Healthy Wage Game Definitions (Part 5: $10,000 Team Challenges)

Update 9/30/19: The October 19, 2019 Team Challenge is currently open for registration. According to my correspondence with Healthy Wage, this will be the last Team Challenge offered in 2019. Expect the next Team Challenge to begin in January:

Yes, October will be our last TC for the year — we’ve had it set up this way for at least the past few years as a lot of people don’t sign up for a TC in Nov/Dec. Come January, we usually run 2 Team Challenges. Not sure when they’ll be starting but one is usually at the very beginning, then we run a second one towards the end of January.

Also, check below for more detail on ribbons and their importance in performing the Team Challenge successfully.

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Note: this one is for the hares among you—those who can sprint when it comes to weight loss, who can lose more than 1.5% of their body weight per week for 12 weeks.

If It is also for team players and team leaders—doing it by yourself isn’t going to be enough to clinch the big dough.

So you need a team of hares. I’m a tortoise—I lose my weight slow and steady, and have been doing that for nearly a year. You can find me working the registration booth.

Official rules of the Team Challenge are here.

What is it?

Once a month, Healthy Wage hosts a Team Challenge, in which people can form teams of 5 and lose as much weight as they can. Collectively, they will develop an average percentage weight loss.

How much money can be won?

The top 3 teams get big money prizes. The first place team gets $10,000: the second place team gets $5,000; and the third place team gets $3,000. The money is split equally amongst the team members.

Update 10/2/19: For the 10/18/19 challenge, $2,000 will be available to be split amongst individual players who max out their ribbon count—should their team miss the top 3. To max out individual ribbons, a player needs to lose at least 10% of their weight over the 12-week period; and earn all the ribbons from weekly weigh-ins, profile photo, and participating in mini challenges. More details can be found here.

Other teams do not get prizes like this, but the individual team members can fully recover their registration fee (typically $99 for players not part of a participating company) if they lose 10% or more of their body weight 9 months after the Team Challenge has started.

How much does it cost to enter?

$99 generally, unless you are a member of a sponsoring company or health club that is partnered with Healthy Wage.

How many members per team?

Five. This can drop to four mid-challenge if a team member gets pregnant.

How do you enter?

The Team Challenge is available in the Challenge menu on the mobile app or the website. Alternatively, Healthy Wage affiliates have links to the challenge and receive commissions for those who sign up through them (me included).

How are teams formed?

From the rules:

14 days after the challenge begins, full teams are completely locked — i.e., no one can join or leave the team without contacting HealthyWage (this is to prevent gaming the system — see “No gaming the system” rule below).

Any behavior that other reasonable persons in the challenge would consider unfair, unethical or inconsistent with the spirit and purpose of the challenge is against the rules. For example, teams that are complete are not allowed to continue to recruit for players or add/remove teammates once a team has been completed for the purpose of creating “super teams.” This includes but is not limited to: kicking otherwise communicative and active participants off a team because they are “behind” in weight loss, luring teammates from an otherwise functional and complete team, or in any other way, as determined by HealthyWage, “stacking” the team. Doing so will be considered “poaching” and be cause for disqualification from the current challenge.

In the event of a pregnancy reported after a month from the start date of the challenge a team can consist of 4 members. This does not include injuries since weight loss is still possible, new studies show that diet is more important to weight loss than exercise.

In practice, teams tend to do well when they are formed before members enter the website or mobile app and register. This is because of the formidable task that all members are required to perform. If only one member falls behind, the bid for the big money is likely in jeopardy. A team member “ghosting” the team is almost always fatal to the team’s chances.

From Nitascha, who is doing a team challenge right now:

It’s pretty simple.. the main thing is making sure everyone weighs in every week and completing the team mini challenges.. and getting the weight off. Everyone must lose 17% of their weight in order to get that grand prize otherwise.. you just lost a nice chunk of weight and hopefully to lost enough to get your money back. The key I feel is making damn sure you got some highly motivated teammates.. people talk a good game but you need people you know will show up and show out!

How much weight loss does a team really need to win this?

Each team member can lose up to 16.59% of their starting weight over the 12-week period. Any weight loss beyond this does not count toward the team average—although it does not disqualify a team member, either.

So the best average a team can achieve is 16.59%. A team doing this can an least achieve a tie for the big money. But read the next section about ribbons and their tiebreaking function.

What are team ribbons and why are they important?

Team ribbons serve as tiebreakers and therefore have relevance in this game, unlike any other Healthy Wage game.

From the rules:

The team members of each winning team will receive a check for one-fifth of the prize money won by that team member’s team.

