The ParticipACTION “Community Challenge” 2023 (the “Challenge”) Official Challenge Rules (the “Rules”)

The Challenge commences on June 1, 2023 at 12:01 AM Pacific Time (“PT”) and continues until June 30, 2023 at 11:59 PM PT (the “Challenge Period”). All physical activity tracking must be received by 11:59 PM PT on June 30, 2023 (the “Challenge Closing Time”). Attempts to add physical activity tracking after the Challenge Closing Time will not be accepted.  The Challenge consists of the following 5 phases as:

There are thirteen  (13) prizes available to be won in the Challenge, as follow, each to be awarded to the winning Participant Community in the form of a cheque, and subject to the conditions as to how the prize can be used as outlined in the Finalist Details which will be posted on the Sponsor’s website prior to the start of the Challenge at ecsdev.participaction.com/challenge 

* The value of the “Provincial / Territorial Prize” is dependant on funding commitments from each respective province or territory.  Based on these commitments, the prize value per province/territory is as follows:

Provincial/Territorial Prize – $15,000:  BC, , SK, QC, PE, NS, NL, NB, NT

Provincial/Territorial Prize – $7,500:  MB, NU, YK, ON, AB

 All prize awards are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these Rules. Prizes must be accepted as awarded and are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to modify and/or substitute a prize, or component of a prize, for one of comparable or greater value. Winner is not entitled to the monetary difference between actual prize value stated and approximate prize value, if any. Winning Communities are responsible for all costs, taxes and other fees associated with prize receipt and/or use. Limit: one (1) prize per Community. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Currency is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stipulated. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions may apply to a prize or component of a prize. The Sponsor will have no liability to a Participant who is unable to attend or take part in any part of the Challenge or participate in a prize for any reason whatsoever. There is no obligation on the part of Sponsor to record or broadcast the appearance or participation of any Participant in connection with the Challenge.

This Challenge is only open to legal residents of Canada who are 17 years of age or older as of the start of the Challenge Period.  If individuals are under the age of 17 at the time of the Challenge Period they may still participate in this Challenge, however their Move Minutes must be tracked by a parent or legal guardian through the Challenge Account of the parent or guardian.  A parent or guardian can track Move Minutes of up to 10 family members in their Challenge website account.   Move Minutes can be tracked through the following two methods:     

1 – Personal Minutes:  Individuals can track Move Minutes for themselves on the ParticipACTION App or for themselves, their family or anyone who does not have access to track for themselves on the ParticipACTION Community Website. 

2 – Organization Minutes:  Organizations may track Move Minutes for individuals that participate in their programming/events or for individuals who participate in an independent program/event but do not have access to track for themselves on the ParticipACTION Community Website.   

See Section 8 for further details on how to track Move Minutes.   There is no individual prizing within the Challenge

The Challenge is open to all communities that have been deemed eligible by the Sponsor (each, a “Community”). Eligible Communities do not need to register as they are automatically registered to participate in the Challenge.

For a Community to be eligible, it must have a minimum population of 1,000 people, as defined by Statistics Canada. Geographic locations with a population less than 1,000 may be combined with those in close proximity to create a Community or be kept as its own eligible community, at Sponsor’s sole discretion and having regard for other factors relevant to the implementation of this criterion (such as considerations for northern or remote regions).

In all cases, the use of postal codes as defined by Canada Post will be used to assign individuals to a respective eligible Community. All individuals and organizations tracking their Move Minutes in the Challenge will be assigned to a Community based on their postal code, with their Move Minutes contributing to that Community’s results.

For further details on Communities please visit the Challenge website https://ecsdev.participaction.com/en-ca/resources/community-challenge-faq or for further inquiries please contact the Sponsor by email at info@participaction.com.  Please reference “Community Challenge” in the subject line.

For the purposes of determining Community winners in this Challenge, Canada has been divided into the 10 province and 3 territories that make up Canada as follows.

• Alberta
• British-Columbia
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• New Brunswick
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Québec
• Yukon

The number of Communities within each Province and Territory varies and is based on the dissemination of population within the Region.

During the Challenge, a Community Leaderboard will be displayed at ecsdev.participaction.com/challenge which will highlight the top 20 communities per Province and Territory.

Move Minutes are defined as the time during which an individual engages in either active or light/incidental physical activity. An individual’s valid Move Minutes will count towards his/her Community’s total in the Challenge. This includes movement from synced fitness trackers to the ParticipACTION App such as Apple Health or Google Fit, as well as any manually tracked activity on the App or on the ParticipACTION website.

