save all your design and parameter changes by clicking the [ Save changes ] button at the top of the page.

Enhance your chances of winning

On your dashboard you can customise each balloon by changing various parameters, for example, balloon helium content; shape of balloon; thickness of rubber.

And reflecting real life, virtual balloons just like latex ones, can pop if the balloon parameters are not suited to the weather. For example, maximising helium content, having the fastest shape and thinnest rubber during stormy weather is not advisable. So, looking at the predicted weather forecast for your race period prior to customisation can help your chances of winning.

TRACKING BALLOONS

The 25 race leading balloons can be seen 24/7 during the race. Information shown includes the straight-line distance travelled in kilometres from the launch point, plus the balloon’s latitude and longitude. The button [ race leaders ] is found in the top bar.

To locate and track your balloons, Sign-in and go to your dashboard. Click on any individual balloon to check its progress around the globe.

WINNERS AND PRIZES

All races are 7 days in duration and the winning balloon is the one that has flown the furthest, as measured in a straight line from the launch location. Please note that a popped / burst balloon can still win if the wind direction changes and sends the still-flying balloons in the reverse direction.

The winner will be emailed with confirmation that they have won the race and with details of how to contact the organiser to arrange receiving their prize. To further comply with Gambling Commission rules, the winner will be asked a question not instantly researched or ‘Googled’.

Prizes for every race are publicised on the website homepage and are strictly not negotiable, may vary without notice, and no correspondence will be entered regarding them. However, if a winner is from another country, Rentaballoonrace.com management will send over a cash equivalent in their local currency by electronic transfer.