Catch the King Toolkit
Catch the King (CTK) is an annual king tide mapping event that recruits volunteers to collect flooding data during the Perigean king tides—the highest tides of the year (view our flyer here!). Whether you’re a returning mapper or a community member looking to get involved in record-holding, crowdsourced flood data collection, view our toolkit of resources below to help prepare you for the next Catch the King event.
Catch the King Toolkit
Quick Navigation Menu
Using the Sea Level Rise App
What is the Sea Level Rise app?
The Sea Level Rise phone app was developed by Wetlands Watch and local app developer, Concursive Corporation, to crowdsource information about flooding events, giving flood modelers, emergency managers, and planners detailed data about where flooding is happening on a street level. Users of the app have a GPS mapping tool at their fingertips, logging data points with the tap of a button as they walk along the waterline of a flooded area.
The Sea Level Rise app was developed in partnership with Open Health Innovations, a Hampton Roads technology development company. Thank you!
How do I download the Sea Level Rise App?
Search for the “Sea Level Rise” app on the App Store or Google Play, and download it to your phone. Sign up for an account using your email! We are currently operating app version 3.1.0.
How do I use the Sea Level Rise App?
Choose between our written and photo tutorial guides below to learn how to register for the app, sign up for official Catch the King regions and events, and drop data points.
You can also view the tutorial video below to learn how to use the Sea Level Rise app to sign up for an official Catch the King region and event, and how to drop your first pins!
Detailed instruction video for the Sea Level Rise app (7 minutes)
Planning Tips for Data Collection
When should I map?
Follow these instructions and/or reference NOAA’s tide chart websites below to find the closest tide station to your neighborhood, and determine the right time to map for high tide. Expect a mapping window of about 1 hour before and after high tide!
NOAA/National Weather Service Water Level Forecasts
You can map any (or multiple) days during the Catch the King event. Some volunteers and Tide Captains are provided extra permissions in the Sea Level Rise app to create events outside of the CTK event — if you are interested in mapping outside of CTK, please reach out!
Where should I map?
Catch the King Coordinators will provide a signup form for specific locations across coastal Virginia, closer to the official Catch the King date, to guide volunteers to known flood sites. CTK volunteers are more than welcome to create their own mapping plan and collect data at sites of their own choosing — the signup form is optional.
Please remember: Map at your own risk - stay safe, smart, and vigilant while near flood waters! Additionally, please do not map on private property without explicit permission from the owner.
VIMS CTK Data Map
Explore Catch the King data from previous years on the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) map below to find areas that need flood data or to see where volunteers have been in the past. You can visit the portal in full-screen here.
Catch the King Training Events
General Interest Webinar
Upcoming Trainings
Tide Captain training is on Saturday, September 6 from 10am-2pm at VIMS. Register HERE!
Join the Middle Peninsula Tide Captain, Leslie Anne Hammond, for a volunteer training at 6pm on September 9 at the West Point Branch Library.
Questions? Email Leslie Anne: leslieanne.hammond@yorkriversteward.org
Join us for an Eastern Shore volunteer training at UVA’s Coastal Research Center on Tuesday, September 9 from 3pm-5pm. Register HERE! Registration is REQUIRED.
Join us for a volunteer training at Norfolk Botanical Garden on Tuesday, September 30 from 5pm-7pm. Register HERE! Registration is REQUIRED.
Join us for a volunteer training at Lynnhaven River NOW on Wednesday, October 1 from 5pm-7pm. Register HERE! Registration is REQUIRED.
CTK Virtual Office Hours
CTK Office Hours are an open Zoom hang-out for volunteers and Tide Captains to receive one-on-one support from CTK Coordinator Stephanie Letourneau.
Meetings will be available starting August 6th, from 12-1pm every Wednesday up until Catch the King. You do not need to sign up, just join us in the Zoom room here!
Tips for Tide Captains
Ensure the safety of you and your volunteers first and foremost. If you are planning to lead a group of participants through a mapping event, be sure to:
Map in safe and accessible places. Do not trespass on private property or trek through dangerous, difficult, or shifting terrain to access flood waters. Stick to the margins of flood waters only — do not wade through them, especially if they have rapids!
Ensure all participants wear appropriate footwear and clothing! Flood waters contain bacteria and other contaminants, and can conceal dangerous debris. Tread carefully and plan ahead!