Move Minutes can accumulate individually or through community events, groups or associations. Any group physical activity (virtually or in-person) can be tracked. By way of example, ongoing recreation activities such as a group fitness class at a recreation centre, an outdoor hike, a school gym class or an individual challenge to participants such as biking throughout the month of June are all eligible for tracking. To ensure tracking accuracy, an event or group representative should be assigned to be responsible for tracking the total Move Minutes for each eligible group activity.

Move Minutes can be tracked in two ways:

1.  The ParticipACTION App available through the Apple Store or Google Play Store (the “App”).  There is no charge to download this App.

2. The Community Better Challenge website (the “website”).  To access the website, enter the following in your web browser https://ecsdev.participaction.com/challenge

Move Minute tracking takes place exclusively online and requires an internet connection. Many public libraries, retail businesses and others offer free computer and internet services, and Community organizations may enter individuals’ Move Minutes on their behalf.

Prior to tracking Move Minutes, individuals are required to register a personal account on either the App or the website.  Once registered, the same credentials can be used to access the App or website.  In order to set up an account the user will be required to provide some personal information, including name, postal code, email and age. Individuals may also register using a third party social media. This information will only be used for the specific purpose of tracking Move Minutes in the Challenge, to determine the winners in the Challenge and to provide communications related to the Challenge or other ParticipACTION initiatives.

All Move Minutes using either of the methods above will accumulate to the total Move Minutes for the individual’s assigned Community (as determined by postal code). Move Minutes may only be added as full minutes, with a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 180 minutes per activity.

Although users are permitted and encouraged to track on either the App or the website, they are not permitted to track the same move mins on both platforms.   Any move minutes that are deemed to be tracked on both platforms are subject to be removed by the Sponsor.

All Move Minutes entered are subject to verification at any time, and by entering Move Minutes you represent and warrant that they reflect the actual physical activity of the applicable individual. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to require proof of identity and/or eligibility from any individual, which proof shall be in the form required by the Sponsor. Failure to accurately track Move Minutes, or to provide proof of identity and/or eligibility to the satisfaction of the Sponsor in a timely manner, may result in disqualification and/or deletion of Move Minutes from your Community total Move Minutes and/or disqualification from the Challenge. Daily Move Minute tracking is encouraged but not a requirement of participation.

Limit: one (1) prize per Community.

Finalists

On June 30, 2022 at 11:59 PM PT, ParticipACTION will start the process of selecting fifty (50) Community finalists from each of the thirteen (13) Provinces and Territories as outlined below:

o   5 finalists from each of ON, BC, AB, QC

o   4 finalists from each of SK, MB, NB, NS, NL, PE

o    2 finalists from each of NU, NT, YK

o    Total Finalists:  50

Community Participants will be evaluated based on review of the following criteria. (the “Finalist Criteria”)

• Total Community Move Minutes, as calculated by the total Community Move Minutes tracked within the Challenge timeframe.  The weight of this criteria in the final calculation is 35%
• Average Community Move Minutes by population, as calculated by the total Community Move Minutes divided by the Community’s population.  The weight of this criterion in the final calculation is 15%
• Total number of individuals, as calculated by the total number of unique individuals from the community who tracked at least one move minute within the Challenge timeframe.  The weight of this criterion in the final calculation is 17.5%
• Average number of individuals by population, as calculated by the total number of unique individuals divided by the Community’s population.  The weight of this criterion in the final calculation is 7.5%
• Total number of organizations, as calculated by the total number of unique organizations from the community who tracked at least one move minute within the Challenge timeframe.  The weight of this criterion in the final calculation is 17.5%
• Average number of organizations by population, as calculated by the total number of unique organizations divided by the Community’s population.  The weight of this criterion in the final calculation is 7.5%

In all such criteria, total population will be determined by the statistical information included in the Statistics Canada, Census 2016.

The communities with the highest scores based on the Finalist Criteria will be selected as potential Finalists for that Province or Territory, subject to response to notification, verification and other compliance with these Rules.

Provincial / Territorial Winners

The Finalists will be invited by Sponsor to submit a Finalist Submission. Each Finalist will then be provided with an outline that must be followed to ensure each Finalist has fair and equal opportunity during this final judging stage.  The Finalist Submission will require Finalists to answer to five (5) questions posed by Sponsor. The Finalist Submission must comply with the Submission Guidelines (as defined below) and be submitted to Sponsor by July 11, 2023 at 11:59 PM PT.

All Finalist Submissions will then be reviewed by a panel of at least three (3) impartial judges appointed by Sponsor from July 14, 2023 and July 21, 2023 and will be judged and given a Finalist Submission Score out of 40 total points based on the quality, comprehensiveness, practicality, relevance and compelling nature of responses to the questions.

