National Cookoff Terms & Conditions 2022

OFFICIAL RULES 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE STRIDE, INC. NATIONAL COOK OFF (“COMPETITION”), EACH PARTICIPANT REPRESENTS AND WARRANTS THAT THEY MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS DETAILED WITHIN THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT FAILURE TO MEET ALL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION. ENTRY CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.ALL ENTRIES (INCLUDING PHOTOS) AND REQUESTS BECOME THE PROPERTY OF STRIDE, INC. (THE “SPONSOR”) AND WILL NOT BE RETURNED OR ACKNOWLEDGED. 

Contest begins at 9 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on March 15th 2022 and ends at 5 PM (ET) on April 25th 2022 (“Contest Entry Period”).  

ELIGIBILITY: Competition is open to legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia that are students in 6-12th grade. Contestants must be age 13 or older at time of entry (“Entrant” or “You”).  Parents or guardians of students under the age of 13 can submit entries on behalf of their student(s). Employees of Sponsor and its respective parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, retailers, distributors (collectively, “Contest Entities”), and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are eligible to enter or win. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law. Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding on all matters. 

HOW TO ENTER: Visit bit.ly/K12VirtualCookoff and follow all onscreen instructions to complete the official entry form. Uploading photo is required. Photo can be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format and should not exceed 50MB in size. Photo must be taken by Entrant (or Entrant must own the rights to the photo if it was not taken by the Entrant), must be in color, and uploaded in compliance with the Contest requirements. All entries must be received during the Competition Entry Period. For the purposes of these Official Rules, receipt of an entry occurs when Sponsor’s server (or Website) records the entry information (resulting from Entrant clicking on the “Submit” button). Once you submit your entry, your submission is final and may not be modified or edited. Any automated computer receipt (such as one confirming delivery of entry) does not constitute proof of actual receipt by Sponsor for purposes of these Official Rules. Entrants are subject to all notices posted on Website, including, but not limited to Sponsor’s privacy policy.All entries eligible for the Competition will be prescreened by the Sponsor within five business days of submission prior to posting on the Website. 

By submitting photo, Entrant understands and grants permission for the photo to be posted on Website for viewing by visitors to the Website. Sponsor and Contest Entities are not responsible for any unauthorized third party use of any photo. 

Except where prohibited by law, entry submission grants the Sponsor the right in perpetuity to reproduce, publish, use, edit, adjust, modify, abridge, condense, sublicense, and excerpt such photo and/or comments in any way, in any and all media, without limitation and without compensation to Entrant. Submission of photo in the Competition further constitutes Entrant’s consent to irrevocably assign and transfer to Sponsor any and all rights, title, and interest in and to the photo, including, without limitation, all copyrights. The Sponsor may publish and/or promote photo, or a portion of a photo. If a photo, or a portion of photo is selected for publication and/or promotional purposes, it does not imply that it is a winning photo in this Competition, nor does it create a confidential relationship between you and the Sponsor or any of its respective affiliates or subsidiaries. 

Photo dialog/audio must be in English and must be the original work of the Entrant, may not have been previously published, may not have won previous awards, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property, or other rights of any person or entity. If the photo contains any material or elements that are not owned by the Entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the Entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photo, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the photo by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules, including, without limitation, name and likeness permissions from any person who appears in or is identifiable in the photo. If any identifiable person appearing in the photo is under the age of majority in his or her state of residence, the parent or legal guardian is required to provide permission. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any Entrant at any time. By submitting a photo, the Entrant (or, if an eligible minor, his or her parent or legal guardian) warrants and represents that he, she, and/or any persons appearing or who are identifiable in the photo consent to the submission and use of the photo in this Competition, and to its posting on Website in connection with the Competition. Entrant agrees to fully indemnify and defend Sponsor and the Competition Entities from any and all third-party infringement claims that may arise out of its breach of these representations and warranties. 

Entries must comply with the following content guidelines to be eligible: 

