Hogwarts Weight Loss Challenge [Term 19] - 8 Week Challenge

Kisame29
Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
edited March 2018 in Challenges

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is approaching our 19th term and we're opening up the application to anyone would like to apply :)

First, some information about what to expect from your term at Hogwarts:

Basics:
  • Term 19 will be an 8-week challenge that will be themed around the third Harry Potter book - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
  • The term will run from Friday, March 30th 2018 (with starting weigh-in on Friday, March 30th and full activities starting on Monday) through Sunday, May 27th, 2018. So you should expect to join by Friday, March 30th to keep your place as a student.
  • You will receive notification via owl (PM and/or potentially email) if you have been accepted or put on the wait list. Owls should go out on Tuesday, March 27th (and should be received by the end of Wednesday, March 28th) so you will have ~48 hours to join the challenge. If you do NOT join within 48 hours or respond to the prefect that PM'd you, then your spot will be given to someone on the wait list. So make sure to respond to your acceptance PM to hold your space :)
  • We have a variety of challenges including food/dietary challenges (Potions), trivia (Defense Against the Dark Arts), and physical challenges (Quidditch), as well as other challenges including some based around the term's theme.
  • All players will be sorted into houses. These are your teams - look to each other for advice, support, and motivation. Houses may have around 30 students/house, potentially more depending on the amount of interest we receive.
  • Each week, players will weigh themselves on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (EST). Weight loss will be totaled up (not by pounds lost, but by percentage, similar to the Muggle television show Biggest Loser) for each house.
  • Houses will be awarded house points based on challenges completed each week.
  • The House Cup will be awarded to the house with the most points at the end of the term!

For those interested in enrolling in Hogwarts, here is the Term 19 application.
-If you have trouble submitting the google form, feel free to PM me your answers and I will submit them for you!

We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible to ensure you don't miss out on a place at the school. In order to maintain a similar number of students in each house, students may be invited to join houses other than their first choice. If you list a dealbreaker house (or indicate that you only want your first choice), that will be respected, but you will be less likely to get a place at Hogwarts due to space availability.

Please be assured that if we are unable to sort you into a house at this stage, we will place you on the wait list for any openings that arise throughout the term. We strongly encourage you to join Hogsmeade Village - a group for current/former students and those on the wait list. We use this group to communicate with everyone between terms as well as communicate with current wait listers during a term. If you stay on the wait list throughout the term (which happens to some potential students due to the amount of interest in the challenge - especially since current students get first chance to apply, then anyone who remained on the wait list gets a second chance to apply), then you will be invited to join the next term before it gets posted on the forums which pretty much guarantees that you will get in that term if you apply before it is posted on the forums since the roster fills up quickly once we post here ;)

***If you see this thread after the challenge has begun and want to apply, you may use the googleform application since it will place you on the wait list (although please PM @Kisame29 to be added to the wait list if it has been than a few weeks since this post).

Hogwarts is an equal opportunity school and has openings available for people with all levels of ability, as well as places for students who are maintaining or gaining weight. There are always modifications allowed on the main tasks to allow students of all fitness levels participate.

Questions may be posted here, although if you would like a quick answer please send me a PM! I hope to see many of you join us at Hogwarts :)

Sincerely,
Kisame29 (Hogwarts Headgirl)

Replies

  • wljohn
    wljohn Posts: 4,981 Member
    Great challenge.
  • Maalea
    Maalea Posts: 16,720 Member
    Yeah! Looking forward to the next term :D
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    Also just a note - if you'd like to PM me to confirm if your application was received, you may have to send me a friend request first (and I accept any friend requests so go ahead!). We found out this past term that PMs often do not go through unless you are friends on here.

    You can also post here and I'll try to make sure to check back with you, although I may not respond as quickly or later once the term has actually started.
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
    I've been in this challenge since term 5, and I love it! Great motivation and tons of geeky Harry Potter-ness. :love:
  • fourathomej
    fourathomej Posts: 4,408 Member
    I'm excited!! Waiting for my owl...love this challenge!!
  • mrsjhardin
    mrsjhardin Posts: 692 Member
    Love this idea! New this term and hopefully get in :)
  • BettyDares
    BettyDares Posts: 1,498 Member
    Woohoo, can't wait for Hogwarts term 19!!!
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
    Bump.
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    mrsjhardin wrote: »
    Love this idea! New this term and hopefully get in :)

    We did receive your application :)

    --

    Also several potential students sent me a friend request and mentioned Hogwarts Term 19 or applying for the Hogwarts challenge - if you do that, then I will make sure to PM you to let you know if we got your application since those messages go through :) (And then once we are MFP friends, my PM should get to you).

    If you did send me a friend request with that kind of message (ie explicitly mentioning Hogwarts/applying for Term 19) and I did NOT send you a message, then please post here since then you must not have received my PM (since I have sent PMs to everyone who sent me a friend request and mentioned applying to Hogwarts to let them know if we got their application).

