Effective Date: 01/01/2026
Last Updated: 09/05/2026
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the websites, systems, services, programs, applications, resources, training materials, registries, technology platforms, and other offerings provided by the Open Competition Alliance (“OCA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
By accessing or using an OCA website, creating an account, registering for an OCA ID, applying for a credential, submitting an event for sanctioning, participating in an OCA program, using OCA competition-management tools, completing OCA training, or otherwise using an OCA service, you agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you should not use the applicable OCA service.
1. About the Open Competition Alliance
The Open Competition Alliance develops and administers systems intended to support fair, transparent, accessible, and well-organized competition across a wide variety of disciplines.
OCA activities may include, among other things, event sanctioning, participant registration, membership and identification systems, credentialing of officials, training and educational programs, competition administration tools, scoring and results systems, rules and model-rule resources, disciplinary and protest procedures, safeguarding programs, and maintenance of competition-related records and registries.
OCA does not necessarily own, operate, control, or directly manage every competition, league, organization, club, promoter, venue, or activity that uses OCA services or standards.
2. Eligibility and Accounts
Some OCA services may require you to create an account, obtain an OCA identification number, or provide registration information.
You agree to provide information that is accurate and reasonably complete and to keep information associated with your account current when necessary.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for activity conducted through your account. You should notify OCA promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.
OCA may establish eligibility requirements for particular services, credentials, programs, competitions, or account types.
Where a user is a minor, participation in certain services may require authorization, consent, or involvement from a parent or legal guardian.
3. OCA Identification Numbers and Registry Records
OCA may issue individuals or organizations unique identification numbers for use within OCA systems.
An OCA ID is an administrative identifier. Possession of an OCA ID alone does not imply endorsement, credentialing, certification, competitive qualification, or good standing unless expressly stated.
OCA may maintain registry records relating to participation, credentials, competition results, disciplinary status, training completion, sanctions, or other activities administered through OCA systems.
Registry records may be corrected, amended, suspended, annotated, or removed where appropriate to address errors, appeals, disciplinary matters, administrative changes, or other legitimate concerns.
4. Event Sanctioning
OCA sanctioning indicates that an event has been accepted under the applicable OCA sanctioning framework based on the information submitted to OCA and any applicable requirements in effect at the time.
Sanctioning does not mean that OCA owns, operates, supervises, guarantees, or assumes responsibility for every aspect of the sanctioned event.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, event organizers remain responsible for matters including venue operations, staffing, participant safety, compliance with applicable law, insurance, financial obligations, equipment, local rules, emergency procedures, and conduct of the event.
Event organizers must provide accurate information during the sanctioning process and must notify OCA of material changes when required by applicable OCA policies.
OCA may deny, condition, suspend, withdraw, or revoke sanctioning where an event fails to comply with OCA requirements or where OCA reasonably determines that continued sanctioning would be inappropriate.
5. Competition Rules, Scoring, and Results
Competitions using OCA systems may operate under OCA rules, discipline-specific rules, organizer-created rules, third-party rules, or combinations of these.
The applicable competition documents, rules, entry materials, or event notices determine the rules governing a particular event.
OCA may publish Model Rules & Scoring materials or similar resources as examples, templates, or recommended frameworks. Unless expressly adopted for a particular competition, those materials do not automatically govern an event.
Competition results may be calculated from data submitted by judges, officials, organizers, scorekeepers, competitors, or connected competition systems. Although OCA may provide tools intended to support accurate scoring and tabulation, responsibility for reviewing and certifying event results may remain with the applicable event officials or organizers.
OCA may correct administrative, clerical, technical, or calculation errors when authorized under applicable rules or policies.
6. Officials, Adjudicators, and Credentials
OCA may issue credentials, certifications, qualifications, endorsements, training records, or other professional designations.
Credential requirements may include training, experience, nomination, application, assessment, safeguarding requirements, continuing education, or other criteria established by OCA.
A credential reflects the holder’s status under OCA requirements at a particular point in time. It does not guarantee employment, event appointments, compensation, or acceptance by any particular third party.