  • Students must create a meal dish or dessert following the following specific guidelines: 
  • All recipe’s must be made using at least 4 of the following ingredients: 
  • Cranberries 
  • Kale 
  • Quinoa 
  • Protein (of your choosing) 
  • Pear 
  • Carrot 
  • Starch (of your choosing) 
  • Gouda 
  • Greek yogurt 
  • Horseradish 
  • And any of the following pantry staples: 
  • Flour (or gluten free substitute) 
  • Milk (or lactose free option) 
  • Egg 
  • Butter 
  • Oil (olive/veg/canola) 
  • White Sugar 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 
  • Any other spices 
  • Condiments 
  • All entries must be homemade and the work of the person making the entry. 
  • The dish must be prepared within 45 minutes from prep to plating. 
  • All competitors must have an adult proctor present during the Cookoff that can verify upon submission that all rules and requirements were adhered too. 
  • Students will be required to submit: 
  • Recipe and the list of ingredients used 
  • a photo of the completed dish  
  • a description of why the dish was made 
  • nutritional value of dish  
  • amount of time required to prepare the dish from beginning prep to plating 
  • Content cannot be sexually explicit or suggestive, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional, or age group, profane or pornographic, or contain nudity; 
  • Content cannot promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous, or any particular political agenda or message; 
  • Content cannot be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group; 
  • Content cannot defame, misrepresent, or contain disparaging remarks about other people or companies; 
  • Excepting that of the Sponsor, content cannot contain trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, email addresses, or street addresses; 
  • Excepting that of the Sponsor, content cannot contain copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings, and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies, or other media) without permission; 
  • Content cannot contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, without permission; 
  • Content cannot communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Sponsor wishes to associate; and 
  • Content cannot depict and cannot itself be in violation of any law or otherwise. 
  • Photos should not exceed 50 MB. Photos exceeding 50 MB may still be featured but are not eligible to win. 
  • Plagiarism will result in disqualification. 

All entries must be received no later than 5pm EST on April 25th 2022. Entries submitted after the deadline may still be featured but will not be eligible to win. 

Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entry for any reason, in its sole and absolute discretion. 

At the conclusion of the Competition, a panel of judges consisting of Stride Inc. personnel (“Judges”) will determine five (5) Competition winners utilizing the following judging criteria:  

(a) Presentation (30%),  

(b) Nutritional Value i.e. how healthy is the recipe (30%),  

(c) Creativity (30%), and  

(d) Completed in time amount allotted (10%).  

Judge’s decisions are final and binding. Only winners will be notified.  

TIES: In the event of a tie, the entry from among the tied entries with the highest score in presentation will be declared the winner. In the event of a further tie, the entry from among the tied entries with the highest score received for creativity will be declared the winner. In the event of further ties, the Judges will make the final determination as to which entry will win. 

The Sponsor reserves the right to not award a prize if, in its sole and absolute discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries for a given category. 

COMPETITION PRIZES & CORRESPONDING APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES (“ARV”): The top five (5) semi-finalists will receive a gift basket with culinary kitchen tools and more valued at $200. The National Grand Champion will receive a $1000 Amazon e-giftcard and an iPad. The Reserve Grand Champion will receive a $250 Amazon e-giftcard and an iPad. 

Amazon is not, in any way, associated with Sponsor or this Contest. Gift cards will not be replaced if lost, stolen, or mis-used. IRS form 1099 may be issued and filed for winners are required to provide all information necessary for the form 1099 prior to receiving the award.  

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Potential winners will be notified by email, or telephone, and/or US mail within 15 business days of the end of Competition Date. Potential winners must confirm their availability to attend and compete in the Live National Cook Off on June 16th, at 12pm EST in order to be an eligible semi-finalist. Potential winners may be required to complete and return a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and where permissible, a Publicity Release (“Affidavit/Release”), within seven days of date specified on notification, or an alternate winner may be determined. If an Affidavit/Release and/or if any required document(s) is not returned within such time period, or if a selected winner cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, or if he or she is not in compliance with these Official Rules, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner may be determined. If a winner is otherwise eligible under these Official Rules, but is nevertheless deemed a minor in his or her state of primary residence, the prize will be awarded in the name of winner’s parent or legal guardian who will be required to execute Affidavit/Release (or any required document) on minor’s behalf. Prizes are awarded within 30 days after winner verification. If potential winners do not respond within 30 days, they will no longer be eligible to receive their prize. Prizes are not redeemable for cash and are non-assignable or transferable except to a surviving spouse. No substitutions are permitted except the Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize, or portion of any prize, with one of equal or greater value in case of unavailability. Winners acknowledge that the Sponsor and all other businesses concerned with this Competition and their agents do not make, nor are in any manner responsible for any warranty, representations, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relative the quality, conditions, fitness, or merchantability of any aspect of any prize. Each winner will be responsible for all federal, state, local, and income taxes associated with winning his or her prize. Incidental expenses on any prize not specified herein are each winner’s sole responsibility. Except where prohibited by law, entry and acceptance of prize constitute permission for Sponsor and its agents to use each winner’s name, prize won, hometown, likeness, photo and statements for purposes of advertising, trade, promotion, and publicity (including online posting) in any and all media now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission. 