    Thanks :)
  • Teresa_QueenSugarplum
    Teresa_QueenSugarplum Posts: 2,217 Member
    OMG <3<3 I was so excited when I saw this come up on my newsfeed. Cannot wait.
    I captain another weightloss team but I am seriously looking forward to just sitting back and relaxing B) as a student in this challenge.
    EEP! Too excited
    HOGWARTS HOGWARTS HOGWARTS HOGWARTS
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
    This is amazing! How did I not know about this challenge! :) Waiting for my owl....
  • GrandmaJackie
    GrandmaJackie Posts: 36,842 Member
    I love this challenge!
  • ttruhol
    ttruhol Posts: 4,326 Member
    WOOHOO!!!
  • commit1440
    commit1440 Posts: 456 Member
    edited March 2018
    Kisame29 wrote: »

    Also several potential students sent me a friend request and mentioned Hogwarts Term 19 or applying for the Hogwarts challenge - if you do that, then I will make sure to PM you to let you know if we got your application since those messages go through :) (And then once we are MFP friends, my PM should get to you).

    If you did send me a friend request with that kind of message (ie explicitly mentioning Hogwarts/applying for Term 19) and I did NOT send you a message, then please post here since then you must not have received my PM (since I have sent PMs to everyone who sent me a friend request and mentioned applying to Hogwarts to let them know if we got their application).

    Thanks :)

    @Kisame29 - I sent a friend request (with a message about Hogwarts term 19) and submitted the application, but I haven't heard anything back. So, per your instructions, I'm posting here. You are NOT appearing under my friend list - so, I'm guessing you didn't get it?

    Thanks :D
  • sunderland_mich93
    sunderland_mich93 Posts: 57 Member
  • Moarrein
    Moarrein Posts: 3,128 Member
    @Kisame29, I'm in the same situation as sunderland_mich93 and @commit1440 - submitted the application and sent a friend request. No answer yet...
  • Maalea
    Maalea Posts: 16,720 Member
    @moarrein @sunderland_mich93 @commit1440 - we did get all your applications! Please be patient for a few more days until the team roster has been created.

    @Kisame29 will get back to you as soon as possible with the friend requests and messages. Real life usually has a way of interfering when it is most inconvenient ;)
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    Maalea wrote: »
    @moarrein @sunderland_mich93 @commit1440 - we did get all your applications! Please be patient for a few more days until the team roster has been created.

    @Kisame29 will get back to you as soon as possible with the friend requests and messages. Real life usually has a way of interfering when it is most inconvenient ;)

    Thank you :)

    I think I did get back to all of you just now too, sorry for the delay! This weekend ended up getting a bit busier than expected.
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    edited March 2018
    Quick update:

    The Owls (PMs and/or emails and/or Friend Requests with a message) will be coming soon!

    If you applied, you should receive a message (and likely friend request!) from a staff member by 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, March 28th. Please do NOT post here or contact me [regarding receiving an official response] until after Wednesday to give all our staff enough time to send out messages since we have several prefects sending out the messages so they will not go out at the same time. You can still ask me if we got your application though :)

    If it is after 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, March 28th and you did NOT receive any message (including an email) from someone regarding your Hogwarts application, please PM me (best option - feel free to friend request me first with a message too and I'll respond when I see it, or if we're already friends just PM me and it should go through) or post here or post in Hogsmeade so we can try to figure out what is going on.

    The change in the PM system (where you only seem to get messages from your MFP friends) has been an unexpected issue so this may be a bit more difficult to get everyone invited, so please reach out to me if you applied and didn't hear from anyone after Wednesday.

    Thank you :)
  • mrmcgrath
    mrmcgrath Posts: 956 Member
    I hope it is not too late to apply!
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
    @mrmcgrath, if you don't get in on the first go, then you'll be put on the wait list, and if anyone has to leave from the challenge, we pull new students from the waitlist. Waitlisters also get priority access to the next term before the general public, so it's always worth applying! :)
  • LifeChoiceGrammy
    LifeChoiceGrammy Posts: 121 Member
    Is there still time...where do we look if we are able to be in challenge??
  • hapamama23
    hapamama23 Posts: 233 Member
    Just applied, hope I am not too late!
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    Is there still time...where do we look if we are able to be in challenge??

    Hopefully you received my PM - we did receive your application :)

    At this point, our student roster is full, so anyone who is applying now will be on the wait list. Then when a spot opens up during the term (or potentially even in the next few days since occasionally we get a few people that decline to join), you will contacted by a staff member (most likely from one of our headgirls @fitphoenix and @Maalea) to see if you are still interested. If you're still interested to join, then you will be placed into a house :)

    If you haven't already, I recommend joining Hogsmeade Village since we use that group to communicate with everyone. So when a spot opens up, one of the staff will tag the person they are inviting in that group (as well as send an email + PM). Then they have 48 hours to respond, or we move onto the next waitlister. (We may also invite more than one person at a time depending on the number of available slots).

    As @fitphoenix mentioned too (thank you!) - if you do get on the wait list and by some chance never get off it (which happens to some students), then you will receive the Term 20 application sooner so you are very likely to get in if you apply when it's sent to you. I used to PM the application to everyone remaining on the wait list (which is what I did after Term 18 since we only started to request emails on the Term 19 application), although the PMs are not working great so I will plan to use emails in the future.

    So at the end of this term, I will email the Term 20 application (and PM to those without a provided email) to everyone who is still on the wait list shortly after current students get to apply. (Then a couple of days later, we post it in Hogsmeade for any former students or other people who missed my email. Then a couple of days after that, we'll post it on the forums in a thread like this one so anyone can apply!) So basically if you apply shortly after I send it to you, then you are extremely likely to get in.

    For example, I PM'd the remaining waitlisters the Term 19 application on 3/13, so as long as they applied fairly soon after I sent it they would have gotten in. (In this particular case, they could have even applied 1 week later and still have gotten in haha, usually it fills up faster than that). Like I said though, I'm fairly certain some of them did not get my PM :/ So I will use emails next time!
    hapamama23 wrote: »
    Just applied, hope I am not too late!

    Hey @hapamama23 !

    We received your application :) As I noted above, you will be on the wait list at this point (and you'll receive an official PM/email from one of our headgirls soon to let you know officially), but hopefully we'll still see you sometime during Term 19 ;) I recommend joining the Hogsmeade Group so you can follow any news/updates (since shortly after term starts, we will not be checking this thread anymore so you can always ask questions in that group if needed).

    Thank you for the interest!
  • LifeChoiceGrammy
    LifeChoiceGrammy Posts: 121 Member
    I thought I had entered earlier but I did it from my phone and probably did not follow all the way thru!!! Will be watching!!
  • zindroth
    zindroth Posts: 334 Member
    @Kisame29

    I am touching base to see if I made it in. I know MFP has been wonky lately. I did send you a PM to see if my application was recieved, however did not recieve a response. (Not worried, again MFP has been wonky).

    I would appreciate an update when you have a moment.
    Thanks!
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    zindroth wrote: »
    @Kisame29

    I am touching base to see if I made it in. I know MFP has been wonky lately. I did send you a PM to see if my application was recieved, however did not recieve a response. (Not worried, again MFP has been wonky).

    I would appreciate an update when you have a moment.
    Thanks!

    @zindroth
    Hey! I never got your PM unfortunately :( I sent your a friend request so hopefully it will go through next time!

    We did receive your application so you should have received an official response very recently (likely by email since the PM system hasn't been working consistently.) Feel free to send me a PM (that might go through if we are MFP friends - although even that is not guaranteed I think) or post again if you did not receive any email though. :)
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 10,247 Member
    edited May 2018
    Update:
    Due to the new way we've streamlined the wait list process (we now have our 2 headgirls @Maalea and @fitphoenix managing it, which makes it go much quicker with one person at a time managing the rosters) in addition to using emails to avoid the PMing issue, we have gone through our wait list quite quickly so we're almost through everyone and only have a few people left on the list.

    It is currently Week 5 of Week 8, so if you are still interested, please apply and we'll PM/email you as open spots become available! Please apply using the same application link :)

    Although joining at the end of a challenge can be a bit difficult (it's how I ended up joining myself actually - during the last 2 weeks of a term and then I've been in the challenge every since!), the main advantage is the any current students will get first chance to apply for Term 20. (Current students get the last week of term to apply so they are basically guaranteed a spot in Term 20 as long as they meet the participation requirements).


  • Teresa_QueenSugarplum
    Teresa_QueenSugarplum Posts: 2,217 Member
    Kisame29 wrote: »
    Update:
    Due to the new way we've streamlined the wait list process (we now have our 2 headgirls @Maalea and @fitphoenix managing it, which makes it go much quicker with one person at a time managing the rosters) in addition to using emails to avoid the PMing issue, we have gone through our wait list quite quickly so we're almost through everyone and only have a few people left on the list.

    It is currently Week 5 of Week 8, so if you are still interested, please apply and we'll PM/email you as open spots become available! Please apply using the same application link :)

    Although joining at the end of a challenge can be a bit difficult (it's how I ended up joining myself actually - during the last 2 weeks of a term and then I've been in the challenge every since!), the main advantage is the any current students will get first chance to apply for Term 20. (Current students get the last week of term to apply so they are basically guaranteed a spot in Term 20 as long as they meet the participation requirements).


    GOOD TO KNOW B)B)