In the event of a tie for weight loss percentage, we will break the tie by looking to the team aggregate ribbon count of each team — most ribbons wins. Further, in the case of a tie for team aggregate ribbon count, we will pool the relevant prizes and divide equally among the tied teams. For example, if two teams are tied for first, we will pool the first and second place prizes and divide the total between the two teams (and the next highest ranking team will get the third place prize). If four teams are tied, we will pool the first, second and third place prizes and divide the total between the four teams. No other teams will win any prizes. All determinations of winners will be managed by HealthyWage and are final – they cannot be appealed.

In addition to the above, “team” ribbons will also be awarded for teams achieving certain weight loss and challenge milestones together. For the purposes of team aggregate ribbon counts, team ribbons will only count one time, even though they are awarded to each individual on the team. The team aggregate ribbon count is calculated by adding the total personal ribbons of all teammates plus the team’s ribbons (counted only once, not once for each teammate). For example, a team may be awarded the 4% Weight Loss ribbon. Each individual on the team (5) will receive this ribbon and it will count toward their personal ribbon total; however only 1 ribbon will be counted in the team aggregate ribbon count (not 5).

Some examples of ribbons (h/t to Nitascha who sent me the images)

Update 9/30/19: I have e-mail correspondence with Amanda Stewart at Healthy Wage, and have some excellent information to share on ribbons. Read below about how ribbons are obtained through the following activities:

• Uploading a profile picture
• Submitting non-verified weigh ins every week
• Participating fully in 6 mini-challenges that last 2 weeks each
• Verified weigh-in at end

For earning ribbons, participants will receive communication via email and on their challenge dashboard of how they can each each ribbon and its deadline.

In addition to earning ribbons for submitting your verified weigh in and weight out, you can earn them by uploading a profile picture, team picture, submitting a weekly unverified weigh-in, and participating in each of the 6 mini challenges offered throughout the 12-week challenge.

Each mini challenge will last 2 weeks and participants will see when each challenge is starting and what it is, in their challenge dashboard.

If at anytime before/during/after the challenge [you are] unsure about how to achieve a certain ribbon or think[] [you] should have received one (but [haven’t]), please [] contact our support team at info@healthywage.com and they’ll be able to assist.

Also, some relevant text from the FAQ regarding the schedule for weekly unverified weigh-ins;

What are ribbons and why do I need to earn them?

Ribbons are a fun way to keep track of your effort and achievement, and research shows that you’re more likely to lose weight if you divide your goals into bite-size mini-goals. The ribbons take this concept to another level by making the mini-goals social (people can see when you earn a ribbon) and fun.

You can earn ribbons for taking certain actions and for achieving certain milestones throughout the challenge, as well as via team based achievements. For example, you will earn one weekly weigh-in ribbon for recording an unverified weight at least once per week (12:01am Sunday to 11:59pm Saturday (US Eastern Time)) on the site.

Ribbons are not required, but they are important because (1) they improve your likelihood of success; and 2) in the event that you are tied with another team in the challenge, the tie will be broken based on which team has earned the most ribbons (“team aggregate ribbon count”).

NOTE: Please notify HealthyWage immediately if you think you are missing a ribbon! You must notify HealthyWage within seven days from the date the ribbon should have been awarded; otherwise, the ribbon is forfeited.

Update 10/2/19: Click here to get clear information on exactly how many team ribbons you need to win tiebreakers (104 is the number). Also click here to learn about maxing our individual ribbon count.

What else is required?

Photos! From the rules:

Your team must take a before photo (either a team photo or individual photos). If you choose not to submit the before photo(s) for the first mini-challenge, that’s okay. Just hang on to your photo(s) until the challenge ends.

Is the yo-yo rule relevant?

Yes! And if you’re getting shackled by this it is probably medically unsafe to try this!

From the rules:

This rule applies only to HealthyWager and $10,000 Team Challenge, and the rule applies only if, prior to starting your challenge, you won a prize of $200 or more in any single previous HealthyWage challenge. In that case, you must start your new challenge at or below the weight that you ended the last challenge in which you won a prize of $200 or more. If you start your new challenge at a higher weight, your starting weight will later be adjusted downward to the ending weight of the last challenge in which you won a prize of at least $200. We have this rule to avoid encouraging repeat weight loss and to allow more people to take advantage of our programs.

Example: Nancy won $2,000 in the team challenge with an ending weight of 200 pounds. Then Nancy gained 20 pounds and started a HealthyWager with a starting weight of 220. Her starting weight for the HealthyWager will be adjusted downward to 200 pounds because she can’t start a HealthyWager with a weight that is higher than her ending weight in any challenge in which she earned $300 or more. If her HealthyWager goal was to lose 30 pounds, she will need to weigh 170 in order to win (not 190).

Coda

I haven’t done this game personally. This is the only game I have not tried at least once. So I am relying a lot on second hand information. I will be closely following a team in October to see how they do.

Anyone who has done this, please get in touch with me and share your insights. I will include them here in updates. Thanks!