I have an idea... re: challenges..

I think this is a fabulous idea! So much better than all this 'get nekkid and post it' crap. I'll do this for swimming, since I'm not doing another pic. Can't count yardage to save my life so I'll pledge to do more in this month than I've done this year so far (8 hours 3 min).

Don't forget my Tour de Cure Diabetes Fundraiser, June 11.

This is a responsible, selfless, dare I say adult suggestion. It goes agains my nature, but I can get behind it.

I agree that there should be no minimum. Some people just don't have a lot to spare and shouldn't be excluded on that basis. And the technical end shouldn't be a problem. Most of these charities have on-line donation capabilities.

Can I steal your idea for the bike challenge this month? Some proposed rules/ideas:

• 200-mile minimum goal (OK, we'll take less if you beg us!)
• $2 minimum pledge (It's only $0.06 per day), but don't be cheap!
• At the start, participants state their goal and their pledge.
• Pledge to be made if you don't make your goal
• Successful challengers will pick the charity/beneficiary, and will get one vote for every mile they ride in May.

What else?

Well, Hawkeye, here are some solutions to the questions you pose...

Problem #1: most of us who are doing fundraising have a website that is through active.com or the fundraiser itself.... for instance: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=2338&px=2224793. That's pretty legit, I think.

Problem #2: Become a damn Performance Member already. Worth every penny.

I would refuse, because it's not really that much work and offers a lot of intrinsic rewards, but yeah, I would have no problem designating Kim's Diabetes ride as the charity of choice for May. That's where I was going to cast my 500 votes.

What do you mean " But I would like to share the wealth for everyone trying to earn money.. or at least make a plea for the high riders to help do so.."?

I think we should pick one charity for it all to go to, either by vote (I suggested 1 vote per every mile ridden) or by designation (Kim's diabetes ride), mainly because $2 times the number of participants should equal a decent sum, but $2 times the number of participants divided by X number of charities won't be very significant.

Also, my suggestion was the $2 be the minimum "bet" as you  put it, with no fee "to join the challenge"

Don't think we need a program, I can track this with a simple spreadsheet.

Hey guys,

Found this thread. Was just talking about this in chat the other day. Ron and I are discussing putting a special section on the home page or someplace on the site for people to donate to charities that triathletes are raising funds for. Some caveats though:

I am worried about liability to B.T. Let's say Triathlete A wants to raise funds for Charity. He uses B.T.com website by using the training logs, forums etc. to raise his money. He gets other people to sign on by using the forum but he turns out not to be legit. People who give could sue Triathlete A and B.T.com. (Not that you guys would but that's possible).

Also, don't know if this is true but, the challenge idea could  be called "betting," by some. Even though we're not doing Bingo or anything some good lawyer could construe it as such. Betting on sports performances etc. Even if the money is going to charity we'd have to make absolutely sure that it does.

The best way to avoid this or to minimize the liability is to a). have B.T.com not involved at all and have no knowledge of it. (sucky option) or b). let B.T.com set it up, including disclaimmer, liability language etc. To do this we'd have to do it through the Performance Members Page because it costs money and that's where the money comes from. By doing it that way we could self-select out any possible posers cause you have to pay to play anyway. You wouldn't have to be a performance member to donate but you would have to be one to get money - that way Ron and I can check out websites, links, causes etc., to make sure they're legit and we can COA (Cover Our A$$) legally. There's nothing wrong with an individual asking for money but when you make it a process, a procedure and involve a group the stakes change.

How you determine as individuals or a group what you donate (conscience, challenges etc) is up to you and wouldn't be confused with betting or games of chance whatever.

I'd of course have to talk to Ron about this but I think this is the best way to do it. That way ANYBODY could donate whether they're in the challenge or not, we could have a high profile space on the site and we could have approved charities all checked out and legit earning valuable money for research etc.

I think this is a FABULOUS idea and it's something I've been trying to figure out how to do legally, and with minimal liability to B.T.com.

What do you all think?