The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge is presented by NASA (”Sponsor”, we”, “us”).

All members of your team must meet the eligibility criteria contained in this Participation Agreement. If any member of your team is ineligible or otherwise fails to comply with this Participation Agreement, the team as a whole may be disqualified at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Each team is solely responsible for its own cooperation and teamwork. The Sponsor will not officiate any dispute among members regarding their conduct, participation, cooperation, contribution, prize sharing, or intellectual property.  Your team’s materials submitted in connection with the Challenge will be referred to herein as your team’s “submission.”

THIS CHALLENGE IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CHALLENGE, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

A panel of judges will evaluate and score each submission against the judging criteria as outlined on the Challenge website. Challenge Sponsor will determine, in its sole discretion, which Submissions best addresses the Challenge with consideration to geographic distribution and programmatic need. Challenge Sponsor has absolute and sole discretion to determine whether to accept any Submission, and whether to make an Award, multiple Awards or any Award. The decision of the Sponsor is final.

Judges are subject to change at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. A judge may elect to recuse him or herself from evaluating a submission, or the Sponsor may require a judge to recuse him or herself from evaluating a submission, if, at the judge’s or the Sponsor’s discretion, it would not be appropriate for the judge to evaluate a participant’s submission because of a past or current relationship with the participant. Recusal decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

Potential winners will be announced after the judging. The Sponsor may take any actions necessary to verify a team’s compliance with this Participation Agreement before awarding a Prize. By agreeing to this Participation Agreement, the participant understands and acknowledges that even though a team may be announced as a winner if the team’s compliance with this Participation Agreement cannot be verified to the satisfaction of the Sponsor, the Sponsor will select an alternate winner with the next highest score based on the same judging criteria.

Prizes are awarded based on combined judge scores from each round of judging.

All Prize details will be determined by the Sponsor at  its sole discretion. All taxes and other expenses, costs, or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of any Prize are the sole responsibility of the winners. Prizes cannot be transferred or substituted by the winner. The Sponsor will furnish the appropriate tax forms to winners for the approximate retail value of the Prize for the tax year in which the Prize was won. If a Prize is unclaimed within a reasonable time after notification from the Sponsor, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, it will be forfeited, and time permitting, an alternate winner may be selected from the remaining eligible entries at the Sponsor’s sole discretion with consideration to geographic distribution and programmatic need.

Your submission must–

Your team’s submission may be disqualified if the Sponsor has reason to believe, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, that your submission (a) contains any element that is malicious, corrupt, damaged, incomplete, inappropriate, or offensive; (b) violates the terms of use of any social media service, website, mobile application or any other platform used in connection with your submission; (c) infringes any third party intellectual property rights; (d) violates any applicable law or (e) violates or does not comply with any section of this Participation Agreement.

You and/or your entire team may be disqualified for any of the following actions, with or without warning, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion: (i) verbal abuse of another participant or Challenge staff, (ii) inappropriate touching or harming of another participant or Challenge staff, (iii) breach of the Challenge Participant Agreement or any other agreement entered into in connection with the Challenge, (iv) violation of or non-compliance with any section of this Participation Agreement, or (v) violating the spirit of the Challenge. If the Sponsor has reason to believe that you or your team has compromised the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Challenge, including, without limitation, by cheating, hacking, creating a malicious bot or other automated program, or by committing fraud in any way, your team will be disqualified and asked to leave the Challenge. If during the Challenge, any Challenge staff has reason to believe that your health is in danger, you may be required to discontinue your participation in the Challenge and asked to seek immediate medical assistance. Your teammates, if any, may continue participating in the Challenge if they so choose.

All disqualification decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge is dedicated to providing an uplifting experience for everyone who participates in or supports our community. Because we value the safety and security of our members and strive to create an inclusive community, we do not tolerate harassment of members or Challenge participants in any form. This Code of Conduct was created to clearly define what we mean by a harassment-free experience so that our community and those who support it are clear about our intent and have access to procedures for addressing issues, should they arise.

The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge values the safety and security of all of our members, and, because of that, we will not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination whether an challenge is in-person or online. Our goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for our members, where every individual feels valued and able to contribute without the fear of physical, emotional, or psychological harm, and to this end, we have taken the following actions:

The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge is committed to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or socioeconomic status. We do not tolerate harassment of Challenge participants in any form. Challenge participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled permanently at the discretion of the Challenge organizers. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the Challenge organizers may take any action they deem appropriate., including warning the offender or expulsion from the challenge with no refund (if applicable).

We expect participants to follow these rules at Challenge and workshop venues (or online spaces for virtual challenges) and challenge-related social events.

Forms of harassment include sexual language and imagery, sexist, racist, and exclusionary jokes, and acts that insult or belittle other Challenge attendees in any way. These are unacceptable at any and all Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge. Other forms of harassment and discriminatory behavior include, but are not limited to: offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status; sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; unwarranted photography or recording; sustained disruption of Challenge programming; inappropriate physical contact; all forms of cyberbullying; and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to immediately comply and may be removed from the Challenge without warning by any Challenge staff. Participants are expected to comply with this Code of Conduct at all Challenge venues.

If you experience or notice harassment, discrimination, or any of the unacceptable behaviors outlined herein at a Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge, or have any other concerns, please report the incident as soon as possible. To report an incident, take one of the following actions: inform the Challenge organizer on site; inform another organizer in your network; report the incident to NASA MSI INCUBATOR by emailing info@nasa-climate-tech.org. We recognize that there may be instances where reporting misconduct may be difficult. If you wish to remain anonymous, you may keep your name off of email correspondence. If you choose to share your name, it will only be seen by Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge staff involved in resolving the issue. The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge staff will take all appropriate actions to mitigate and address risk factors moving forward and continue to provide a safe and secure environment- whether in-person or online- for all Challenge participants. The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge leadership is more than willing to assist attendees in contacting venue security, and local law enforcement, or otherwise aid those experiencing harassment so that they feel safe for the duration of the challenge. The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge staff are committed to providing the resources and assistance to support affected attendees and ensure incidences of harassment and discrimination are properly addressed.

The Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge recognizes the need to consistently listen to and learn from the surrounding community and therefore will conduct a periodic review of this Code of Conduct and its components to ensure it remains updated, relevant, and applicable.