Version: February 18, 2026
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Vanguard ecosystem, including the Vanguard Platform (event infrastructure) and the Pathfinder navigation module. By creating an account, clicking “I agree”, connecting Pathfinder, or otherwise using the Services, you enter into a legally binding agreement with Vanguard Creative Platforms Inc. (“Vanguard”, “we”, “us”, “our”).
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These Terms are the core rules for using the Vanguard ecosystem and apply to everyone who interacts with it, including:
* users and visitors,
* participants in events, rounds, and duels,
* event organizers,
* judges / experts,
* representatives of organizations.
Service Operator: Vanguard Creative Platforms Inc., a federal corporation under the laws of Canada.
Head Office: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Primary contact: connect@vanguardnetwork.org
Additional contact details and legal notices are provided in the “Contact” section of these Terms.
The Vanguard Platform is a digital, infrastructure-grade web service that enables the creation, hosting, and operation of events (competitions, collaborative rounds, selections, tournaments, challenges, educational / partner formats, and similar), including:
* user registration and participation flows,
* submissions and materials handling,
* scoring, ranking, results, and audit trails,
* event pages and participant pages,
* judge tooling and evaluation workflows,
* notifications and integrity controls.
The Platform provides tools and infrastructure. Each Organizer defines the content and rules of a specific event (topic, tasks, criteria, judges, prizes, deadlines, participation terms).
Pathfinder is the ecosystem navigation module that helps a user:
* register and create/maintain a master profile,
* complete onboarding and profiling,
* receive navigation across events and opportunities,
* track missions, achievements, statuses, and trajectories,
* receive notifications (including via messaging channels, if enabled).
Pathfinder may operate through messaging platforms and may be linked to the Vanguard Platform under a unified identity model (single profile / single entry).
Pathfinder does not provide legal advice and does not make automated legal decisions; it provides informational and structural guidance within the Services.
In addition to these Terms, the following documents may apply:
* the Privacy Policy (how we handle personal information),
* the Universal Event Operations Framework (baseline event conduct, integrity, judging ethics, complaints, anti-abuse measures — applied by default unless properly overridden),
* the Rules of a specific event published by an Organizer (topic, criteria, deadlines, prizes, content licensing, public/private mode, additional conditions).
Priority rule: These Terms prevail. Event rules apply only to the extent they do not conflict with these Terms and applicable law. Where an event rule adds details for that event without conflict, it applies to that event.
You accept these Terms when you:
* create an account,
* click an “I agree” checkbox (where shown),
* use the Platform (dashboard, participation, submissions, judging, etc.),
* connect Pathfinder and continue using it after being shown these Terms (or a link to them).
If you do not agree, do not use the Services.
The Services are intended for users 18+ by default.
If a specific event explicitly allows participation by minors, the Organizer is solely responsible for obtaining any required consents and ensuring lawful participation (including parental/guardian consent where required). Vanguard may restrict or remove access where such requirements are not met or where risk is high.
* User — anyone who accesses or uses the Services.
* Participant — a User who applies for, joins, or submits content to an event, round, or duel.
* Organizer — an individual or entity that creates and runs an event on the Platform.
* Judge / Expert — a User granted evaluation access by an Organizer.
* Content — materials uploaded, posted, or submitted by Users (text, files, audio, video, code, images, links, and related metadata).
* Services — the Vanguard Platform and Pathfinder, including related sites, interfaces, and features provided by Vanguard.
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Vanguard provides access to the Services as digital infrastructure. Depending on configuration, access level, and plan, this may include:
* account registration and profile management,
* participation in events (applications, rounds, submissions),
* event and participant pages,
* scoring, rankings, and results displays,
* judging and evaluation tooling,
* teams / groups / subscriptions / notifications (if enabled),
* duels (challenge, topic, judge invitations, evaluation),
* storage of Content and related metadata within the Services,
* paid options (if enabled): premium features, customization, expanded limits, enterprise access.
The set of features may evolve over time and may vary by event configuration, plan, or technical updates.
The Services are not:
* an employment agency,
* an educational institution,
* an employer or representative of an employer,
* a party to the relationship between an Organizer and a Participant (other than providing infrastructure).
Vanguard does not guarantee:
* winning outcomes, prizes, employment, contracts, or any external opportunity,
* that an event will meet your expectations,
* that judging will feel “fair” to you.
We provide infrastructure and baseline rules. The event’s content and event-level decisions are defined by the Organizer and authorized event roles, subject to these Terms and applicable law.
