2022 Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool

 #BetweenTheSheets: Can YOU Win Olympic Gold?

Enter the #TwineTime 50/50 pool and navigate the draw path to gold

Have you caught Olympic fever yet?

We are only a few weeks away from the Opening Ceremonies of Beijing 2022 and kicking off the pinnacle of sport.

As we saw in 2018, curling will be out of the hack before the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the Opening Ceremonies. Mixed doubles will hit the ice in less than two weeks. The first rock is set to be thrown on Wednesday February 2.

The Opening Ceremonies are a few days later on Friday February 4.

Curling will run from pre-Opening Ceremonies right through to the final day of competition on Sunday February 22.

Yup, a full 19 straight days of competition for the sport. The only sport, once again, to operate the full duration...and then some.

And yes, I recognize many sports fans, curling fans included, are not supportive of the 2022 Winter Olympics for a handful of reasons. From COVID concerns to Chinese human rights issues to everything in between and elsewhere, these are legit reasons to not be in support of these games.

However, lets not punish our athletes by not wishing them the best of luck and supporting them as they chase their dreams. We still can wish all the athletes best of luck competing and chasing not only Olympic medals but personal bests.

And celebrate the accomplishment of even qualifying and competing at the Winter Olympics. A great achievement for any athlete in any sport.

To those competing, congrats and good luck!

Now 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!

The #TwineTime blog wants to enhance your 2022 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 Kids Up Front Calgary.

What Is Kids Up Front?

For those who are unfamiliar with #KUF, the non-profit organization creates joy, promotes inclusion and strengthens communities by connecting children and their families to enriching experience. Since 2002, Kids Up Front as a national organization has transformed more than 2 million unused tickets into incredible experiences for kids across Canada. Kids Up Front has chapter locations in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

In Calgary alone, over 30,000 experiences are delivered annually. These experiences can range from sporting events to arts and culture to concerts and everywhere in between. If there is a ticket to an event being donated, there is a child and family interested in attending.

These experiences can lead to building new relationships, improved well-being, eliminated stress, addressing social isolation, encouraging barrier free access to diverse events, fostering a sense of community and, ultimately, FUN! 

This is the epitome of what sport and the Olympic Games stand for!

The #TwineTime blog wants to combine the passion of sport with the support of Kids Up Front Calgary.  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 the Olympics with (hopefully!) a great donation to Kids Up Front Calgary which, in turn, can help create special memories for kids and families throughout Southern Alberta.  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 #KUF
• 50% of participant proceeds go to pool payout (1st - 25%, 2nd - 15%, 3rd - 10%)
• The pool is divided into THREE Sections (A - Round Robin, 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
• For Section C, navigate the playoffs and predict our podium finishers
• DEADLINE: Friday February 4, 2018

As you probably noticed in the details, the pool will only focus on the men's and women's discipline of the sport. Mixed doubles will not be included in the pool (sorry!).

Sounds simple enough?

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.

Note: China has yet to announce their men's Olympic team rep. On the form it is listed as TBD. Once the announcement is made, the form will be updated.

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.

#StayTuned

There will be quite a few #TwineTime curling blog posts coming your way over the next few weeks rockheads.

We have the 2022 Winter Olympics with a preview for all 3 disciplines.

But before we focus on Beijing, we have a national championship to contend. The 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is set to hit the ice in Thunder Bay, Ontario starting Friday January 28, culminating in a championship final on Sunday February 6. 

Yes folks, if you are looking at your calendar you will notice we get a double dip of curling action to end the month. And we get curling action to watch over 3+ weeks. Yay!!

The blog will return prior to first rock in Thunder Bay with a #STOH2022 preview.

Until then, get those 50/50 entries in. Share them with your teammates, fellow curling family and friends and your local curling club. Lets try to get a record number of entries this year after seeing a successful initial pool running back in 2018.

And again, to all athletes competing in Beijing or Thunder Bay, we hope you stay healthy and good luck and good curling.