The Finalists final score will then be determined based on combining the two scores as following:

• 30% Finalist Criteria Score
  • as defined in section #9
• 70% Finalist Submission Score
  • as calculated based on review of Finalist Submission

The Finalist with the highest final score in their Province/Territory will be selected as the potential winner for that Province/Territory and eligible to win a Provincial/Territorial or National Prize, subject to response to notification, verification and other compliance with these Rules.

National Winner

All Provincial / Territorial Winners will then be reviewed by a panel of at least three (3) impartial judges appointed by Sponsor to determine the National winner.   The National winner will be selected from the Provincial and Territorial winners based on the Community with the highest overall score based on the Province and Territory Criteria being selected as Canada’s Most Active Community and the potential winner of the National Prize, subject to response to notification, verification and other compliance with these Rules.

Submission Guidelines

All Finalist Submissions must meet the following submissions guidelines (the “Submission Guidelines”):

• The entry must not defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about Sponsor or communicate messages inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill associated with the Sponsor and the Challenge, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
• Entry must be suitable for family audiences, including without limitation for publication on national television, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
• Entry must not contain any content that is or contains: unlawful behaviour, profanity, explicit sexuality, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, or is hatefully, racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive or objectionable, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
• Entry must not infringe on the intellectual property rights, or defame or invade the publicity or privacy rights, of any third party, living or deceased.

By submitting an entry, Representative warrants and represents on behalf of Community that: (i) the entry is original work, over which Community has all necessary rights, title and interest, including copyright; (ii) the entry has not been previously published; (iii) the entry does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights, or defame or invade the publicity or privacy rights, of any third party, living or deceased; (iv) any individuals appearing in the entry have granted Community permission to publish or otherwise use their persona in the entry in any manner and media whether now known or hereafter devised including, without limitation, on the website and App; and, (v) that the entry complies with the Submission Guidelines. Community agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor from any claims to the contrary.

In consideration of Participant’s Finalist Submission being reviewed and evaluated for this Challenge, each Participant hereby agrees as follows: (i) Community acknowledge that its entry may be posted by Sponsor on the website, App and/or on Sponsor’s social media channels, in Sponsor’s sole discretion but without obligation; (ii) Community grants to the Sponsor and its respective successors, assigns, licensees and designees (collectively, “Licensed Parties”) a non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully paid, universal license to use, copy, sublicense, transmit, distribute, publicly perform, publish, edit, delete, display and create derivative works from such Finalist Submission, or any portion thereof, including any names, likenesses or information embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised including, but not limited to, all forms of television and all forms of internet and wireless protocol without limitation and without any further right of approval, notification or compensation; (iii) Community agrees that the results and proceeds of such use shall become the property of the Licensed Parties, and shall be freely assignable by Licensed Parties and that the Sponsors shall have no obligations whatsoever to Community, and (iv) Community agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor from and against any and all claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trade-mark infringement or any other intellectual property related cause of action that relates in any way to Sponsor’s use of the entry.

All submissions are subject to verification. Proof of submission does not constitute proof of receipt. In the event a dispute arises as to the credibility of the respondent and/or the validity of the submission, in part or in whole, the Sponsor reserves the right to request proof supporting the Submission and/or reject a Submission in its entirety resulting in a Community no longer being eligible to be awarded a prize in this Challenge.

The potential Challenge Provincial and Territorial Finalists will be informed by July 7, 2023.  The Sponsor, working with the Municipalities or other governmental representatives under which jurisdiction the Communities exist, will identify a Community representative (the “Representative”) responsible to respond to the Finalist Submission outline. Appropriate authorizations are required from the Community Representative and others as required by Sponsor, which may include: (i) confirmation to participate as a Provincial or Territorial Finalist Representative (ii) execution of a Declaration of Compliance, Liability and Publicity Release, and (iii) other required documentation that may be required by Sponsor. This information must be provided within a reasonable period as determined by the Sponsor.

The Representative of a selected Community will be notified on or around July 22, 2023  and may be required to provide certain information and appropriate authorizations in order to collect and accept the prize. Failure by a selected Community Representative to provide the necessary information or authorizations may result in the prize being forfeited and another Community may be awarded the prize.  If the prize/prize notification is undeliverable, or if the potential winning Community from a Province or Territory  fails to comply with any of these requirements or with the Rules in any way, the prize will be forfeited and another winning Community from the same Province or Territory  may be determined. The Sponsors or its representative(s), reserves the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to phone, email and/or visit any Finalist Community for the purpose of validating a Finalist Submission.

If a Participant’s Finalist Submission is determined by the Sponsor, in its sole and absolute discretion, to have violated the Rules in a non-material and de minimis way and the Finalist Submission can be edited to remove the violation, the Sponsor may request the Participant to amend the submission, or amend the submission on the Participant’s behalf, instead of disqualifying the Participant.