Organizer-facing and paid features are designed primarily for professional, business, and organizational use (running and operating events).
Personal use is permitted within the available user functionality, unless a specific event rule states otherwise.
By default, the Services are provided as SaaS (a web-based service over the Internet).
Dedicated hosting, enterprise environments, custom SLAs, integrations, or special deployment formats are available only under a separate written agreement.
* Organizers are responsible for their event rules, descriptions, tasks, criteria, judges, prizes, deadlines, communications, and the lawful content of the event.
* Judges are responsible for acting in good faith within the event criteria and avoiding conflicts of interest.
* Participants are responsible for the legality of their Content, compliance with rules, deadlines, conduct, and accuracy of information they provide.
Vanguard may intervene and limit access, suspend functionality, or pause an event where we reasonably believe there are violations of law, material violations of these Terms, abuse, fraud, security risks, or integrity threats.
The Services may be used as part of ecosystem programs (series of events, missions, achievements, progression tracks, statuses, access levels).
Access to a specific event or stage may depend on:
* achievements / statuses / completion of prior stages,
* membership in a group or organization (if configured),
* other conditions published by the Organizer within the Services.
The Vanguard Platform and Pathfinder are protected intellectual property and may include software, interface elements, and databases (including structured materials and metadata created through use of the Services).
All rights, title, and interest in and to the Services (including code, architecture, algorithms, business logic, data structures, UI design, and Vanguard-created text and assets) belong to Vanguard and/or its licensors.
Subject to these Terms, Vanguard grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to access and use the Services for their intended purpose during the term of this agreement.
You do not receive rights to source code, internal algorithms, or non-public methods of operation beyond the ability to use the Services via the provided interfaces.
Access to certain features and the scope of permitted use may be defined by plans, limits, and event settings in effect at the time of access.
Plans and pricing (where applicable) are published on the website or in the Services and form part of these Terms by reference.
Limits may include, depending on configuration: numbers of participants/teams, rounds/stages, judges, storage volumes, allowed content types, advanced settings, customization, notifications, integrations, or other feature constraints.
Vanguard may enforce technical limits automatically and/or offer an upgrade path when limits are reached. Details are displayed before selection and/or within the relevant configuration screens.
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You may start using the Services through:
* the Vanguard Platform web interface (for example, via email and verification), and/or
* Pathfinder (for example, via a connected messaging channel, where available).
Available features may depend on whether your contact details are verified and whether basic security checks are completed (for example, email verification).
The Vanguard Platform is the web service layer. Pathfinder is the navigation module that may operate through messaging channels and supports onboarding, profiles, missions, achievements, and access logic.
We design the Services so a User can have a unified profile, meaning:
* you can register on the Platform first and then connect Pathfinder, or
* you can begin with Pathfinder and later link it to a Platform account.
Linking helps ensure you:
* keep your participation history,
* receive notifications through a preferred channel,
* use the same achievements / statuses / access conditions across the ecosystem.
Linking may require verification (for example, a code, a link, or an authenticated sign-in).
You may disconnect Pathfinder from your account if the feature is available, but some functionality may become unavailable.
You agree to provide information that is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
If your email, phone number, username, or other key details change, you must update them in your profile (where available) or contact support.
If you use the Services on behalf of an organization, you represent that:
* you have authority to act for that organization, and
* the organizational information you provide is accurate.
You are responsible for activity performed through your account.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your access credentials (passwords, tokens, login codes), devices, and any connected messaging account.
Do not share access with third parties.
For security and integrity purposes, Vanguard maintains event and security logs, which may include timestamps, IP address, device/browser identifiers, and session tokens, to:
* protect Users and the Services,
* investigate incidents,
* prevent abuse and fraud,
* support compliance and enforcement of these Terms.
Actions taken through your account and/or verified access channels are treated as taken by you unless and until you notify Vanguard of a suspected compromise and Vanguard has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate.
Vanguard may restrict or suspend access to an account or certain features where we reasonably believe:
* an account may be compromised,
* there is automated or abusive activity (bots, spam, scraping),
* there are integrity violations, circumvention attempts, or attacks on the Services,
* a security review is required.
Where reasonably possible, we will provide notice and guidance for restoring access.
You may request deletion of your account:
* through the Services (if available), or
* by contacting support at the address provided in these Terms.