Work with your volunteers ahead of time to join the CTK region and event in the Sea Level Rise app — not day-of! Make sure all volunteers can access these spaces in the app.
Image credit: CTK Facebook Group User
Image credit: VA Institute of Marine Science
Organize and lead your own trainings and practice sessions. Tide Captains have access to creating events within their region, as well as the CTK Training region!
Our tutorial guides contain information for creating events if you’re unsure where to start.
If participants are having trouble with data collection in the field (like GPS connectivity issues), encourage them to contribute in other ways such as:
Take photos of flood waters and share them with the Wetlands Watch team or on our Facebook group
Use the Trouble Spots function of the app to collect a single data point where flooding is occurring
Monitor safety, weather, and tidal cycles for additional mapping opportunities
Take notes about your flood site’s conditions or how water is interacting with the landscape (e.g. are there fish in the water? Is it preventing access to a building, roadway, or boat ramp? Is there debris and trash in the water?)
Conduct a small site clean-up to further your wetland and watershed stewardship. Bring gloves, trash bags, and a trash grabber, if you have them!
Connect with your mapping team or other regional participants by using the messaging systems in the app or at SeaRisingSolutions.com. Using these methods as a Tide Captain, you can offer to be a resource to other volunteers on the ground, share data collection times & locations, etc.
Image credit: VA Institute of Marine Science
Interested in Catch the King? Stay in Touch!
Catch the King Newsletter
Sign up here for news about the Guinness World Record-holding event!
More Ways to Engage
Wondering what happens after Catch the King? Discover more ways to engage below!
Where does the CTK data I collect go?
Your local Catch the King data is primarily shared with Dr. Derek Loftis, a scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), to validate and ground-truth VIMS flood prediction models. Read more about his work here!
Other projects and partners have used Catch the King data in various ways, including:
William & Mary GIS students completed a priority analysis to identify neighborhoods in Norfolk that have high flood risk, high social vulnerability, and a lack of CTK data. These results help Wetlands Watch prioritize flood data collection in areas that need it most!
Old Dominion University’s “Measure the Muck” program has coordinated with CTK data collection since its inception. MTM project leads use CTK data to prioritize water quality monitoring sites to better understand how flooding causes increased nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.
Christopher Newport University students used CTK data to support a research poster in 2024 for “Fear to Hope” ecosystem research at Ragged Island.
If you’re interested in conducting research using Catch the King data, please reach out to our staff.
Local Girl Scouts video on king tides & environmental stewardship
William and Mary student priority analysis using CTK data, flood risk, and social vulnerability factors (slide screenshot)
Christoper Newport University student poster on king tides at Ragged Island, VA
How can I view and access my CTK data?
Your Catch the King data is available to view via the Sea Level Rise phone app and the SeaRisingSolutions web portal. Quick links to individual regions on our web portal are available below. Click on your region, sign-in to the portal using your phone app log-in, and click on the event you collected data for in the “Mapping Events” column on the right-hand side. If you are interested in viewing your data using the Sea Level Rise app, please follow our tutorial guides.
Note: The general public does not have access to download CTK data sheets. If you are interested in utilizing CTK data or having a spreadsheet copy of the data, please reach out to our team.
What can I do with my CTK data?
Use it for advocacy & share with your neighbors.
Share it with your local government - present your flood findings and experience at a local town hall meeting.
Use it to inform where you’ll map next time!
Check out some of the community projects below for more inspiration:
Local Girl Scout Troops have produced videos to educate others on flooding and share their Catch the King experiences as part of badge completions and leadership projects.
Wetlands Watch is growing its new Sea Level Rise Education Initiative by bringing Catch the King to the classroom with additional learning modules about sea level rise and flooding!
How can I connect with other CTK volunteers and coordinators?
Attend the Volunteer Appreciation Event, which is typically held in the winter months following the CTK event.
Sign up for the Catch the King newsletter.
Join the Facebook group “Help Catch the King Tide!”
Measure the Muck in Norfolk and Gloucester Point with our partners at Old Dominion University.
Join a Virginia Waterways Cleanup event or clean up on your own with Ocean Conservancy’s Swell App.
Be a Coastal Observer to record weather and water level data.
Take photos or videos and share them on social media to raise awareness! Be sure to use the hashtag #CatchTheKing and tag Wetlands Watch.