OCA credentials may expire, be limited in scope, be subject to conditions, or be suspended or revoked in accordance with applicable OCA policies.
Completion of an OCA course or training program does not itself constitute credential approval unless OCA expressly states otherwise.
7. Training and Educational Materials
OCA may provide courses, educational programs, guidance documents, manuals, templates, examples, videos, assessments, and similar resources.
These resources are provided for educational and administrative purposes. They are not legal, medical, financial, or other regulated professional advice.
Certificates of course completion indicate that the applicable training requirements were completed. A course certificate does not necessarily constitute an OCA professional credential.
OCA may revise training materials, requirements, assessments, or certification standards as programs develop.
8. Safeguarding and Conduct
Users of OCA services may be required to comply with OCA safeguarding, ethics, conduct, anti-harassment, nondiscrimination, disciplinary, or similar policies.
Participation in an OCA-sanctioned event, credentialing program, training program, or other OCA activity may be conditioned on compliance with those policies.
OCA may investigate or review alleged violations where authorized by OCA policy. Available actions may include warnings, restrictions, suspension, revocation of credentials, loss of eligibility, removal from OCA systems, referral to event organizers, or other appropriate measures.
Nothing in OCA’s internal processes prevents any person from contacting law enforcement, emergency services, regulatory authorities, safeguarding agencies, or other appropriate authorities where circumstances warrant.
9. Competition Management Technology
OCA may provide software, plugins, scoring systems, judging interfaces, scheduling systems, result-management tools, scoreboards, league-management tools, or other technology.
These systems are intended to assist organizers and officials but do not eliminate the need for appropriate human oversight.
Users are responsible for reviewing competition configurations, entry lists, rules, scoring settings, advancement procedures, calculations, and certified results before relying on them.
Software may occasionally contain errors, interruptions, compatibility problems, incomplete functionality, or unexpected behavior. Users should maintain appropriate records and backups for important competition information.
OCA may modify, update, discontinue, replace, or restrict access to technology features at any time.
10. User Submissions
You may be permitted to submit applications, forms, competition data, scores, results, reports, complaints, protests, nominations, documents, comments, or other information to OCA.
You remain responsible for the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of materials you submit.
By submitting information to OCA, you grant OCA the rights reasonably necessary to receive, store, process, review, reproduce, transmit, display, or otherwise use that information for the purpose for which it was submitted and for legitimate OCA administrative purposes.
You may not knowingly submit false, fraudulent, unlawful, defamatory, malicious, infringing, or intentionally misleading material.
11. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise stated, OCA websites, branding, logos, written materials, forms, training content, software, databases, graphics, templates, documentation, and other original materials are owned by or licensed to the Open Competition Alliance and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.
You may use publicly available OCA materials for their intended personal, educational, competitive, or organizational purposes, subject to any additional licensing terms that accompany those materials.
You may not falsely represent yourself or another organization as OCA, create confusingly similar branding, remove ownership notices, or commercially redistribute protected OCA materials except where expressly permitted.
Organizations sanctioned by or affiliated with OCA may receive limited permission to display OCA marks in accordance with applicable branding or sanctioning guidelines.
12. Third-Party Services
OCA services may integrate with or link to third-party platforms, plugins, payment processors, learning systems, hosting providers, email services, competition venues, or other outside resources.
OCA does not control every third-party service and is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or performance of services operated by third parties.
Your use of a third-party service may also be governed by that provider’s own terms and policies.
13. Fees and Payments
Certain OCA services may require payment of registration fees, sanctioning fees, credentialing fees, course fees, membership fees, or other charges.
Applicable fees, payment terms, and refund conditions will be disclosed through the relevant service, application, invoice, or policy.
Unless otherwise stated, fees paid to an event organizer or other third party are governed by that party’s own refund and payment policies.
14. Privacy
OCA’s collection and use of personal information is governed by the OCA Privacy Policy and any additional privacy notices provided in connection with particular services.
By using OCA services, you acknowledge that information may be processed as necessary to administer accounts, competitions, credentials, training programs, registries, safeguarding systems, sanctions, and related activities.