After deletion (or termination of access), certain information may be retained for the periods described in the Privacy Policy and event rules (including archival of results and legally meaningful security/integrity logs), and then deleted or de-identified, unless retention is required or permitted by law.
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A User is any person who registers on the Vanguard Platform and/or interacts with Pathfinder.
Depending on what is enabled, a User may:
* maintain a profile,
* participate in events,
* create or join teams,
* follow events and receive updates,
* use messaging or other social features (if enabled),
* connect or disconnect Pathfinder,
* configure notification preferences.
A Participant is a User who applies to, joins, or submits materials to a specific event, round, or duel.
A Participant agrees to:
* comply with these Terms and the relevant event rules,
* meet deadlines and submission requirements,
* avoid violating laws or third-party rights when submitting Content,
* behave respectfully in communications.
Important: participation often creates a public record (for example, submissions, scores, rankings, and event pages). Reversing or removing participation history may be impossible or limited depending on the event configuration and rules.
An Organizer is a User and/or organization that creates and runs an event using the Services.
Organizers may access event management tools such as configuration, stages, criteria, judging workflows, submission intake, event pages, communications, and results.
An Organizer agrees to:
* describe the event clearly and honestly (purpose, format, deadlines, criteria, judges, prizes, participation terms),
* disclose what materials are accepted and any restrictions (including licensing terms if they differ from the Platform defaults),
* ensure a fair and properly administered judging process (assignments, access controls, conflicts of interest),
* comply with law and these Terms,
* not use the Services for fraud, unlawful data collection, or deceptive schemes,
* ensure Participants can access event rules and any event-level terms before submitting, joining, or progressing through stages.
The Organizer understands and accepts that:
* the Services provide infrastructure; the event content and event-specific terms are defined by the Organizer,
* the Organizer is responsible for its rules, operations, and for how it uses Participant information once it receives it through the Services, subject to applicable law.
A Judge (or Expert) is a User granted evaluation access by an Organizer.
A Judge agrees to:
* evaluate in good faith according to the event criteria,
* avoid conflicts of interest,
* not use access for pressure, coercion, harassment, or personal gain,
* not engage in bullying, discrimination, doxxing, or leaks,
* keep information confidential where required by event rules,
* not use submissions or Participant information outside the purpose of evaluation,
* not disclose materials or internal results before publication where restricted by event rules.
Vanguard and/or the Organizer may revoke judging access for violations of these Terms or event rules.
If the Services support teams:
* teams are created by Users,
* team members define internal roles and task allocation,
* responsibility for Content and compliance remains with the submitting Users and, where applicable, the team as a whole, as defined by the event rules.
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Vanguard is built for structured competition, selection, and collaboration.
We expect respectful conduct and professional behavior.
You must not use the Services to engage in, promote, or enable any of the following:
* hate, harassment, discrimination, bullying, threats, stalking, or targeted abuse,
* content that encourages violence, cruelty, or self-harm,
* unlawful content or content that violates applicable law,
* spam, unsolicited mass messaging, manipulation of rankings, bot activity, fraud, or attempts to distort event integrity,
* impersonation, identity deception, or creation of accounts to evade enforcement,
* collection of personal information about Users outside the mechanisms provided by the Services without a lawful basis,
* attempts to access other accounts, confidential data, admin areas, or security systems,
* infringement of intellectual property (including plagiarism or submitting another person’s work as your own),
* disclosure of third-party personal information without a lawful basis (doxxing, leaks of documents or contacts),
* uploading malware, exploits, or links intended to compromise systems.
Additionally, you must not:
* use automated tools (scripts, bots, scrapers, crawlers) to extract or collect data from the Services (including profiles, submissions, rankings, results, or metadata) unless explicitly permitted by Vanguard through official APIs or written authorization;
* circumvent limits, paywalls, access controls, rate limits, role restrictions, or other technical safeguards;
* decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, or create derivative works from any part of the Services except to the extent such restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
* copy or imitate the Services’ structure, workflows, UI logic, or screens for commercial purposes, including building clones or lookalike products.
Where the Services include messaging, follows, feeds, or other social features:
* use them respectfully,
* do not send unsolicited mass messages,
* do not use private channels for coercion, harassment, or aggressive solicitation.
Vanguard may limit communications where we receive complaints or detect abuse patterns.
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1. Purpose and scope
Vanguard may verify Organizers and/or their representatives (KYC/KYB) to comply with law, reduce fraud and abuse, protect Participants, preserve platform integrity, and assess event risk (including paid or high-impact events).
