CBS has announced the identities of the 11 teams who will be competing on the twentieth season of The Amazing Race, which will premiere Sunday, February 19 at 8PM ET/PT.

Like prior The Amazing Race editions, the members of the 11 teams competing on the show’s twentieth installment have a pre-existing relationship with one another. One pair is an engaged couple, one team is comprised of dating divorcees, two teams are married couples, three consist of family members, and four feature friends.

In addition, the cast also features one team that may already be familiar to The Amazing Race viewers: “Engaged Couple” Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas, who will be making their third appearance on a CBS reality series within the last two years.

Reilly and Villegas first met when they competed on Big Brother’s twelfth season in 2010. After beginning a “showmance” during the competition, Reilly and Villegas continued dating and got engaged on Valentine’s Day before returning to Big Brother as part of this past summer’s thirteenth season “duos” twist in which three pairs of former houseguests were given a second chance to compete on the show.

While Villegas was evicted — twice — from the Big Brother house midway through the competition, Reilly made it to the thirteenth-season finale, where she took home the show’s $500,000 grand prize after winning a 4-3 jury vote over fellow contestant Porsche Briggs.

Reports of Reilly and Villegas’ The Amazing Race participation had previously surfaced in late November when airport patrons spotted the couple being filmed by camera crews as they waited to board departing flights at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, CA, and posted photos of teams on Twitter.

The Amazing Race’s twentieth season covered 40,000 miles and included visits to five continents and 22 cities, according to CBS. Several locations were visited for the first time in the reality franchise’s history — including Paraguay and Azerbaijan.

In addition, the season will feature the teams taking on tasks such as skydiving in Argentina, training with the Masai warriors in Tanzania, racing through Africa’s “Garden of Eden,” and searching for King Ludwig’s quarters in the German castle that served as the inspiration for the castle in Sleeping Beauty, according to the network.

The 11 teams competing on The Amazing Race’s twentieth season — and their CBS-released bio information — are:

“Married Couple” Dave Brown Jr. and Rachel Brown – Dave is a 33-year-old U.S. Army officer and Rachel is a 30-year-old project manager. They are both from Madison, WI.

“Friends” William “Bopper” Minton and Mark Jackson – Bopper is a 41-year-old motorcycle mechanic and Mark is a 45-year-old former state inspector. They are both from Manchester, KY.

“Federal Agents and Friends” Nary Ebeid and Jamie Graetz – Nary is 32-years-old and Jamie is 33-years-old. They both are federal agents from Los Angeles, CA.

“Engaged Couple” Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly – Brendon is a 31-year-old PhD student and Rachel is a 27-year-old event hostess. They are both from Westwood, CA

“Friends” Joey “Fitness” Lasalla and Danny Horal – Fitness is a 29-year-old trainer and supplement company owner from Whitestone, NY, and Danny is a 27-year-old nightclub promoter from Holbrook, NY.

“Sisters” Misa Tanaka and Maiya Tanaka – Misa is a 27-year-old car buyer and Maiya is a 25-year-old professional golfer. They are both from San Diego, CA.

“Married Clowns” Dave Gregg and Cherie Gregg – Dave and Cherie are both 44-year-old “ambassadors of laughter” from New Port Richey, FL

“Twin Brothers” Elliot Weber and Andrew Weber – Elliot is a 28-year-old musician from Scottsdale, AZ, and Andrew is a 28-year-old professional soccer player from Menlo Park, CA

“Cousins” Kerri Paul and Stacy Bowers – Kerri is a program coordinator and Stacy is self employed and a basketball wife. They are both 30-years-old and from Gulfport, MS

“Dating Divorcees” Vanessa Macias and Ralph Kelley – Vanessa is a 31-year-old freelance writer and Ralph is a 36-year-old bar owner. They are both from San Antonio, TX.

“Border Patrol Agents and Friends” Art Velez and J.J. Carrell – Art is a 43-year-old from Temecula, CA, and J.J. is a 42-year-old from Carlsbad, CA. They are both border patrol agents.

