Regional Tracking Center Selection Process Continues

The Regional Tracking Center Committee reports that good progress has been made so far in making decisions for this year’s locations.

Based upon elf feedback from several teams in North Pole Flight Command and from tracker elves around the world the following countries have advanced in the selection process.

Sector 1 – Oceania

1. Japan
2. Kiribati
3. Fiji
4. Tonga
5. Samoa

Sector 2 – Asia and the Middle East

1. Mongolia
2. Thailand
3. Iran
4. China
5. Taiwan

Sector 3 – Europe and Africa

1. Chad
2. Belgium
3. England
4. Niger
5. Germany

Sector 4 – Greenland and South America

1. Greenland
2. Bolivia
3. Brazil
4. Costa Rica
5. Venezuela

Sector 5 – Central and North America

1. Canada
2. United States
3. Guatemala
4. Cuba
5. Mexico

This looks like a short list but bear in mind that these are just countries.

The State Department at the North Pole has negotiated the right to further scout specific locations in each of the countries listed above. As of this date there are a list of 314 possible sites still on the list.

So the process continues. The committee has teams of elves active in each sector sending in reports, photos, videos and documents of possible locations.

The Regional Tracking Center Committee continues to meet weekly until the next step in the approval process is taken within each sector.

We believe this process will be complete by July 1st.

Santa Directs Changes for Trackers

In advance of a new season of tracking Santa for Santa we are working through many changes that Santa is directing for the Santa Tracker program.

The goal is to expand the ranks of tracker elves by millions. While at the same time, processes are being improved to help manage all the information that Santa trackers from around the world send in to the North Pole.

For those who have tracked Santa for Santa for years now, this may make things look and feel a little different. Please bear with us as we engineer the things Santa wants to put in place.

For new trackers this means a more stream-lined process for becoming an elf, an easier means of learning how to track Santa for Santa through Elf University, and a clearer process in sending tracker reports to the North Pole.

We are targeting Leon Day – June 24/25, 2026 – to kick off the new program.

What you can expect before then:

  1. Many changes SantaTrackers.net.
  2. New podcast episodes explaining changes.
  3. An all new Elf University.
  4. The first North Pole Chat of this year will be announced for Christmas in July and will be held at SantaUpdate.com.

Feel free to ask questions as we work through this by commenting below. Either myself or one of the Elf Supervisors will respond when we can.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

Submit Regional Tracking Center Suggestions

The Regional Tracking Center Committee has met for the first time to begin the process of finding a suitable location in each sector for this year’s Regional Tracking Center.

The committee this year is made up of the following senior elves: Elf Roger Star (Director of North Pole Flight Command), Elf Wally (Director of Logistics), Elf Crash Murphy (Director of Santa Trackers), Elf Agent X (Director of North Pole Security), Elf Victor (Director of Reindeer Operations), Elf Ed Zachary (Director of North Pole News) and Elf Buck Sanchez (Director of North Pole Flight Operations).

This process begins with a review of location performance last Christmas and a re-evaluation of location requirements for this year.

As part of this process we are asking certain elves in various departments to contribute their ideas and suggestions. From the response of these surveys, and from research previously done in past year efforts, a list of possible candidates will be established.

As tracker elves tracking Santa for Santa, your input is valued. If you have an idea or suggestion for this year’s locations in your or any other sector, please send it via the form below before March 31st, 2026.

Sector You Are Making This Recommendation For:

Tracker Road Map 2026

After meeting with Santa and discussing our performance as the tracker Elf Community last year I have determined the following to be our Road Map for 2026:

  1. We will target 60 million trackers total for 2026.
  2. 70% of trackers will be freelance tracker elves, 30% will be North Pole Tracker elves.
  3. A comprehensive training program will be introduced in 2026 to teach all elves how to better track Santa for Santa.
  4. Training will consist of scheduled posts, updates to Elf University, chats and podcasts. All training will be released before 1 November 2026 and remain online and available for future elf purposes.
  5. An update to SantaTrackers.net will be completed by 1 June 2026 to improve security, privacy and to facilitate better direct communication between tracker elves and their Elf Supervisors.
  6. Under the direction of North Pole Flight Command the Regional Tracking Centers will follow this timeline:
    1. Survey the Elf Community – 19 January 2026 – April 1, 2026
    2. Name the Search Committee – February 1, 2026
    3. Scout Top Locations – by May 1, 2026
    4. Gather Technical Requirements, Assemble Build Teams – May 15, 2026
    5. Review Top Candidates – June 1, 2026
    6. Sign Location Contracts – June 25, 2026
    7. Name Regional Locations – by June 26, 2026
    8. Deploy Build Teams – by June 29, 2026
    9. Dispatch Elves and Leadership Teams – by July 13, 2026
    10. Open Regional Tracking Centers – August 1, 2026
  1. Elf development will include expanded job responsibilities to grow skills in tracking Santa for Santa.
  2. Follow timed tracker schedules in each region
    1. Roof Reports – Schedule by region
    2. Chimney Inspections – Schedule by region
    3. Public Observance – Schedule by region
    4. All other reports as determined by NPFC

This will be an exciting year to track Santa for Santa. We hope Santa trackers worldwide will engage with this plan to grow their skills and to improve their elf careers.