2. What may be requested
As part of verification, Vanguard may request documents and information, including (without limitation):
* registration and identity details for an individual or entity,
* proof of authority to act on behalf of an Organizer,
* evidence of rights to run an event (for example, permissions to use brands or materials, permits/approvals where required),
* official contact details for legal and operational communication,
* other information reasonably necessary to evaluate legitimacy, security, and risk.
3. Organizer obligations
Organizers must provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
4. Consequences of refusal or false information
Failure to provide requested information, or providing materially inaccurate information, may result in:
* refusal to publish or run an event,
* restricted Organizer functionality,
* suspension or termination of an event,
* suspension or termination of access to the Services.
5. Risk-based approach
Vanguard determines the need and depth of verification using a risk-based approach, considering factors such as paid events, large-scale enrollment, off-platform payments, complaints, fraud indicators, and enterprise/customer requirements.
Organizers are responsible for preparing and publishing event-specific rules and any required participant terms, consents, disclosures, content licensing terms, and privacy notices needed to run their event lawfully.
Organizers must configure required participant acceptances in the Services (for example, checkboxes or step-based confirmations) before Participants submit, join, upload Content, or progress through event stages.
The Services may provide technical capabilities to:
* host or display the Organizer’s event rules and disclosures,
* configure whether acceptance is mandatory,
* record acceptance (including timestamp, user identifier, document identifier/version, and related technical metadata),
* retain technical logs for integrity and audit purposes.
Organizer responsibility: Organizers are solely responsible for the content, legality, and sufficiency of their event documents and acceptances. Vanguard does not provide legal review of Organizer documents and is not responsible for their compliance.
Vanguard acts as a Data Controller for personal information processed to operate the Services (including accounts, master profiles, security logs, event participation records, and ecosystem navigation through Pathfinder), as further described in the Privacy Policy.
An Organizer acts as an independent Data Controller for event-specific processing once a Participant first joins an event and/or submits Content for a round after accepting the event rules and completing the required event acceptances (for example, checkboxes for event terms, disclosures, and any Organizer-provided privacy notices).
Where an event is configured to require repeated acceptances per round, those acceptances apply each time as configured. Vanguard shares Participant information with the Organizer as part of providing event participation infrastructure and at the Participant’s direction through the event terms and acceptances.
Organizers are responsible for their own event terms and privacy disclosures and for lawful processing of Participant information once received, in compliance with applicable law.
Vanguard may apply integrity and anti-abuse measures based on complaints, technical signals, and behavioral risk indicators (including verification, requests for information, and temporary restrictions). Where we reasonably believe there is material risk of violation, fraud, abuse, or security threat, we may restrict features or pause events pending review.
Verification and integrity measures do not mean Vanguard endorses an Organizer or guarantees an event’s legality, fairness, or performance. Organizers remain responsible for their events and any event-level promises, including prizes and payment terms.
Vanguard may remove or restrict Content or access where reasonably necessary to:
* comply with law,
* protect Users and the reputation and integrity of the Services,
* prevent fraud, manipulation, abuse, or security incidents,
* enforce these Terms and event rules.
Depending on the situation, Vanguard may:
* remove or limit visibility of Content,
* restrict functionality (for example, submissions, comments, messaging),
* remove a submission or Participant from an event for serious violations,
* invalidate results where there is credible evidence of manipulation, plagiarism, fraud, or threats,
* suspend or terminate an event that violates law, these Terms, or creates serious risk,
* suspend or terminate accounts (temporarily or permanently),
* notify relevant authorities where required by law.
Where reasonably possible, we provide notice and an opportunity to correct issues, but we may act without notice where risk is high (for example, hacking, active fraud, safety threats).
If you believe your rights are being violated (for example, plagiarism, harassment, fraud, leaks, improper judging conduct), contact support and include:
* links to the relevant pages/materials,
* a description of the issue,
* supporting evidence (screenshots, logs, messages).
By default, event results are determined by the event rules and the Organizer/Judges.
Vanguard is not required to re-score or re-judge on request, but may intervene where there are credible indications of:
* manipulation/fraud,
* a clear technical error affecting outcomes,
* a material breach of the event framework or an unmanaged conflict of interest.
Services may experience interruptions. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, but we make reasonable efforts to maintain stability and security.
If a technical issue affects a submission deadline, the resolution is governed by the event rules (for example, an Organizer may extend a deadline or apply an alternative resolution).