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Please, Just Eliminate Someone Every Week
There is no joy in non-elimination legs, and likewise, there is no joy in the endless legs that the show has already done twice this season. If you come in first after a Detour and a Roadblock, barring any time penalties, you should get the first-place prize. If you come in last, you should be eliminated without exception – it’s that simple. I love Kent and Vyxsin (and their eyebrows), but the fact that a double leg saved them from elimination after some of the most mind-blowingly stupid series of screw-ups the show has ever seen is evidence enough that this “twist” is altering the game negatively.

These “All-Stars” Have No Stamina
Last night, hilariously, Luke broke down in tears when he couldn’t select the right tea from a sea of teacups after what felt like hours of trying. A few episodes ago, Zev allowed Kent and Vyxsin to catch up with him — despite their enormous setbacks that leg — because he spent more time being frustrated by the Chinese zodiac than he did trying to bear down and complete the challenge. And, of course, there was Jaime and the dinosaur, not to mention the ridiculous amount of added energy Christina has to put in just to keep Ron on task every leg. That was four people in six episodes who had complete mental breaks and almost gave up entirely. And aside from the dinosaur challenge, the others weren’t even particularly difficult or physically exhausting challenges. These “all-stars” are a bunch of babies.

The Challenges Are Still Too Easy Most of the Time
Paint a statue of a Hindu god. Whatever that put-on-an-outfit-and-shoot-an-arrow-three-feet thing in Japan was. Ride a yak in a stream. Have someone else pedal you to a school where you’ll carry two armfuls of paperbacks a couple yards. Hammer some liquid candy for five minutes. Was that dinosaur-building challenge so impossible just to make up for how easy everything else has been?

Oh, We’re Doing Clunky Product Placements Now?
Last night’s Snapple placement went from subtle and acceptable (the clues being placed under the caps of unlabeled bottles) to egregious and laughable (special Amazing Race Snapple at the finish line?) quickly, with each team mentioning the brand at least once, and for some teams (Kisha and Jenn, I’m looking at you) speaking its name about a dozen times. I completely understand if you need product placements to pay the bills, but do a better job incorporating them into the show seamlessly than lazy-ass The Biggest Loser does. Thank god Jennie-O Turkey doesn’t watch this show (yet).

Those Stupid U-Turns
They’ve done away with the awful Blind U-Turns for now, which is great, but as it stands, the regular U-Turns do nothing but make life needlessly more difficult for teams that are usually already in trouble. Flight Time and Big Easy were U-Turned in last place. On the same leg, Cara and Jaime were U-Turned in second to last place. They both fought it out (as they would have anyway) and ultimately Jaime’s frustration in the dinosaur challenge was what sent her team home, not the U-Turn. It’s a pointless diversion as a double U-Turn, and as a single one it just completely screws over one team unfairly, as it has for Amanda and Kris twice now. Why they even have it in any iteration at this point is baffling.

What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Talk Without Pity, the social media site for real TV fans. See Tweets and Facebook comments in real time and add your own — all without leaving TWoP. Join the conversation now!

by Mindy Monez

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Director of the show, Chad Grochowski, informs us that the race will be “wilder than ever” and the prize “bigger than ever” (to be announced May 1).

Here’s who they’re looking for:

• More local teams, plus some mixed couples of expat & Chinese partners.
• Just as many international teams, some flown in from abroad like last year.
• Teammates with strong/long relationship preferred.
• No restrictions on Nationality, Gender or Age (except must be over 18)
• Still looking for super gung-ho competitive teams and laid back life-of-the-party teams…to each team its own style….give us all something to root for!!
• Anyone bold and beautiful….an Uzbek or Russian super-model team, a rock climbing or weightlifting champion team…or sub-culture-y, like a dating couple of Chinese goth kids (over 18)…but mostly people who are just really being themselves and want to win!

Interested? Download the application form here and send it in with your team photo to chinarush@ins.smg.cn!

The audition dates are set for March 27 and April 10, so you’ll have to act fast!

So you want to be on CBS’ The Amazing Race, huh! Here’s a list of winners and their pedigrees. Good luck, smarty pants!

