GoZone FAQs

 

What is a challenge?


A Challenge is designed for GoZone members (with an activated GoZone pedometer) to compete against each other for the greatest number of steps taken within a given time period. The Challenge can be designed to take place within a particular company or organisation or for individuals to compete against one another on teams and individually. The purpose of the Challenge is to encourage some healthy competition!
 

How do I sign up for a challenge?


We’ll send a series of emails with all the details about the particular challenge. By clicking on the challenge link on the email you will be taken through to the correct “Sign up” page. Alternatively, you will be able to click on the challenge link on the right-hand side of your logbook page. You will see the link “You’ve been challenged!”. This link will only show up if there you are invited to compete in a challenge.

The “Sign up” page will provide you with all the details about when and how long the challenge is running, sign up dates, sign up instructions and any rules that the challenge may have. Rules may differ from one challenge to another.

The “Sign up” page also allows you to set yourself a challenge name (for example: Speed Queen). This step is optional, if you don’t set yourself a name, your real name will show up on the “Rankings” page instead. If you select a name that has been used already, it will ask you to choose another option.
In some challenges, you will be assigned to a team (for example your company/ organisation), whereas in other challenges you will be able to select the team that you would like to join. On the “Sign up“ page there will be a drop-down menu available for you to select the team that you would prefer to join.

Finally, you will have to accept the rules of the challenge by ticking the box at the bottom of the page. Click on “join” and you will be part of the challenge! If you decide at this point that you do not want to join the challenge, simply click on “decline”.

Remember to check the start date of the challenge because you will be unable to sign up once that date has passed. Don’t worry if you have missed it, there will be another challenge coming up soon so look out for it!
 

How do I check how I am doing in the challenge?


Once you have completed the “Sign up” page for the challenge you will be taken directly to the “Rankings” page. Your name will be highlighted so that you can find yourself easily. Once the challenge starts all players will be listed in order of number of steps uploaded so you will be able to see who is leading!

At the bottom of the “Rankings” page is a button that allows you to change your challenge name if you would like to. Once the challenge starts however, you will not be able to change it.

At any time during the challenge that you would like to go to the “Rankings” page you can click on the “challenge” link on the top right-hand side of your logbook page or within the “Exercise” drop down menu. Only people who have signed up for the challenge will be able to see the “Rankings” page. If there are no challenges running, you will not be able to see the challenge pages. The rankings page will stay active for 2 weeks after the end date of the challenge.

Keep an eye on the top right hand corner of the “Rankings” page to see how much time is left until the challenge start date and once the challenge has started, how long till the end of the challenge.

 

How do the teams work?


In some challenges, you will be automatically assigned to a team (for example your company/ organisation), whereas in other challenges you will be able to select the team that you would like to join. On the “Sign up“ page there will be a drop-down menu available for you to select the team that you would prefer to join.

If you are automatically assigned to teams, there will be a randomly assigned team captain. This captain will be able to choose and change the name of your team.

If you would like to view all the members’ names in a team, simply hold the cursor over the team name and you will see a list of all the team members.

Team rankings are calculated using the average number of steps walked by the team members rather than the total number of steps. This is to prevent larger teams from having an unfair advantage over smaller teams.

 

Can I change teams or withdraw from the challenge once it has started?


You cannot change teams or withdraw from a Challenge after it has begun. However, we understand there may be extraordinary circumstances and will be happy to help. Contact us with any questions on 0860 263 947 or info@virginlifecare.co.za.

 

Can someone be removed from the team?


Once the Challenge has begun, no team members can be changed or removed. If you’re unhappy with someone’s performance, encourage them to get going with some team activities.

 

What is the chat box?


Once you have signed up for the challenge you will be able to chat to other member’s on your team or other individuals. The chat box is present on the “Rankings” page which you can find by clicking on the “challenges” link on your logbook page. Once you have written your message, click “send”. You will then see a list of all the messages sent with the most recent message at the top. If you write in the general area, all players in the challenge will be able to see your message, whereas if you write in the specific team area, only those members on your team will be able to see your message.

Unlike some web blogs where you can use bad language and abuse other players, we want this to be kept light and fun. If you feel that a player has abused this Virgin Life Care code of conduct then let us know by contacting us and we’ll take action. We know who writes each message so we can follow up. Enjoy the challenge and the joking around but keep it light hearted and fun!

 

Somebody is abusing me on the chat box! What can I do?


Please contact us on 0860 263 947 or challenges@virginlifecare.co.za and we’ll be happy to help.

 

Can you keep people from cheating in a Challenge?


Unfortunately, we've seen some instances of cheating in the past. We monitor the challenges (we look at unusually high steps counts and patterns of activity) and remove those we find to be cheating. We also sometimes implement a daily step maximum (to weed out those who are uploading 50,000 steps a day! yes, we've seen it). If you’re concerned that someone is cheating in a challenge, feel free to contact us on 0860 263 947 or info@virginlifecare.co.za.

 

Why is there a daily maximum amount of steps in my Challenge?


Daily maximums are implemented to discourage cheating and, in some cases, to level the playing field. You can check the daily limits on the “Sign up” page when you sign up.

 

Can you help me contact my team members?


We do not share our members’ personal information such as email addresses or phone numbers. Contact them through the chat area during and just after the challenge. The chat area will close two weeks after the end of the challenge.

 

How do I see how well I have done in the challenge?


Once you have completed a challenge, you will see a link in your logbook page which will take you to the “Challenge history” page. This page will have the history of all the challenges that you have taken part in. It will show you the dates of the challenge, your position in the challenge, your total steps for the challenge and the average total and daily number of steps taken by all the players.