Greetings from Wiseman’s Creek. We are sufficiently operational to announce that all Sector 1 trackers can now officially report their elf status: let’s see who is on the job! Click here to fill in the report. 

All Sector 1 elves should report their status no later than August 23rd.

We are doing this now because there is a chance the test flights of Santa’s sleigh will be headed to Sector 1 next week. We received word today that they will remain in Sector 4 “for three or four more days” before heading out over the South Pacific for the first of many over-the-water tests. Their generation direction will be south and west of the coast of Chile.

That could mean they are headed our way  later. We want to be ready for them.

As a reminder, we are looking for some more weather analysts in our sector. If you have previously applied there is no need to apply again. I will be in contact with you soon.

I see no reason to wait further: I have activated Sector 3.

This means that all tracker elves in Sector 3 need to file a status report. You can do so at this link: ELF STATUS REPORT. Please complete this by August 21st. If no response is received from elves working Sector 3 we will record you as “inactive”.

This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill. This one counts. Please follow directions.

I do not yet have the flight schedule for Sector 3 test flights. And we do not yet have selected our weather analyst elves. I hope to address that in the next few days. I will keep you informed.

Just so you know, the regional tracking center located here in Bethlehem, South Africa is not 100% ready for business. But we have communication set up with North Pole Flight Command and we should be fully operational within the next four or five days.

We are sufficiently along where going active was possible. So I did it.

Merry Christmas, Sector 3. Let’s show them all what we can do.

Hi Elf Friends – I send you greetings from Mistletoe, Kentucky where the regional tracking center is getting ready for the first flight activity over Sector 5. It’s coming very soon.

I’m writing today to let you know that we will be activating as a sector very soon. That’s because North Pole Flight Command has informed us that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are headed for Northern Mexico and the South West of the United States very soon.

Once I have more concrete information I will activate the sector. With that status I can begin receiving reports from you.

That means you need to be paying attention. DO NOT SEND ANY REPORTS YET. I’m just letting you know it is happening very soon. Like, within a few days. So stand-by. Okay?

A new era of tracking Santa has begun.

Starting in the next few days your Elf Supervisor is going to ask you to file a new report – and this one counts. This is the time we have been talking about all year. This is when you really need to be paying attention.

Today was posted a new report, titled Elf Status. This new report will tell Flight Command and your Elf Supervisor whether or not you are on the job.

Traditionally, we have done in the past something we called the Elf Check-in, which was a way to indicate your readiness before Santa took flight. That old way of doing things is now gone. Tracking Santa is now different in every way and it begins with this new report.

This next week, all Elf Supervisors in each sector will call for your Elf Status report.

It is important that you respond by filing that report when the Elf Supervisor asks for it. It does not matter what your Elf Status report says at this point. But the fact that you respond to YOUR elf supervisor within the window of time called for matters a great deal. This will be one of those reports that applies to your elf evaluation score later next year.

If you file that report that you are on the job it will lead to other very important reports that will count between now and Christmas. This is definitely the time to start paying attention to what is happening.

Also, today and over the next few days – changes have been implemented to our elf registration process. For all new elves coming aboard, as previously announced, a 90-day working period as a FREELANCE ELF is now required BEFORE a new elf will be allowed to become a part of the Elf Community here at SantaTrackers.net and classified as a NORTH POLE ELF.

A freelance elf works by contract for one full season. You can read the contract at this link. All new elves will need to abide by the contract, do their jobs as elves and gain the endorsement of their elf supervisor. This is another way in which tracking Santa is different. No more can an individual sign up as an elf and do no work. They have to actually be an elf tracking Santa for Santa.

A freelance elf still files reports. In fact, the reports are even MORE critical to a freelance elf because a review of their reports over their first 90-days is key to them becoming a North Pole elf.

Regardless of your class as an elf, reporting is now active and it all counts. We are attempting to get 1 billion tracker reports this year. Starting today, those reports count.

But they only count if you file the reports needed when your elf supervisor asks for them. Please do not just send in reports willy-nilly.

In fact, if your reports are not applicable, on-time, and comprehensive they will not help you at all. The point behind all of this is to do a better job of reporting the right information at the right time when Santa needs it.

Right now, Santa’s sleigh is in the test flight period. Your reports during this period matter because we are testing all systems, including the reporting system, as part of the test flights. If your reports show snow where there is really dry heat, it hurts the effort and could count against you.

We also remind you that many reports have changed and some new reports are yet to come out. Please pay attention.

Thanks and happy tracking, elves!

Hey gang – I just received word that Sector 5 will soon be the location for the first heavy weather test flights of Santa’s sleigh. We believe these test flights will begin in about 10 days to 2 weeks.

That gives us more time to recruit weather tracking elves in our sector.

Of particular focus will be the American Southwest, where seasonal monsoonal moisture typically arrives in early August each year. Additionally, far Northern Canada above the Arctic Circle will also be the scene for test flights focused on cold and frosty conditions.

We may even see some test flights centered over the North Atlantic and, later during the month of September, over the Gulf of Mexico as hurricane season arrives.

These diverse locations will require the time and reporting skill of weather tracker elves. Please let me know if you are interest.