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY: Entrants agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges and the Sponsor, and on their behalf, and on behalf of their respective heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors, and assigns (“Releasing Parties”), release, defend, and hold harmless the Competition Entities, as well as the employees, officers, directors, and agents of each (“Released Parties”), from any and all actions, causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, bills, specialties, covenants, contracts, controversies, agreements, promises, variances, trespasses, lost profits, indirect or direct damages, consequential damages, incidental damages, punitive or exemplary damages, judgments, extent, executions, claims and demands whatsoever, in law, admiralty or equity, whether known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, against Released Parties which any one or more of the Releasing Parties ever had, now have or hereafter can, shall or may have which in any way arise out of or result from Entrant’s participation, acceptance and use or misuse of any prize. 

In the event Sponsor is prevented from continuing with the Competition as planned herein by any event beyond its control, including but not limited to fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal, state, or local government law, order, or regulation, or order of any court or other cause not within Sponsor’s control or concerns regarding the safety of any winner or guest, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, extend, or terminate the Competition. Entrants assume all liability for any injury, including death or damage caused or claimed to be caused, by participation in this Competition or use or redemption of any prize. 

This Competition shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions. Entrants hereby agree that any and all disputes, claims, causes of action, or controversies (“Claims”) arising out of, or in connection with, this Competition shall be resolved, upon the election by Entrant or Sponsor, by arbitration pursuant to this provision and the code of procedures of either the National Arbitration Forum (“NAF”) or the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), as selected by the Entrant. IF ARBITRATION IS CHOSEN BY ANY PARTY WITH RESPECT TO A CLAIM, NEITHER PARTY WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE THAT CLAIM IN COURT OR HAVE A JURY TRIAL ON THAT CLAIM. FURTHER, NEITHER SPONSOR NOR ENTRANT WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR OTHER PERSONS SIMILARLY SITUATED, OR AS A MEMBER OF ANY CLASS OF CLAIMANTS PERTAINING TO ANY CLAIM SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH BELOW, THE ARBITRATOR’S DECISION WILL BE FINAL AND BINDING. NOTE THAT OTHER RIGHTS THAT ENTRANT WOULD HAVE IF ENTRANT WENT TO COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION. The arbitrator’s authority to resolve Claims is limited to Claims between Sponsor and Entrant alone, and the arbitrator’s authority to make awards is limited to awards to Sponsor and Entrant alone. Furthermore, Claims brought by either party against the other may not be joined or consolidated in arbitration with Claims brought by or against any third party, unless agreed to in writing by all parties. No arbitration award or decision will have any preclusive effect as to issues or claims in any dispute with anyone who is not a named party to the arbitration. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement, and without waiving either party’s right to appeal such decision, should any portion of this provision be deemed invalid or unenforceable, then the entire provision (other than this sentence) shall not apply. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Competition, or in the announcement of any prize. 

Sponsor and Entrant agree that an arbitration award (“Underlying Award”) may be appealed pursuant to the American Arbitration Association’s Optional Appellate Arbitration Rules (“Appellate Rules”); that any the Underlying Award shall, at a minimum, be a reasoned award, and that the Underlying Award shall not be considered final until after the time for filing a notice of appeal pursuant to the Appellate Rules has expired. Appeals must be initiated within 30 days of receipt of an Underlying Award, as defined by Rule A-3 of the Appellate Rules, by filing a Notice of Appeal with any office of the American Arbitration Association. 

LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY FOR WEB ACCESS: The Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Website users, or tampering or hacking, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition, and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to the Website. The Sponsor is not responsible for injury or damage to an Entrant’s or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Competition or downloading and/or uploading materials from or use of the Website. If for any reason, the Competition is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Competition, the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Competition and determine winners from all eligible entries received prior to that action taken. 

Entry materials/data that have been tampered with or altered, or mass entries or entries generated by a script, macro or use of automated devices are void. Entries made with multiple email addresses, under multiple identities, or through the use of any automated other device or artifice to enter multiple times will be deemed invalid. Mechanically reproduced, illegible, incomplete, or inaccurate entries are void. In the event of a dispute, entries (including photos, photos, and/or essays) will be deemed to have been submitted by the Authorized Account Holder of the email address provided at the time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” means the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Mechanically reproduced entries are not eligible. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, damaged, or misdirected entries. 

WINNERS LIST: For the names of the winners (available 15 business days after end of Competition), please visit https://www.smore.com/y9d23-national-contest-challenge-winners 

OPT-IN/OPT-OUT: By entering the Competition, Entrants agree that collected information from Entrants may be used for future communications (via U.S. mail, phone, text or email) by Sponsor regarding its products and services including current offers and promotions, in addition to being used to notify winners. Refer to the Sponsor’s privacy policy at https://www.stridelearning.com/privacy-policy.html to learn how to opt-out if you do not wish to receive future offers from Sponsor. 

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