Vanguard may restrict, suspend, or terminate access to the Services (including Organizer access) for violations of these Terms, event rules, applicable law, or where there are reasonable security, fraud, abuse, or compliance risks (including failure to complete verification when required).
Where reasonably possible, Vanguard will provide notice and steps to address the issue, unless doing so would compromise security or violate legal obligations. Termination does not remove responsibility for violations that occurred during use, and does not prevent retention of legally meaningful integrity logs as described in these Terms and the Privacy Policy.
You may submit an appeal to support with a clear explanation and supporting evidence. We will review and respond within a reasonable time, considering safety, integrity, and legal constraints.
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Some events may include confidentiality requirements set by the Organizer (for example, closed tasks, non-public materials, internal methodologies, interim results, non-public judging panels, or other information designated as confidential for that event) (“Event Confidential Information”).
If you receive access to Event Confidential Information (including as a Participant or Judge), you agree to:
* not disclose it to third parties outside the purpose of participation and/or evaluation,
* not publish tasks, materials, or interim results before the time permitted by the event rules,
* not use such information to gain unfair advantage or cause harm.
Vanguard may restrict access, remove a Participant/Judge from an event, invalidate results, or take other measures for violations of this section.
For enterprise or corporate events, additional confidentiality obligations, access regimes, and service levels may be set by a separate written agreement.
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“Content” includes anything you upload, submit, post, or otherwise provide through the Services, including:
* event submissions and materials (files, text, images, audio/video, presentations, code, links),
* profile information and descriptions, comments, messages, posts (if enabled),
* metadata associated with submissions, profiles, duels, events, and pages generated through use of the Services.
You retain ownership of your Content (or your team / rights holder retains it).
Vanguard does not “take authorship” of your work.
By uploading or posting Content, you grant Vanguard a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license, for the period your Content remains on the Services (and for a reasonable period for backups and archives), to:
* host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute your Content within the Services,
* perform necessary technical processing (format conversion, previews, thumbnails, compression, indexing, and delivery),
* make Content accessible to Organizers, Judges, Participants, and viewers according to the settings of the relevant event (public/private modes, access roles, stage gates).
This license exists solely to operate and provide the Services, not to sell your Content.
It is important to distinguish two separate uses:
(A) Visibility within an event
If you participate in a public event, your submission and related event records (for example, scores, rankings, and event pages) may be publicly visible within the event and the Services, because this is part of how events function (history, rankings, transparency, public pages).
This is governed by the event settings and the operating license in Section 8.3.
(B) Promotional use outside the event context
Vanguard may use your Content (or excerpts/previews) in Vanguard promotional materials (for example, social posts, banners, curated highlights, “best of” collections, participant spotlights, ecosystem showcases) only if you provide explicit, separate consent.
Where offered, such consent will be collected via a separate acceptance (for example, a checkbox) linked to a clear promotional license notice (such as:
“I agree to the Promotional Content License and allow Vanguard to use my submission (or excerpts) for informational and promotional purposes, including reasonable technical and editorial formatting.”)
If you do not provide this separate consent, Vanguard will not use your Content for promotion outside the event context described in (A).
“Editing” for promotion means formatting and technical preparation only, such as: cropping excerpts, generating previews, adding captions/subtitles, compression, covers, collages, or teaser cuts.
Vanguard does not claim authorship or replace the original work. If you believe promotional use materially distorts meaning or causes reputational harm, you may contact support and we will review removal or adjustment.
An Organizer may set additional Content-related conditions for a specific event (for example, a separate license to the Organizer, publication terms, confidentiality requirements, restrictions on AI-generated materials, “clean rights” requirements, or sponsor-related usage terms).
If an Organizer introduces additional terms, the Organizer must:
* disclose them before a Participant submits or joins,
* make them clear and accessible in the event rules, and
* configure participant acceptance within the Services where acceptance is required.
Priority rule for Content terms: for a specific event, Organizer Content terms may apply where they are clearly disclosed and accepted, but they cannot override these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or applicable law. Outside those event-specific terms, these Terms control.
Many events produce an event history. As a result:
* ability to delete, replace, or resubmit Content depends on the event settings and rules (sometimes “submitted means final”),
* after an event or stage concludes, Content may remain referenced in rankings, archives, and event history views.
If you delete your account or request deletion/de-identification, we act according to the Privacy Policy and the relevant event rules, subject to lawful retention and integrity needs.