By participating in the Challenge and accepting a prize (if applicable) winning Community Representatives agree to release and hold the Sponsor harmless against any and all claims, injuries, damages, loss and/or liability to person or property, due in whole or in part, whether directly or indirectly, by (a) arising out of participation in the Challenge, including any Challenge-related activity, (b) acceptance, use, misuse, possession or redemption of a prize (if applicable), and (c) claims based on personality, privacy rights or defamation and infringement of intellectual property rights.

If a selected Community wins a prize and accepts the prize, such acceptance shall mean full satisfaction of the entitlement as a Participant and winner in the Challenge and the selected Community fully discharges and forever releases the Sponsor, of and from any and all claims, demands, losses, damages, actions or causes of action whatsoever, whether known or unknown, whether at law or in equity which they or their heirs, executors, administrators, successors or assigns may now or hereafter have against any of the Sponsor in connection with the prize.

All Participants also acknowledge, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, that the Sponsor will not be responsible for any injury, accident, death or dismemberment, or any other loss, damage or expense in connection with Community’s individuals participating in the Challenge and/or the prize. The Participant also acknowledges that none of the Sponsor has offered any warranty or guarantee respecting the prizes. Further, the authorized Community Representative assumes all responsibility and liability for any loss, injury or damage to any persons or property, which results from the Community representatives’ actions or omissions, whether negligent or otherwise, in connection with the prizes.

The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Finalist Submissions, email or mail; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), Website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Challenge, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Challenge, the announcement of the PT Finalists, the processing or judging of Finalist Submission, the announcement of the prize Winners or in any Challenge-related materials.

The Sponsor is also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge. The Sponsor is not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Challenge or downloading materials from or use of any website.

Persons (including, but not limited to, any Challenge individual/Community Representative) who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Challenge or Website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, who act contrary to law or the spirit of the Challenge or in a manner that might reflect unfavorably upon the reputation of the Sponsor or who are in violation of these Rules, as solely determined by the Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Finalist Submissions will be void. If a Community Representative and/or any authorized representative(s) of a Community, act contrary to law or the spirit of the Challenge, in a manner that might reflect unfavorably upon the reputation of the Sponsor, or are in violation of these Rules, as solely determined by the Sponsors, such Community may be disqualified from the Challenge. If, in the Sponsor’s opinion, there is any suspected evidence of tampering with any portion of the Challenge, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Challenge, the Sponsor, reserves the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Challenge in a manner deemed appropriate by the Sponsor, at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE, THE PARTICIPACTION APP OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CHALLENGE MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING LEGAL FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

The Sponsor shall assume no liability whatsoever for any situation in which their inability to act results from an event or situation unforeseeable or beyond their control, including but not limited to force majeure, an epidemic or pandemic, a strike, lockout, or any other labour dispute at their location or the locations of the businesses whose services are used. Refusal by potentially winning Community(s) to accept a prize releases the Sponsor from all responsibility and obligations toward that potentially winning Community of such prize. In no event shall Sponsor be held to award more prizes than what is mentioned in these Rules or to award prizes otherwise than in compliance with these Rules.

All information requested by and supplied by each Participant must be truthful, accurate, and in no way misleading. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Finalist Submission from the Challenge in its sole and absolute discretion, should the Participant at any stage supply untruthful, inaccurate, or misleading details and/or information or should the Participant be ineligible for the Challenge pursuant to these Rules.

All applicable federal, provincial, municipal, territorial and local laws and regulations apply.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE FOLLOWING MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. By participating in this Challenge, Participants (and their parents/legal guardians) waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages, legal fees or any damages other than actual out-of-pocket costs incurred to enter.

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Participant and Sponsor in connection with the Challenge, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Province of Ontario, as applicable, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules.

In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the English language version and the French language version of these Rules, as applicable, the English version shall prevail, govern and control.

The Sponsor respects the right to privacy. Personal information collected from individuals (including but not limited to names, age, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and email will only be used for the purpose of administering this Challenge and conducting publicity about this Challenge. By entering this Challenge, you consent to Sponsors’ collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information for these purposes. For a copy of the ParticipACTION Privacy Policy, please visit https://ecsdev.participaction.com/privacy-policy/.

The Challenge is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by YouTube, LLC, Twitter, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Instagram LLC, Apple Inc. or Google Inc.  The owners and operators of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Apple and Google are completely released from all liability by each Participant in this Challenge. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Challenge must be directed to the Sponsor and not to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Apple or Google.  Inquiries can be directed to info@participaction.com

ParticipACTION, and all related marks and designs are trademarks and/or copyright of ParticipACTION or its affiliates, used under license.