Changes to the Elf Community

In response to updates in Internet privacy protection laws, some communicated concerns by parents of minor users of SantaTrackers.net, and issues related to available resources, we announce the following changes to SantaTrackers.net:

The following site features will soon be deactivated and/or re-configured:

  • The Elf Wall
  • Elf Messaging
  • Elf Profiles
  • Elf Pages

Other features, such as file uploads relative images and videos, will likewise be adjusted and policies to the same will be amended.

I have instructed Elf Max to introduce new or replacement features that makes the website more compliant with this direction I have instructed Elf Moe to work on identifying under-age users so they can be classed at a better protective level.

Per policy, we continue to encourage parents and their children to use SantaTrackers.net together. In the case of any user under the age of 18, no matter where they are in the world, we require parental access to any accounts made and used on SantaTrackers.net and any and all communication sent to or from the site to be copied to parents. This is not a new policy.

Additional changes to the site, relative to tracking Santa for Santa, and training of elves for that purpose, will likewise be introduced in the coming months. It is anticipated that these site changes and upgrades will be completed on or before June 1, 2026. Changes to that timeline will be communicated in advance.

Based upon this direction from Santa Claus and the technical management of SantaTrackers.net a review of active accounts is currently underway. Accounts inactive over the past 30 days will be retired. Accounts inactive beyond 90 days will be eliminated.

If you have questions or concerns you are encouraged to reach out to me or to your Elf Supervisor.

Thank you.

Take the Elf Survey

As you know, each January we review all parts of Operation Merry Christmas, including here at SantaTrackers.net.

Santa, Elf Crash, Elf Z and myself, as webmaster of SantaTrackers.net, want your review of our efforts. Please share your thoughts via the survey below. We will take your opinions into consideration as plans are made for the upcoming year.

Thank you!

Describe your website experience on SantaTrackers.net last year.
What is your favorite part of being an elf?
What is your LEAST favorite part of being an elf?

Elf Retirements

As per our usual protocol we have a large number of Elf Retirements to announce. Each season we see millions of recruits who sign up to be a tracker elf but never show up to actually track Santa for Santa. In addition, we have a number of North Pole Elves who, for whatever reason, never activate during a season. Likewise, we see a large number of bogus bot sign-ups. In order to keep our records clear, we retire accounts who fall under these conditions. Here are the numbers:

Junior Tracker Elves: 3,541,219
North Pole Tracker Elves: 1.021
Spurious Accounts:  3,668,343

All of these accounts will move to “retired” status until January 31, 2026. During this time frame, any account holder above can request reinstatement.

If they fail to do so, their accounts will be permanently deleted.

Freelance elves, since they never register for the site, remain on record for reporting purposes. However, any freelance elf who fails to report within any 12 month period will have their records cleared at the North Pole.

We remind all remaining members of the Elf Community to keep your accounts active. This is difficult for some to remember, especially during the off=season. By policy, any account without activity for a period of 90-days achieves retired status and are subject to deletion usually within a 30-day period, as with the accounts above.

These procedures keep the Elf Community safe and active for year round elves who want the best elf experience.

Thank you.

 

Air Traffic Report Needed

Greetings Trackers of Sector 2 –

We need an air traffic report from tracker who can provide one, especially in the following areas:

  • Bangladesh
  • Taipei
  • Hong Kong
  • Beijing
  • Jakarta

Thank you for your efforts.

Heat Concerns in South America

Hola Trackers!

We have just had a reminder from the Weather Department at North Pole Flight Command about the heat and humidity index in South America, particularly in Argentina, Peru and Brazil.

They are asking anyone with extended landing zones for Santa to leave out extra water for the reindeer.

You would want to act on that RIGHT NOW, even though Santa hasn’t even left the North Pole. That’s because all the sleighs and reindeer coming south out of the North Pole for Operation Airlift are active now and many are in our skies. Those teams need access to water.

Thank you for your efforts. It’s going well so far!

If You Cannot Send in a Report

Attention all Trackers,

Over the course of the past hour we have seen a rush of Internet traffic that is starting to affect the performance of all Official North Pole websites. With millions of trackers around the world and billions of believers, this is not unusual or unanticipated.

We are closely monitoring the situation and while we are confident we can keep all sites active this year please be advised that in the hours where we get closer to Santa’s launch we are going to experience heavy traffic.

If any of the sites go down, they will be back fairly quickly.

After Santa launches, please be advised that if you ever experience trouble reporting or getting a hold of your elf supervisor you are authorized to email any critical information you feel Santa will need to trackerreports@santatrackers.net.

North Pole Flight Command and the North Pole Post Office are prepared to handle email through this tracker-elf-only email address and get your information shared with the appropriate party.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Weather and Flooding Concerns

Fellow Trackers,

In Sector 3 we have some fresh concerns for rain, snow, and possible flooding in areas of Eastern Europe, specifically Ukraine.

Truth be told, the map looks kind of calm compared to past Christmas Eve tracking. That being said, conditions change rapidly so please keep an eye on local weather and report anything you think might be a concern particularly as we get closer to Santa being in our Sector.

We could use more eyes in Spain and in Sweden.

Thanks.

Show Us Your Tracking Station

With about 12 hours to go until Santa launches we are already in peak mode here in Sector 1. Things are going amazingly well so far.

Some of us were just talking about how great it would be if trackers would post up pictures on the Elf Wall of themselves tracking Santa or using the website or in front of their Christmas trees or something today. This would be for all sectors, not just ours here in the old #1. We want to see happy elves tracking Santa for Santa!

Can you do that for us?