By submitting Content, you represent that:
* you own the rights or have lawful permission to use and submit the Content for the event and the Services,
* your Content does not infringe third-party rights (copyright, trademark, publicity rights, confidentiality, trade secrets, etc.),
* where third-party materials appear, you have necessary permissions/licenses,
* you do not include third-party personal information without a lawful basis,
* your Content does not contain unlawful materials and does not violate applicable law.
If Vanguard receives a credible complaint that Content violates rights or law (for example, infringement or plagiarism claims), Vanguard may:
* limit visibility or remove Content to reduce risk,
* request evidence of rights or permissions,
* forward the claim to the submitting User where permitted.
You are responsible for the consequences of unlawful or infringing Content and agree to cooperate in good-faith resolution. Where allowed by law, you agree to reimburse reasonable losses or costs incurred by Vanguard as a result of violations attributable to your Content.
Vanguard may remove or restrict Content where it:
* violates these Terms, event rules, or law,
* contains spam or fraud,
* creates credible safety, integrity, or harassment risks.
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An event is a configuration and ruleset defined by an Organizer: the format, theme/tasks, schedule, deadlines, evaluation criteria, judging panel, scoring logic (where applicable), and prizes (if any).
Vanguard provides the infrastructure: event pages, submission workflows, evaluation tools, rankings, notifications, access controls, and integrity measures.
Evaluation may include:
* scores by criteria,
* judge comments (mandatory or optional, depending on event rules),
* automated calculations (for example, summation or weighting) as a technical function.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, decisions regarding advancement, winners, and results are made by the Organizer and/or Judges under the event rules.
A duel is a structured competitive format between Participants where, depending on feature configuration:
* Participants may set a topic or conditions,
* Judges may be invited to evaluate,
* results are produced according to duel settings and/or the event rules (if the duel is part of an event).
Duels must not be used to promote unlawful activity, harassment, hate, violence, or humiliation.
Pathfinder records achievements, statuses, and access conditions such as:
* completion markers (“completed”, “finalist”, “winner”, “passed with distinction”),
* badges and progression requirements for next stages.
Organizers may configure which achievements are granted and which achievements are required for access to events or stages. This is part of the ecosystem navigation infrastructure, not a promise of employment, education, certification, or any external outcome.
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The Services provide digital infrastructure. Organizers are responsible for the content and operation of their events, including:
* event rules, tasks, criteria, prizes, and disclosures,
* judge actions and evaluation processes,
* lawful requirements imposed on Participants,
* handling event-level disputes within the event framework.
Vanguard is responsible for providing the Services as infrastructure and for operating the technical functions, but Vanguard does not guarantee:
* that an event will be “fair” by your personal standards,
* that you will advance or win,
* that an Organizer will deliver a prize or benefit (where the Organizer is responsible for it).
You are responsible for:
* the legality and rights-clearance of your Content,
* compliance with these Terms and event rules,
* meeting deadlines and requirements,
* your conduct and communications.
If your Content or actions cause claims against Vanguard or an Organizer, you agree to cooperate in resolution, and you may be responsible for resulting losses to the extent caused by your violation of these Terms or law.
The Services are provided “as is” and “as available” to the extent permitted by law. Vanguard makes no warranties that:
* the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free,
* events will meet specific expectations,
* third-party services (including messaging platforms, hosting, payment tools used by Organizers) will operate without issues.
Vanguard is not responsible for:
* actions or decisions of Organizers, Judges, or Participants,
* the meaning, quality, or legality of User Content,
* external links or third-party services and outages outside Vanguard’s reasonable control (Internet providers, platform dependencies, force majeure).
To the maximum extent permitted by law:
* Vanguard will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, goodwill, or data, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
* Vanguard’s total liability for claims related to use of the Services is limited to the amount you paid to Vanguard for paid Services in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim (or, if you paid nothing, CAD $100), unless applicable law requires otherwise.
This limitation does not apply to obligations expressly set out in a separate written enterprise agreement (for example, custom deployments, professional services, or specific SLAs).
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Vanguard, its directors, officers, employees, and contractors from and against third-party claims, damages, liabilities, and reasonable costs (including legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your Content, (b) your breach of these Terms or event rules, or (c) your unlawful use of the Services.
Vanguard will provide notice of such a claim where reasonably possible, and you will cooperate in good faith in the defense and resolution.
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For support requests, complaints, and notices related to the Services or these Terms, contact:
connect@vanguardnetwork.org (or the support form where available).
