Terms and Conditions for World Athletics Championship Prediciton Contest

Terms and Conditions

By participating in our 2025 World Athletics Championship Prediction Contest, you agree to these terms and Conditions.

Everything in these terms and conditions applies to both this website, “The Oval Update” and the owner, “Dachshund Media Network.” 

1. Eligibility

  • The Contest is open to individuals aged 18 or older.

  • Employees, contractors, and immediate family members of the Dachshund Media Network are not eligible for the prize for first place ($100 US Amazon gift card), but may still enter the contest. If a person in one of these categories wins, the prize will go to the highest eligible finisher. 

2. Contest Period

  • The Contest begins on September 5, 2025 (3:00am CET), and ends on September 13, 2025, at 8:00 am in Tokyo (1:00am CET). 

  • All predictions must be submitted before the specified deadlines. Late entries will not be accepted.

3. How to Participate

  • Participants must submit predictions through the Google Form on our contest page

  • Each participant may submit only one form per person. If we receive multiple forms from the same person, we will select one at random to evaluate. We maintain the right to ban an individual from this or future contests for breaking this or any other of our terms. 

4. Determination of Winners

  • Winners will be determined based on their total number of points, evaluated in the following way for each of their picks:
    • 1st place: 10pts
    • 2nd place: 5pts
    • 3rd place: 2pts
    • No start/withdrawal: 0pts
    • 4th or 5th place: -1pts
    • 6th–8th place: -3pts
    • 9th or lower: -8pts
  • We will consider an athlete a “no start” if they don’t appear in the event at the 2025 World Athletic Championship. We will consider them a “withdrawal” if they advance in a qualifying round but don’t compete in the next round despite qualifying. 
  • If a “write-in” answer is included, we reserve the right to omit it from scoring if it’s spelled incorrectly or ambiguous (i.e. could be two athletes). We will include it if we can intuitively decipher the answer.) 
  • In the event of a tie, we will default to the tie-breaker question, “Who will have the top performance of the competition and how many points will they earn based on 2025 scoring tables?”
  • Only one prize will be awarded. In the case two people are tied in points, we’ll consider the following in this order: 1. Picking the individual with the highest scoring result in the competition 2. Being closest in the number of points for the top-scoring performance. 3. A random decision using a random number generator

5. Prizes

  • Prizes, if any, are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or other alternatives.

  • The Dachshund Media Network reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

  • The winner will receive a $100 US Amazon gift card or equivalent in another currency. It will be sent within 30 days of getting in contact with the winner. 
  • The winner will have the option to choose which country they want their card delivered to.
  • Gift cards are only redeemable in the country they’re issued for. The stores available include:

  • The winner will receive an Amazon digital gift card valued at $50 US or the equivalent in local currency. We can only issue gift cards to the following Amazon stores: 

    • Australia
    • Belgium
    • Canada
    • China
    • Egypt
    • France
    • Germany
    • India
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Mexico
    • Netherlands
    • Poland
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Singapore
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Turkey
    • United Arab Emirates
    • United Kingdom
    • United States

6. No Guarantee

  • The Contest is based on predictions of athletic events and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

  • The Dachshund Media Network makes no guarantee regarding the accuracy of event outcomes or predictions.

  • We maintain the right to use our best judgment to amend any mistakes or typos we may make in terms of determining the winner.  

7. Limitation of Liability

By participating in the Contest, you agree that:

  • The Contest is conducted “as is,” without any warranties of any kind, express or implied.

  • The Dacshund Media Network, its affiliates, partners, and employees are not responsible for any losses, damages, or injuries of any kind arising from participation in the Contest, including but not limited to:

    • Errors in prediction scoring

    • Technical failures

    • Incorrect or inaccurate information

    • Any consequences arising from the contest results

    • Any consequence of participation i.e. in the case of athletes who may have a contract the prohibits them from participating

  • You release, indemnify, and hold harmless The Dachshund Media Network from any claims, damages, or legal actions arising from your participation.

8. Personal Data

  • Any personal information collected will be used solely for the purpose of administering the Contest and will be handled in accordance with The Oval Update Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual Property

  • Participants retain ownership of their submitted predictions.

  • By submitting, you grant The Dachshund Media Network a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use your submission for Contest-related purposes such as creating posts for our social media accounts or marketing future contests. 

11. Announcement of Winner

  • We will announce the winner on Instagram through our stories and possibly other social media accounts. 
  • We will make at least three attempts to get in contact with the winner based on the contact information they provided to us on the Google form. If we can’t get in contact with them, we will award the prize to the next eligible finisher, at our discretion. 

12. Complaints

  • Complaints can be sent to the contact form on The Oval Update website, which will be forwarded to our email. 
  • We will consider these complaints and resolve them at our discretion. 

13. General

  • The Dachshund Media Network reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel this contest at any time. We also have the right to prohibit the any individual participation for any reason, which can include suspected illegal activity, breaking any of these terms and conditions, or fraud

  • These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Estonia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

  • If any provision is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.

By participating in this Contest, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.