After three days of furious fighting for followers, the dust has settled and a winner has been declared in the Big Red Race to 200. More important than the bragging rights earned, however, will be the good deeds that will define the legacy of this contest.
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The contest saw several members of the women's national team duking it out to see who could add 200 new Twitter followers first. It was a spirited battle at first between a pair of former roommates (Stephanie Labbe and Kaylyn Kyle), with a large surge by Carmelina Moscato making things interesting.
Moscato drew followers with exclusive on-the-field photos, while Labbe was hashtagging to the point where, if she'd been using a phone, the # button would have fallen off. But Kyle reached out to her fellow Whitecaps -- including the brothers Nahs -- and that's likely what ultimately put her over the top for the victory.
But, that doesn't mean the hunt for followers is done.
For every five new followers they pick up, Candace Chapman and Emily Zurrer will be donating $1 to Because I Am A Girl, a movement that invests in girls and young women in developing countries to improve conditions for them, their families and, by extension, their communities. Labbe is also planning to auction off a game-worn jersey in the near future, with the proceeds benefiting an as-yet-undetermined charity.
And if any other members of the team are participating in similar ventures, let us know (canadiansoccerguys@gmail.com or @CdnSoccerBlog) and we'll gladly promote it.
Those are the humanitarian reasons to start following our ladies via Twitter. But if you need strictly soccer-related reasons -- they're quite damn good. Here's the list, one more time:
Melanie Booth: @melbooth13
Candace Chapman: @chappie95
Christina Julien: @juliencm21
Kaylyn Kyle: @kaylynkyle
Stephanie Labbe: @stephlabbe1
Karina Leblanc: @karinaleblanc
Erin McLeod: @emcleod_dc
Carmelina Moscato: @cmoscato4
Brittany Timko: @brittanytimko
Emily Zurrer: @emme_z