If you believe your rights are affected or you have a dispute related to the Services, we ask that you first contact us with:
* the relevant event/page links or IDs,
* a clear description of the issue,
* what outcome you are requesting,
* any supporting evidence (screenshots, messages, logs).
We will review and respond within a reasonable time.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the applicable laws of Canada, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
Subject to applicable law, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be brought in the courts located in Ontario, Canada, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
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Vanguard may send service-related messages necessary for normal operation of the Services, including:
* registration and sign-in verification,
* event application / round / result status updates,
* actions and changes within events and duels,
* security alerts (for example, suspicious sign-in activity),
* technical notices (maintenance, incidents, updates).
Service notifications may be delivered by email, within the Platform interface, and through Pathfinder (including via messaging channels) if you connected Pathfinder and enabled the relevant permissions.
Marketing or promotional messages are sent only with separate consent where required.
You can unsubscribe through notification settings (where available) or by contacting support.
Some notifications may be configurable by frequency, channel, and category.
Disabling certain notifications may cause you to miss important information (for example, deadlines). This is your responsibility.
Pathfinder helps with:
* onboarding into the ecosystem,
* navigation across events and trajectories,
* recording statuses, achievements, and access conditions,
* communications (notifications and, where enabled, structured dialogues/forms).
Pathfinder may operate through messaging platforms. By connecting Pathfinder, you understand that:
* the messaging platform’s own rules and policies also apply,
* certain data elements provided by the messaging platform through its APIs (for example, account ID, username, display name) may be exchanged as part of delivering Pathfinder functionality,
* you may disconnect Pathfinder through settings (where available) or by contacting support.
Pathfinder may interact with you through third-party messaging services (“Messaging Platforms”). By choosing and connecting a Messaging Platform, you acknowledge that:
* the Messaging Platform is a third-party service and operates under its own terms, policies, and jurisdictions,
* some identifiers and profile data made available via the Messaging Platform API (for example, ID, username, display name) may be processed through that platform’s infrastructure,
* if a Messaging Platform is operated in a foreign jurisdiction, your use of it may involve cross-border data transfers within the Messaging Platform’s own systems.
Details about Vanguard’s processing of personal information, including cross-border considerations, are described in the Privacy Policy.
To operate the Services and maintain security, Vanguard may use technical identifiers and data (including cookies, session tokens, event logs, IP address, and device/browser information) to support authentication, prevent abuse, and diagnose issues. Details are described in the Privacy Policy.
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Some parts of the Services may be paid, including:
(A) Platform features and plans (for Organizers and/or Users), such as:
* professional Organizer plans,
* enterprise configurations, customization, or expanded limits,
* premium profile or advanced ecosystem features (if enabled).
(B) Participation in a specific event — only if an Organizer sets a participation fee.
Vanguard provides event infrastructure, but does not sell participation on behalf of Organizers and does not accept event participation payments as an Organizer’s payment agent.
Pricing and paid feature terms are shown before purchase for Platform fees, and are provided by the Organizer before payment for event participation fees.
Where you purchase Platform features, payment and access rules are defined by the terms displayed before payment (and/or in the relevant order flow).
Vanguard may use third-party payment providers to accept Platform payments where enabled. Payment card details are processed by the payment provider, not stored by Vanguard (except as needed for transaction records and billing administration as described in the Privacy Policy).
Enterprise deployments, dedicated environments, custom integrations, professional services, or special SLAs are governed by a separate written agreement and are not part of the standard Platform plan terms unless explicitly stated.
Payment for paid Platform features grants you a limited right to access and use the paid functionality under the plan selected.
Access is considered provided when the paid functionality is activated and made available in your account/workspace.
You do not receive rights to source code, internal algorithms, architecture, or non-public methods beyond the ability to use the Services via the provided interfaces.
If an Organizer charges for event participation:
1. The Organizer receives the payment through the Organizer’s own payment method and/or payment provider.
2. Vanguard is not a party to the payment relationship between Organizer and Participant and is not a payment agent for event participation fees.
3. The Organizer is solely responsible for:
* payment setup and compliance,
* disclosures of price and refund terms before payment,
* handling payment disputes, cancellations, refunds, and chargebacks,
* issuing receipts/tax documents where required.
Vanguard may provide technical fields, links, or informational modules to display payment terms, but does not process event participation funds where the Organizer collects payment outside the Services.
