CONTEST DATES

This contest shall run from October 17 to December 14, 2024 inclusive. All entries must be received by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, October 31, 2024.

OBJECT OF THE CONTEST

The object of the contest is to achieve the highest total number of points. Points are accumulated through choosing newsmakers, some from a list, and some from the clear blue sky. Each mention of a newsmaker in Saturday news sections of the Globe and Mail constitutes a point.

APPLICABLE SECTIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER

For clarification, the newsmaker must be mentioned in the body of the story, and not the headline, byline or summaries. Applicable newspaper stories include stories in the Globe and Mail “A” sections in the seven successive Saturdays in question: November 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and December 7 and 14 . This does not include articles in the pull-out Focus section, Sports section, the Arts section, the Travel section, advertisements, obituaries, the op-ed pages, letters to the editors, Facts and Arguments page, Margaret Wente’s column, or other material deemed by the pool administrator not to be in the news section. In the event that there is no Globe and Mail published on one of these days, the edition following it will be used, most likely the Monday paper. The specific paper that is to be used for scoring purposes will be the edition of the Globe and Mail that the pool administrator buys or steals on the way to breakfast each Saturday morning.

SCORING

Each mention of a newsmaker’s name will qualify as a mention for the purposes of this contest. Note that this does not include a mention of the newsmaker’s title, or nicknames for that matter. Thus, “Justin Trudeau” or “Mr. Trudeau” appearing in the body of a story would score a point for a player who had chosen Mr. Trudeau as part of the pool, as would “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau”. However, “The Prime Minister” or “le Dauphin”, for example, would not constitute a mention (Exception: The Pope, members of the Royal family, or members of the band Slipknot).

FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON SCORING

If a political institution named after a newsmaker is mentioned using the newsmaker’s name (for example “The Biden Administration” or “The Trump Regime”) it shall count as a mention of the newsmaker. If a married couple is mentioned, both spouses will receive one mention (i.e. “The Harrises” or “Mr. and Mrs. Harris” would equal one point apiece for both Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff)

ASSEMBLING A TEAM

To assemble your team, choose from the lists specified in the pool groupings; one from each of the A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H groupings. With respect to the wildcard spots, a player may choose any two persons not previously listed in one of the pool groups. For clarification, these are to be persons (singular), not groups of people or organizations. Or inanimate objects, or economic phenomena, or fictitious characters (disputes as to fictional status to be adjudicated by the pool administrator) or abstract concepts, or similar ephemera. Choosing deceased people, however, is fine and dandy in my book. Exceptions: You may not choose journalists working for the Globe and Mail, or yourself. Or me. I have my reasons. These wildcard slots are valid at the discretion of the pool administrator.

Note: if a contestant accidentally, unintentionally or purposefully enters a member of a pool grouping as his/her wildcard for a week, that contestant shall receive no points for that wildcard slot that week. So make sure your wildcard selections are valid!

CHANGING YOUR TEAM

At any time, you may change any or all members of your team simply by accessing the pool database, clicking on “modify” and making the appropriate changes. A list of the teams for purposes of scoring will be downloaded from the database by the pool administrator each week at 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time Friday morning. This list will be used to determine scoring for that week. This should then be considered the deadline for making changes to your team for the following Saturday. NOTE: In order to preserve some strategic element to the choosing your team, there will be a “blackout” period of approximately 48 hours each week right before the deadline when you will only be able to view your own team. This blackout period will take effect each week from Tuesday evening until each week’s deadline Friday morning at 12:01AM. Outside of this period, you may view the entire database, including all competitors’ teams, but during the blackout period, you may only view your own.

SCORES POSTED

At or before 1:00PM Eastern Standard Time each Monday (but usually by Saturday afternoon), the administrator will post updated pool scores on the main page. Final standings will be posted on or about the 15 or 16 of December. So you don’t even have to count your score unless you really want to. How easy can this get?

ENTRY LIMITATIONS

One entry per person or e-mail address, thanks. The pool administrator reserves the right to decline any contest entries, or to terminate participation in the contest at any time, for any reason. The contest administrator may also set limits on the total number of contestants, in which case, entries will be accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.