Some OCA information, such as credential status, official qualifications, competition results, event sanctions, rankings, or registry records, may be made publicly accessible where appropriate to the purpose of the applicable program.
15. Prohibited Uses
You may not use OCA services to:
- violate applicable law or another person’s rights;
- gain unauthorized access to accounts, systems, databases, or restricted information;
- interfere with or disrupt OCA services;
- knowingly submit false or fraudulent records;
- manipulate competition scoring, eligibility, rankings, credentials, or results;
- impersonate another person or organization;
- distribute malware or harmful code;
- scrape, copy, or extract OCA systems or databases in a manner that is unauthorized or materially disruptive;
- harass, threaten, abuse, or exploit another participant; or
- use OCA services in a manner inconsistent with applicable safeguarding, conduct, competition, or disciplinary policies.
16. Suspension or Termination of Access
OCA may suspend, restrict, or terminate access to an account or service where reasonably necessary to protect OCA systems, users, competition integrity, safeguarding interests, intellectual property, or compliance with applicable policies or law.
Where appropriate, separate appeal, protest, disciplinary, credentialing, or review procedures may apply.
Termination of access to an OCA website account does not necessarily erase historical competition, credential, sanctioning, disciplinary, or registry records where OCA has a legitimate reason to retain them.
17. Availability of Services
OCA strives to maintain reliable services but does not guarantee that any website, system, course, registry, software tool, or other service will always be available, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
Services may be temporarily unavailable because of maintenance, technical problems, hosting interruptions, third-party systems, security concerns, or circumstances outside OCA’s reasonable control.
OCA may change or discontinue services, features, programs, or materials when necessary.
18. Disclaimer of Warranties
To the fullest extent permitted by law, OCA services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
OCA makes no guarantee that use of its services will produce any particular competitive, professional, financial, educational, credentialing, or organizational outcome.
OCA does not guarantee that every competition, organizer, official, venue, participant, or third-party service associated with an OCA activity will perform without error or comply with every applicable requirement.
19. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, OCA and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, representatives, and affiliates will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or related to use of OCA services.
OCA is not responsible for injuries, property damage, financial losses, travel expenses, event cancellations, competition outcomes, organizer conduct, participant conduct, or other losses arising from activities operated by independent event organizers or third parties, except to the extent liability cannot lawfully be excluded.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
20. Indemnification
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless OCA and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, representatives, and affiliates from claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and reasonable expenses arising from your unlawful use of OCA services, your violation of these Terms, or material you submit to OCA.
This provision does not apply where prohibited by law.
21. Additional Policies
Certain OCA activities may be governed by additional policies, rules, agreements, procedures, or terms.
These may include, for example:
- Privacy Policy;
- Safeguarding Policy;
- Code of Conduct or Ethics policies;
- sanctioning requirements;
- competition rules and scoring procedures;
- protest and appeal procedures;
- disciplinary policies;
- credentialing standards;
- training requirements;
- software or technology-specific terms; and
- event-specific conditions.
Where a more specific OCA policy applies to a particular matter, that policy will generally govern that matter to the extent of any conflict with these general Terms.
22. Changes to These Terms
OCA may revise these Terms as its programs, technology, legal obligations, and services develop.
When these Terms are materially updated, OCA will update the “Last Updated” date above and may provide additional notice where appropriate.
Your continued use of OCA services after revised Terms become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms to the extent permitted by law.
23. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.
24. No Waiver
Failure by OCA to enforce a provision of these Terms in one circumstance does not waive OCA’s right to enforce that provision or another provision in the future.
25. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [INSERT STATE], without regard to its conflict-of-law principles, except where applicable law requires otherwise.
Any dispute regarding these Terms will be handled in the courts or other appropriate forums having jurisdiction under applicable law, unless another OCA agreement or policy provides a different lawful dispute-resolution procedure.
26. Contact
Questions regarding these Terms & Conditions may be submitted through the contact information provided on the OCA website.
Open Competition Alliance
30 North Gould Street
Suite R
Sheridan, WY 82801
USA