Competition Terms & Conditions

This document sets out the terms and conditions for the Woolmark Performance Challenge (‘Competition’). This document and the Student Terms Summary form the complete terms and conditions for this Competition (‘Competition Terms’).

The Student Terms Summary is an overview only and participants should read and understand the complete Competition Terms before participating in the Competition. To the extent of any inconsistency between the two documents, this document will take precedence.

THE WOOLMARK PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE, TERMS AND CONDITIONS

OVERVIEW

1. The Competition is conducted by Woolmark International Pty Limited (Company No. 6378199) (acting for and on behalf of its related entities) (‘Promoter’), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation Limited (‘AWI’) (ABN 12 095 165 558). The Promoter’s registered office is New Wing, Somerset House, The Strand, London WC2R 1LA, England. Any rights of the Promoter are extended to its affiliates.
2. The Competition seeks to identify and reward an innovative and outstanding contribution to the wool industry by eligible students  ('Students') who are enrolled at Eligible Institutions within the definition of section 6 of the Student Terms Summary.
3. Registration by Students and Institutions for the Competition ('Registration') and submission of an entry ('Entry') is free of charge and must be in accordance with the Competition Terms. By Registering, Students and Institutions agree to be bound by the Competition Terms. Any Registration or Entry that is not in accordance with the Competition Terms will not be valid and will not considered.
4. Students may only complete Registration and submit an Entry if their relevant Institution has itself validly completed Registration in its own right.
5. In this Agreement, unless contexts require otherwise, 'Intellectual Property Rights' means all intellectual property rights, registered or unregistered, including the following rights:
1. patents, copyright, registered designs, trademarks, know-how, inventions and the right to have confidential information kept confidential; and
2. any application or right to apply for registration of any of the rights referred to in paragraph (a).

STUDENT OBLIGATIONS

6. To participate in the Competition, Students must register in accordance with section 2 of the Student Terms Summary and submit an Entry in accordance with section 3 of the Student Terms Summary.
7. Entries must not include inappropriate language or material, gratuitous violence, sexual references or statements or material that, in the Promoter’s opinion, promote hatred towards an individual, race, or community or which are offensive, illegal, inflammatory, obscene, unsuitable for minors, abusive, indecent, threatening, or otherwise unlawful.
8. By submitting an Entry, each Student warrants that:
1. all details provided with the Student's Entry are true and accurate;
2. the Student's Entry, and the Innovation submitted as part of that Entry, is wholly comprised of original work, created and owned by the Student, and has not previously been communicated to the public;
3. the Inspiration includes all ideas and materials that inspired the Innovation;
4. the Student's Entry does not contain commercial words, art, photographs or images;
5. the Student's Entry does not contain any identifiable existing product or existing product logo;
6. the Student has all necessary rights and licenses to grant the rights set out in these Competition Terms;
7. the exercise of the rights granted to the Promoter in these Competition Terms will not infringe the rights of any third parties; and
8. the Student will indemnify the Promoter against any loss of damage resulting from any breach of these warranties.
9. In the event of any non-compliance with clauses 6 to 8, the Promoter may, in its discretion, determine that the Student's Entry is not valid and have it be excluded from the Competition. The Promoter reserves its rights to seek damages and enforce the indemnity provided under those clauses.

COMPETITION FINALISTS, CASH PRIZE WINNER, INTERNSHIP WINNER AND PRIZE(S)

