Spring 5% Seasonal Challenge FAQ and Announcement

A plane❓What Plane ❓

Every 5% Community Member reserves a virtual seat on a virtual plane, which will virtually race to exciting cities around the world. The Community team is like the first major airport we take off from. Each successive, (and successful), week, we race to a new City and track a healthy lifestyle activity.

The Community Team is where everyone gathers to get ready for departure. There are 8 planes, (teams, we started with 10 smaller teams in 2010 and grew to 700 members by 2020 when Spark People closed), waiting for passengers to board. Please mingle with others in the Community while the Air Traffic Controllers, (Community Leaders), ready the planes and finalize the travel plans.

The 2023 Spring Community Team is officially open. Anyone may join the current Community Team. There are no reserved spaces on ANY of the Individual teams!!! Returning members must sign up to join their team so EVERYONE has the same opportunity to post a sign-up for any of the individual teams. You can see the team here.

(There are 2 exceptions. If you lost the privilege of team choice by defaulting your position in the previous challenge. ie. not posting and/or not weighing in for 2 weeks consecutively, or, if you post to a team that is already full. Full means when the plane reaches capacity, not when the doors are closed).

When the Community reaches the Max number of members, teams will be finalized, the starting date will be announced, leaders will be invited, and we will get ready for take-off!

❓What is the difference between the Overall Community Team and the 8 teams?

Before a challenge participant is on one of the 8 individual teams, they must first be a member of the 5% Challenge Community. (Described above). The Overall Challenge Leaders are, kaliswalker, Ceriusly1, hicim705, ladyluk1, and Dianedoessmiles1.

Please continue to interact on the Community Board after the Challenge officially starts. There are ongoing activities and announcements posted there. Please look the threads over and subscribe to those you wish to follow.

❓What is the Challenge about?

The 8 Individual Challenge teams are in a friendly competition to reach each destination city as quickly as they can. Each of these teams has Co-Leaders. You will find their names at the top of the team page, along with the names of the Overall Community Leaders.

If you have questions, ask on the chat or contact a leader.

ONLY Leaders start new thread topics. If you have an idea to share, please contact one of the Leaders.

❓Where do I post my weight and fitness minutes?

Individual team Leaders set up their discussions in the way that works best for them. Please read carefully the first post in each thread for instructions on how to use that thread. There is a Challenge thread for posting your daily challenge points. This is the ONLY purpose for that thread. NO CHATTING, COMMENTS, OR OTHER TEAM ACTIVITIES ARE POSTED ON THIS THREAD.

***** Attention Team Leaders*******

Leaders, please be encouraged to start new threads for the team-only activities, and keep your weekly Challenge thread strictly for Exercise and LTGL Points.

❓How do I remain active on my team and in the Challenge?

This is a 3 part Challenge:

1) Exercise = Air Miles: 120 Daily Maximum minutes.
2)Living The Good Life, (LTGL) = a healthy lifestyle activity. The weekly activity and the points scored for it varies from week to week. Any questions you have concerning this will be answered by your team Leaders.
3)Weightloss

******Posting Points and Weight Loss *********

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE NOTE THIS! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

EVERY MEMBER MUST POST POINTS AND A WEIGHT EVERY WEEK.

*WEIGHT*

Weights must be posted no later than 11:59 PM Saturday. This gives the team weight leaders, time to log weights to the master spreadsheet. If members weigh in on another day, they can post their weight any time before Saturday, but all weights must be entered by Saturday to count for that week. If the time stamp on the post is later than 11:59 Saturday of that week, it is considered an unexcused absence and will be highlighted in red. 2 Consecutive reds place you in default and result in loss of team choice in the next challenge.

VERY IMPORTANT

****If a member is not going to be available to post their weight on time, the absence must be noted on their weigh-in post, e.g. “out of town”, and please let your team Weight Leader know. Absences must be previously reported to the team Weight Leader, by noting the absence on their Weight post, to be excused.

2 *Consecutive* UN-excused missed weight postings will result in loss of team choice in the next challenge

POSTING POINTS, VERY IMPORTANT

****If a member is not going to be available to post fitness minutes and Living the Good Life Points for any length of time, the absence must be noted on their weigh-in post, e.g. “out of town”. Absences must be previously reported to the team Leaders with a notation on your weigh-in post, to be excused.
Of course, allowances will be made for EXTREME emergencies only.

We encourage everyone to log on and post as often as they can in support of their team, but we understand that daily posting may not be possible for everyone. Points may be posted for more than one day at a time, example: Posting for Sunday through Thursday, or whatever dates you are posting for. Please note the individual dates on your post so your Team Challenge Leader can accurately credit your numbers. Any questions, ask your team leaders.

Summary of rules to stay active in the Challenge:

1. Post Fitness and LTGL Points at least once weekly by 11:59 PM Friday
2. Post weight weekly by 11:59 PM Saturday
3. Absences must be pre-reported on your Weigh-In post to be excused.

If team members are loyal to their teams and participate in team activities it goes a long way toward helping everyone reach their goals. Please be ACTIVELY supporting your team.
Why are time zones so important?

Landing times and Final numbers for each week are determined from the time stamp on the post. Once your team has landed, please KEEP posting your exercise and LTGL points. Total points for the week determine your team score.

❓What does “by midnight Friday” actually mean?

In past challenges, there has been some confusion about what midnight actually means. 12:00 Noon is PM. Midnight is 12:00 AM, the first minute of the day. Each weekly challenge begins at 12:00 AM Saturday. Any points posted after 11:59 PM Friday are lost points. No exceptions.

❓How are team ranks determined?

The 3 parts of the challenge are equally important. Team standings are based on each team’s combined ranking in each of the 3 parts – Air Miles, LTGL 1 and 2 and weight loss. 1st place = 8 points, 2nd place = 7 points, 3rd place = 6 points, etc. A perfect score would be weight loss, 8 points, LTGL 8 points, and air miles 8 points for a total perfect score of 24 points. At the end of the challenge, the team points for Air Miles, LTGL and Weight Loss will be added together to determine your team’s standing after the 8 Challenges have ended.

❓What if I need to leave the challenge for some reason?

We sincerely hope everyone on every team will stay actively committed for the entirety of the 8 weeks. Sometimes things happen to pull us in other directions. If you must leave the challenge for any reason, please first inform your team leaders. It’s so much better for the leaders to know someone is leaving than have them wondering where someone is. Besides, it’s the respectful thing to do.

❓Is it ok for a friend or team leader to post points for someone else?

This is not allowed. No exceptions.

❓What if I don't need to lose 5% of my weight?

Don't let Maintenance stop you from enjoying the challenge! We have many members who reached their goals by doing these challenges and remain active and supportive of their teams. 5% Maintainers say our fitness and LTGL tracking make maintenance a breeze.

Feel free to ask your questions in the Airport Lounge, or send MFP Mail to me or one of the other leaders. We are listed at the top of the Community Team Page.

Join in the fun by clicking this link

Have fun being a loser!
CULighter