Packathon 2024: Official Rules

Contest Rules

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. WINNERS WILL BE SELECTED BY A JUDGING COMMITTEE BASED ON THE MERIT OF THE SUBMISSION, THE ELIGIBILITY OF THE SUBMISSION, AND THE JUDGING COMMITTEE'S SOLE DISCRETION. ALL JUDGING COMMITTEE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING, AND PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL AGREEMENT TO AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE JUDGING COMMITTEE'S FINAL DECISIONS. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

      1. Eligibility

    Packathon: A Hydrogen Hackathon for Shopify developers and UX designers (the "Contest") is open to legal residents of or companies incorporated in the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry (the "Participants"). Employees of Pack Digital are not eligible for any cash prize, and employees of Amazon Buy with Prime are not eligible for the cash Amazon Buy-with-Prime prize. Employees of either Pack Digital or Amazon Buy with Prime may choose to assist teams during the coding/development phase, and employees may choose to submit projects that are eligible to win a category prize title. In the case of a Pack employee winning a category prize title, Pack may choose to award an alternate, internal prize or award, at the sponsor company's discretion. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

      2. Sponsor

    The Contest is sponsored by Pack Digital, located at 101 West Broadway Suite 1270, San Diego, California 92101.

      3. Agreement to Official Rules

    Participation in the Contest constitutes the Participant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.

      4. Contest Period

    The Contest begins on July 12, 2024 at 9:00 am PT and ends on July 22, 2024 at 11:59pm PT (the "Contest Period").  Entries that are submitted before or after the Contest Period may be disqualified.

Submissions will be accepted for the duration of the Contest using any of the following methods:

Online

      5. How to Enter

Online: This method of entry will be available by visiting our website (https://packdigital.com/articles/packathon-2024)) and following the directions provided to fill out the entry information, and submit.

Teams can consist of 1-5 participants. A team can submit only one entry for the hackathon. Participation at the hackathon is subjected on a “per-team” basis, meaning you are not allowed to be on more than one team at the event.

Any intellectual property developed during and within the scope of the hackathon must be open source.

      6. Code of conduct

Pack is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, previous hackathon attendance or computing experience (or lack of any of the aforementioned). We do not tolerate harassment of Packathon Participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for the hackathon in any form, including social media and other online media. Hackathon Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon at the discretion of the hackathon organizers.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, photography or audio/video recording against reasonable consent, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. 

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. As this is a hackathon, we like to explicitly note that the hacks created at our hackathon are equally subject to the anti-harassment policy. Sponsors and partners are also subject to the anti-harassment policy.  If a Participant engages in harassing behavior, the hackathon organizers may take any action they deem appropriate. This includes warning the offender, expulsion from the hackathon, or reporting their behavior to local law enforcement. 

      7. Contest Guidelines and Winner selection

In the case of all prizes except the Buy with Prime prize, winners will be selected by a Pack judging committee, which will assemble on or about July 26th, 2024. The judging committee will identify the best overall project, best use of Hydrogen, best use of Pack, most promising shopping innovation, most technically impressive project, as well as the most fun / best Easter egg prizes among the eligible submissions. Decisions are based on the merit of the submission and the judges' discretion—there is no element of random chance in this competition. Decisions by the judging committee are final and binding, and Participants agree to full and unconditional acceptance of the judging committee's final selections.

In the case of the Buy with Prime prize, entries will first be vetted by the Pack judging committee, and top submissions will be passed over to a small judging committee comprised of Buy with Prime employees. Decisions by the Buy with Prime judging committee and Pack judging committee are final and binding at all stages of the competition, and Participants agree to full and unconditional acceptance of Pack's and the Buy with Prime judging committee's final selections.

All projects must make use of Shopify Hydrogen in some form to be considered valid submissions. Teams may be eligible to win multiple prize categories.

The Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winning team via email on or about July 26, 2024. If the potential winning team members cannot be contacted within five (5) days after the date of the first attempt to contact him/her, the Sponsor may choose to select an alternate potential winner in his/her place based on submission eligibility, merit and the judging committe's discretion. Decisions by the judging committee are final and binding, and Participants agree to full and unconditional acceptance of the judging committee's final selections.

      8. Winner Notification

    The potential winners will be notified by email.  Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to an alternate winner by selecting another eligible submission based on its merit and the judging committee's discretion. Only one alternate evaluation will be held, after which the prize will remain un-awarded. Prizes will be fulfilled approximately 2-10 weeks after the conclusion of the Contest. The recipient of the winnings is solely responsible for paying taxes on winnings, and equally distributing the prize money among team members. Pack does not accept any responsibility for the equal distribution of prize money or paying of taxes once winnings have been distributed to the designated recipient.

      9. Prizes

    Grand prize: Best overall (1): $2k cash

    Best use of Hydrogen (1): $1k cash

    Best use of Pack (1): $1k cash

    Amazon Buy-with-Prime sponsor prize (1): $1k cash

    Most promising shopping innovation (1): $500 cash

    Most fun (1): $250 cash

    Most technically impressive (1): $500 cash

      10. General Conditions

    In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, bug, worm, unauthorized human intervention or other technical problem, or in the event the Contest is unable to run as planned for any other reason, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules or (b) terminate the Contest and, in the event of termination, award the prize from among the eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to damage the website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages (including attorney's fees) and any other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

      11. Release and Limitations of Liability

    By participating in the Contest, Participants agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, other companies or sponsors associated with the Contest, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives, and agents (the Released Parties) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto), including, but not limited to: (a) any technical errors associated with the Contest, including lost, interrupted or unavailable Internet Service Provider (ISP), network, server, wireless service provider, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cellular tower or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (c) mechanical, network, electronic, computer, human, printing or typographical errors; (d) application downloads, (e) any other errors or problems in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors that may occur in the administration of the Contest, the announcement of the winner, the cancellation or postponement of the event and/or the flyover, if applicable, the incorrect downloading of the application, the processing of entries application downloads or in any Contest-related materials; or (f) injury, death, losses or damages of any kind, to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Participants participation in the Contest or acceptance, receipt or misuse of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto). Participant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Participant be entitled to receive attorney's fees. Released Parties are 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 Contest. Participant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

      12. Disputes

    Except where prohibited, each Participant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in California. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, Participants rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of California, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than California.

      13. Privacy

    Information collected from Participants is subject to sponsor's privacy policy. The sponsor reserves the right to annouce winning teams on social media and to display project submissions publically on its website / in its ongoing marketing materials.