Because Organizers may accept participation payments outside the Services, Vanguard may respond to credible complaints or risk signals (fraud, deception, unlawful fundraising, refusal to refund contrary to disclosed terms, mass complaints, or similar).
In such cases, Vanguard may:
* pause publication or operation of an event, or restrict Organizer functionality,
* request reasonable information from the Organizer (for example, payment pages, disclosed refund terms, proof of refunds where applicable),
* require clearer disclosures or corrective actions,
* notify relevant authorities where required by law.
Failure to provide requested information or material violations may result in suspension or termination of Organizer access.
(A) Refunds for Platform fees
Refund eligibility depends on the type of paid feature, whether access has been provided, and applicable law. Where access has been activated and the paid functionality used, refunds may be limited unless law requires otherwise.
(B) Refunds for paid event participation
Refunds and payment disputes for participation fees are handled by the Organizer under the Organizer’s disclosed terms and applicable law. Vanguard does not issue refunds for event participation fees where Vanguard did not receive the payment.
(C) Enterprise / professional services
Refunds, milestones, and payment terms are governed by the separate written agreement.
Vanguard may change prices and terms for Platform paid features. For prepaid periods, the paid terms typically remain in effect until the end of the paid period unless otherwise disclosed or required by law.
Organizers may change participation fees and refund terms only in compliance with applicable law and only where updated terms are clearly disclosed to Participants before payment (and/or as permitted by the event rules).
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To avoid conflicts about “which rules apply”, the Services follow a defined priority order:
1. These Terms of Service — apply to everyone and have the highest priority.
2. Privacy Policy — applies to all Users and prevails for personal information handling.
3. Universal Event Operations Framework — applies to events by default and sets baseline conduct, integrity, judging ethics, complaint handling, and anti-abuse rules.
4. Specific Event Rules — published by an Organizer for a particular event (theme, deadlines, criteria, prizes, content licensing, public/private settings, additional conditions).
* These Terms prevail.
* The Privacy Policy prevails for personal information matters.
* The Universal Event Operations Framework prevails over specific event rules, except where:
* the Framework explicitly permits Organizer customization for certain clauses, and
* the Organizer clearly identifies what is being modified, and
* the modification does not conflict with these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or applicable law.
In some cases (for example, enterprise or corporate events), an Organizer may use its own event framework. If so, it must be published as part of the event rules and applies to Participants instead of the Universal Event Operations Framework to the extent it does not conflict with these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or applicable law.
Vanguard may refuse to publish or may suspend an event where event rules create material legal, safety, or reputational risk.
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Vanguard may update these Terms to reflect changes in functionality, legal requirements, or operational processes.
A new version becomes effective upon publication in the Services (or on the effective date stated in the updated Terms).
If changes are material and affect your rights or obligations, we may provide notice through the Services, email, and/or Pathfinder (where connected). We may also require re-acceptance upon your next sign-in.
The current version of the Terms will always be available through the Services.
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Neither party will be liable for failure or delay in performance to the extent caused by events outside that party’s reasonable control, including (without limitation): natural disasters, fires, major infrastructure outages, widespread power or network failures, governmental actions, war, civil unrest, epidemics/pandemics, or similar events (“Force Majeure”).
Where reasonably possible, the affected party will provide notice through available communication channels. Obligations are suspended for the duration of the Force Majeure event, and timelines will be extended accordingly.
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.
You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without Vanguard’s prior written consent. Vanguard may assign these Terms as part of a corporate reorganization, merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or as otherwise permitted by law.
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These Terms are a user agreement governing access to and use of the Services offered by Vanguard.
You agree to these Terms when you:
* create an account,
* click “I agree” (where presented),
* use the Services (including participating in events, submitting Content, judging, or managing events), or
* connect Pathfinder and continue using it after being shown these Terms (or a link to them).
If you do not agree, do not use the Services and do not connect Pathfinder.
These Terms apply from the moment of acceptance and remain in effect until your account is deleted, you stop using the Services, or Vanguard terminates access under these Terms.
For paid features, access duration is defined by the paid period and the applicable plan terms.
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Service Operator: Vanguard Creative Platforms Inc.
Incorporation: Federal corporation under the laws of Canada
Head Office: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Primary domain: vanguardnetwork.org
Contact (support and legal notices): connect@vanguardnetwork.org
Vanguard may use the email address you provide in your account (and/or the contact channels connected via Pathfinder, where enabled) to send service notices and other communications described in these Terms.