Season 1:
Rob Frisbee: Undergrad – University of Arizona; Grad – Harvard Law School
Brennan Swain: Undergrad – Messiah College; Grad – Regent University School of Law

Season 2:
Alex Boylan: Undergrad – Jacksonville University
Chris Luca: Undergrad – ?

Season 3:
Flo Pesenti: Undergrad – Vassar College
Zach Behr: Undergrad – Vassar College

Season 4
Reichen Lehmkuhl: Undergrad – Air Force Academy (’96); Grad: Univ of Virginia Engineering Mgmt
Chip Arndt: Undergrad – Yale University; Grad: Harvard Business School

Season 5
Chip McAllister: Undergrad – Azusa Pacific (’95); Grad – New York Film Academy* (’08)
Kim McAllister: Undergrad -UCLA (’82)

Season 6
Freddy Holliday: Undergrad – Embry-Riddle FL/AZ* (’08); Grad – Embry-Riddle FL/AZ* (’10)
Kendra Bentley: Undergrad – ?

Season 7
Uchenna Agu: Undergrad – University of Oregon
Joyce (Robinson) Agu: Undergrad – ?

Season 8 (Family)
Megan Linz: Undergrad – Miami University of Ohio
Tommy Linz: Undergrad – Miami University of Ohio
Alex Linz: Undergrad – University of Cincinnati
Nick Linz: Undergrad – ?

Season 9
B. J. Averell: Undergrad – Harvard University
Tyler MacNiven: Undergrad – UC Santa Cruz

Season 10
Tyler Denk: Undergrad – ?
James Branaman: Undergrad – ?

Season 11 (All-Stars)
Eric Sanchez: Undergrad – Johnson County Community College
Danielle Turner: Undergrad – ?

Season 12
Rachel Rosales: Undergrad – ?
TK Erwin: Undergrad – UC Santa Barbara (not sure year)

Season 13
Nick Spangler: Undergrad – New York University
Starr Spangler: Undergrad – Texas Christian University

Season 14
Victor Jih: Undergrad – Stanford University; Grad – Harvard Law School
Tammy Jih: Undergrad – Stanford University; Grad – Harvard Law School

Season 15
Meghan Rickey: Undergrad – UC Santa Barbara
Cheyne Whitney: Undergrad – San Diego State University

Season 16
Dan Pious: Undergrad – University of Hartford
Jordan Pious: Undergrad – Emory University

Season 17
Nat Strand: Undergrad -
Kat Chang: Undergrad -

*Denotes college after The Amazing Race.

I can’t wait for the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. Check out this promo!

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Jet and Cord did the unthinkable, so did Steve and Allie. And thank god for Tivo (I was watching the Boston vs. New York game. Go Sox!). But I digress. It was history in the making Sunday night on The Amazing Race. It was the first time ever that a last place team (Jet and Cord) came in first place while having to perform a Speed Bump.To add to the twist of The Race, Steve and Allie having just come off an effervescent high of finishing first in the previous episode were eliminated last night.

We here at CitySolve Urban Race are thinking of having the top 11 teams in the finale in New Orleans and the 11th team will have to perform an extra task that none of the other teams will have to perform. Thoughts?

Next event…
April 10th: Dallas urban race

The first 3 months have flown by and we’re not even 25% of the way through CitySolve Urban Race series. Here’s a quick and funny recap:

• CitySolve Urban Race Honolulu raised $1,028 for the Honolulu Academy of Arts
• CitySolve Urban Race Honolulu was our biggest first time event at nearly 200 enthusiastic racers
• HNL racers built sandcastles in paradise
• The Phoenix urban race had a CitySolver pick a burrito out of the trash to take a bite. Eating garbage was not part of the clue and will never be, but it’s funny!
• Phoenix racers had to do yoga moves
• The LA urban race was held on Oscar weekend. What craziness!
• During the race in Hollywood, racers ate delicious cupcakes
• The ATL urban race had CSers race in Buckhead for the first time
• Houston was wet and wild! The temperature dropped 20 degrees down to 41F in 2 hours. Brrrr! That didn’t stop 250 Texans!

We can’t wait for the rest of the season. What kinds of activities would you like to see in our upcoming races?

Next event…
April 10th: Dallas urban race