2018 Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool

#BetweenTheSheets: Can YOU Win Olympic Gold?

Enter the #TwineTime 50/50 pool and try to navigate the Olympic draw

The countdown is on rock heads and stones.  We are inching closer and closer to the pinnacle of sport: The Olympic Games!  The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea are literally right around the corner now.  With the games set to kick-off with the Opening Ceremonies on February 9, the close to the opening month of the year means the high drama and intensity of Olympic coverage is set to take over the eyes of the world.

As a fan, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you like watching curling?
• Do you like raising money for a good cause?
• Do you like winning money?

If you answered yes to at least one (hopefully all) of the questions above, read on dear friend.  #TwineTime has a deal for you!

As we know, curling will be the only sport running the entire duration of the games.  In fact, the mixed doubles discipline, new to the Olympic Games roster, actually officially begins before the Opening Ceremonies on February 8.  Besides cheering on your country to find the top of the podium and supporting your favourite athletes, the concept of sports pools can make the excitement on the ice more dramatic.

The #TwineTime blog wants to enhance your 2018 Winter Olympics curling experience by helping raise funds for an organization near and dear to my heart.....and perhaps put a few extra bucks in your own pocket.  Interested?  Read on...

Before going into details on the pool itself, lets discuss the bigger picture.  The main focus on organizing this pool is to raise funds for the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association.  For those who are unfamiliar with #CCPSA, the association was started in 1985 as a not-for-profit "dedicated to helping anyone with cerebral palsy (CP) or a related disability access quality sport and recreation activities."  This often includes program delivery, education, advocacy and partnership with a common belief "physical activity and the pursuit of excellence in sport can be rewarding for everyone."  We are living in a world of equality and people with cerebral palsy are no different in having the opportunity to pursue their own athletic potential and accomplishing their own personal athletic dreams.  This is the epitome of what sport and the Olympic Games stand for!

What Is CP?

Cerebral palsy often appears at birth and generally does not worsen over time.  CP is a broad term to describe a group of chronic disorders affecting body movement and muscle coordination.  To break it down, "Cerebral" means brain and "Pasly" means lack of muscle control and body movement.  CP begins as a development in the brain during early pregnancy and the faulty damage and development to motor areas of the brain disrupts the brains ability to adequately control movement and posture.  Just take a look at this pic to the right....this is what CP looks like to me!  #CPAwareness

Why Choose CP?

As some may know my younger brother was born with cerebral palsy.  Cerebral palsy is an every day part of life for him and my family.  Cerebral palsy does not stop my brother nor my family from living an active, productive and happy lifestyle.  In fact I would argue he is one of the happiest people I know.  And those who have been lucky enough to meet him would be hard pressed to argue otherwise as well!  Besides the family connection to CP itself, my brother also found a new love in early September last year: curling!  When Sportsnet and the Grand Slam of Curling were generous enough to grant an extra media accreditation pass to this very blog for the Tour Challenge in Regina, my brother became an instant curling rock star!  Just go check out the blog post summary of the event to read more!

Nick, my brother, was welcomed into the curling community.  Whether it was the athletes on the ice, event volunteers or fellow curling fans, everyone helped create an experience for him attending his first live curling event.  To say he is excited about watching curling at the upcoming Olympics might be an understatement.  He may just happen to have a favourite as well?!?  Nick cheering on Nik!  And don't think he is unaware the upcoming Brier is being hosted in his home town.  I receive calls and questions from him almost weekly on his excitement to attend another live curling event.

The #TwineTime blog wants to combine the passion of sport with the love surrounding CP.  Through curling fans, Olympic fans and/or people who love to help make a difference in the lives of others, we can come together and in the spirit of my brother end the Olympics with (hopefully!) a great donation to CCPSA which in turn can help create sport memories for cerebral palsy athletes and families throughout Canada.  What's not to love there right?

The Pool

Ok so here are the details of the pool:

• $20 fee / entry
• 50% of participant proceeds go to #CCPSA
• 50% of participant proceeds go to pool payout (1st - 25%, 2nd - 15%, 3rd - 10%)
• The pool is divided into THREE Sections (A - RR, B - Standings, C - Playoffs)
• For Section A, pick the winners of each men's and women's RR game
• For Section B, predict the FINAL RR standings (after TB if needed)
• For Section C, navigate the playoffs and predict our podium finishers
• DEADLINE: Thursday February 8, 2018

Sounds simple enough right?  I want drop a thank you here to #TheBrierPool host for lending #TwineTime the format used in previous Brier Pool events.  And a very special thank you to Matt #PoolMaster Hall for providing me with the idea to run an Olympic pool as a fundraiser for a great cause.  For those unfamiliar, Hot Dog Hall has been running successful pools last season raising money for CF.....while also being one of the top up and coming junior curlers in Canada!

Caught your interest yet?

Now you may ask, "how do I get in on this awesome pool?"  Well dear reader, the answer is simple.

To enter, download the entry form from THIS LINK.

The link will open an excel entry sheet.  To save a copy of the entry to your computer go to File -> Download As -> Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).  This will download the entry form to your computer.

Now all you have to do is complete ALL THREE SECTIONS and email your final entry to me....and of course e-transfer me your entry fee.  Easy, peasy my friends.

There you have it folks.  Feel free to share this pool with any family, friends, coworkers, sports fans in your life who may be interested.  Lets try to not only #growthesport through adding increased interest and excitement around the sport of curling during the two week Winter Olympics run BUT lets also help raise some funds for a great organization doing outstanding things for Canadians!

I thank you in advance now and wish you all the best of luck should you decide to join the pool and participate.  If you are not interested, I ask you to perhaps share the opportunity with at least ONE person.  Remember, this is what cerebral palsy + curling looks like folks!