10. Finalists will be determined by a Competition judging panel consisting of representatives of the Promoter and Corporate Partners.
11. During the initial judging, a minimum of six (6) finalists ('Finalists') will be chosen by the Competition judging panel.
12. All Students must agree to these Competition Terms at the time of registration to be eligible to receive the Prizes. To receive the Research Bursary Award, the Winners must agree to additional terms concerning the exclusive use of the Award received.
13. The Finalists will be invited to participate in the ‘Final Judging’ being the event/process in which they will present their Entry to the Judges held at a location (physically in-person or online) to be advised by the Promoter. In the event of an in-person Final Judging, the costs of return flights and accommodation to attend the Final Judging will be booked and paid for by the Promoter. All other costs will be the sole responsibility of each of the Finalists. In circumstances where a Finalist cannot attend an in-person Final Judging, the Finalist may record a video interview in which the Finalist will answer a list of questions provided by the Promoter relating to their Innovations to be reviewed by the Judges. In instances where a video interview is provided, it will be included with the Finalists' respective Entries at final judging stage. Finalists submitting a video interview must do so by the date advised by the Promoter.
14. The winner(s) of the Competition will be determined by a final judging panel consisting of representatives of the Corporate Partners and a panel of industry experts selected by the Promoter (‘Industry Judges’). These experts will be determined by the Promoter in its discretion based on industry expertise and reputation. These experts will choose up to 5 Finalists to win the $5,000USD cash prize (the ‘Research Bursary Winner’), one Finalist to win the three-month internship with the Corporate Alpinestars (“the Alpinestars Winner”). Alternatively, one Finalist may be awarded the Internship and the Research Bursary, at the judges’ absolute discretion. The Winners will receive the relevant prizes set out in section 5 of the Student Terms Summary (each a 'Prize').
15. Clauses 13 to 23 apply only to a Student if that Student is chosen by the Competition judging panel as a Finalist or as one of the Winners.
16. During judging:
    a. the relevant judging panel shall determine the Winners by applying the criteria in section 4 of the Student Terms Summary and selecting the Entries which, in the opinion of the panel, best meet those criteria;
    b. chance plays no part in determining the Winners;
    c. The judging panel may not choose more than twelve (12) Finalists but may at their sole discretion select up to five (5) Research Bursary Winners; and
    d. If a judging panel is unable to make a unanimous decision, they will decide Winners by a simple majority vote of the members of the panel.
17. The Prize values and description are correct at time of printing, but no responsibility is accepted for any variation in the value or the nature of any Prize. Prizes supplied by a third party are subject to availability. In the event that any prize is unavailable for whatever reason, the Promoter reserves the right to substitute any prize for a prize of equal or greater value.
18. If a Winner has not been in contact with the Promotor to claim its Prize within 5 of days of a notification telephone call or email, the Promoter reserves the right to offer the Prize to the next eligible entrant selected by the relevant judging panel. The Promoter does not accept any responsibility if a Winner is not able (or otherwise fails) to take up the Prize. In that event, the new Winner will be selected in accordance with the Competition Terms.
19. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable, and non-monetary components cannot be taken as a monetary payment.
20. Upon the Winners being announced:
1. the Corporate Partner will have 60 days to negotiate with the Winner of their category on the purchase of the Intellectual Property Rights in the Category Winners’ Innovation (the 'Opportunity');
2. if the Corporate Partner and the Winners are unable to reach agreement on the Opportunity within that period, the Promoter will have 30 days to negotiate the Opportunity with the Winners; and
3. if the Promoter and the Winners are unable to reach agreement on the Opportunity within the relevant periods specified above, the Winners will maintain their ownership of their Intellectual Property Rights in their Innovations.
21. During the negotiation periods set out in clause 20, the Winners must not consider or negotiate any offers from third parties to purchase the intellectual property in the Innovation.
22. Any assistance provided to Finalists by representatives of an Industry Partner, the Corporate Partners or the Promoter will be at the discretion of that representative. The Promoter makes no representations regarding the expertise, availability, capability or otherwise of those representatives.
23. Any costs and expenses (excluding transport and accommodation costs relating to the two-day workshops for all Finalists and the Final Judging/ WPC 2025 Celebration Event detailed in part 5a of the Student Terms Summary which will be organised and met by the Promoter), and flight costs relating to the internship with the Corporate Partner detailed in part 5 of the Student Terms Summary (which will be organised and met by the Promoter) incurred by the Winners or any Student in connection with the Competition or any Prize are the sole responsibility of the Student. The Promoter is not liable for payment of any such costs or expenses.
24. Among all Eligible Institutions, the one with the highest number of quality Student submissions will be selected for the Institution Development Award as set out under section 5(d) of the Student Terms Summary.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

25. To the full extent permitted by law, the Promoter, its affiliates, representatives, agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate Students or Institutions, or accept any liability for:
1. any incorrect or inaccurate information;
2. any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition;
3. any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, loss or delay of any Entry or otherwise in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of a Student's Entry or the running of the Competition; or
4. any injury, damages, expenses, cost, liability or loss whatsoever (whether direct, indirect or consequential) to Students or Institutions or their respective property as a result of any person entering into the Competition or accepting or using any Prize, including without limitation non-receipt or damage to any Prize.
26. These Competition Terms do not exclude any rights that cannot be excluded (for example, any such rights under applicable consumer protection legislation), to the extent permitted by law, but these rights are limited to (at the Promoter's option):
1. in relation to goods, repairing or replacing the goods or paying the cost of having the goods repaired or replaced; and
2. in relation to services, re-supplying the services or paying the cost of having the services re-supplied.

DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY

27. The Promoter collects, holds and processes personal information about Students and Institutions to include Students and Institutions in the Competition, administer the Competition, to award prizes (where applicable) and to hold and display in the WPC innovation library (where they may be shared with third parties). If the personal information requested is not provided, a Student or Institution will be ineligible to participate.
28. Students agree that the Promoter may, in the event they become a Finalist or Winner, publish or cause to be published their personal information, name, photograph or likeness and locality in any media globally, without compensation. Winners must participate in publicity calls and marketing as requested by the Promoter during the Competition and up to 18 months after selection of the Winners.
29. Students and Institutions accept that all personal information provided to the Promoter in accordance with these Competition Terms and Conditions will be held and used in accordance with the Promoter’s Privacy Policy available at https://www.wool.com/legal/privacy-policy/ and may be transferred to the Promoter’s computer systems worldwide, including in Europe, North America, and Australia for the purposes of administering this Competition.

GENERAL

30. Each Student may only submit one Entry.
31. The Promoter reserves the right to amend these Terms at its sole discretion, by posting updated Terms at www.woolmarkchallenge.com/competition-terms-conditions/. By continuing to participate in the Competition, or accepting any Prize, Students and Institutions are deemed to accept the amended Terms.
32. Each Student must keep their Entry, and their Innovation, confidential, and not disclose any information about their Entry or their Innovation to any third party, except as required by law or permitted by the Promoter or these Competition Terms. This confidentiality obligation continues until the date that the Winners are announced by the Promoter, and does not apply to any information in the public domain (other than if due to a breach of these Competition Terms).
33. The Promoter may at its own discretion refuse Students and Institutions entry to the Competition or to award any prize if Students or Institutions fail to comply with these Terms, the law, or if, in the Promoter's opinion, a Student or Institution's involvement with the Competition may cause adverse publicity to the Promoter or the wool industry.
34. Students retain ownership of any Intellectual Property Rights in their Entries and Innovations subject to these Terms. Students grant the Promoter and its affiliated companies or nominees a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable, royalty free license to use the Intellectual Property Rights in Students' Entries (and any component of Entries) for the purposes of the Competition and any promotional and marketing purposes without notice and without any fee being paid, including (without limitation) to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, communicate to the public, re-format and sub-licence Entries.
35. Students and Institutions acknowledge the Promoter and its affiliated companies may exercise the global, non-exclusive right to communicate Students' Entries in whole or in part to the public on any media platform.
36. Students and Institutions acknowledge the Promoter and its affiliated companies may allow other persons to view, reproduce, download and otherwise deal in the copyright works attached to and embodied in Entries.
37. Upon entry, Students and Institutions waive their Moral Rights (described below) and any other similar rights in the Entries and Innovations and consent to any act or omission that would otherwise infringe moral or similar rights. In these Terms, Moral Rights includes:
1. a right of attribution of authorship;
2. a right not to have authorship falsely attributed;
3. a right of integrity of authorship; and
4. any right of a similar nature which is conferred by statute and which exists or comes to exist anywhere in the world.
38. If for any reason the conduct or operation of the Competition is not capable of proceeding as planned, is interfered with, or disrupted in any way, the Promoter reserves the right to cancel, terminate, suspend, modify or recommence the Competition. The Promoter may amend these Terms at its discretion. The latest version of the Terms will be available at www.woolmarkchallenge.com/competition-terms-conditions/.
39. All decisions made by the Promoter regarding the Competition are final and the Promoter will not enter into any correspondence with Students and Institutions.
40. If any provision of these Terms is held to be illegal, invalid, void or otherwise unenforceable, it will be severed from the remaining provisions, which will continue in full force and effect.
41. The Competition does not accept and will not consider Entries submitted by:
1. any employee, officer, or individual contractor of the Promoter or their affiliates or its agencies involved with the Competition; or
2. any natural or adopted child, or sibling of a person referred to in above paragraph a..
42. These Terms shall be governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia and Students and Institutions submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia.