Terms of Use

1. Who we are

The Platform Sports Athlete Portal and related Platform Sports websites, applications, tools, resources and digital services (together, the Portal) are provided by the Platform Sports group, which consists of:

• Platform Limited, trading as Platform Sports Management, a New Zealand company (company number 5538425, NZBN 9429041544105) (Platform NZ); and
• Platform Sports Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 689 976 109, ABN 40 145 676 026, an Australian company (Platform AU).

Platform NZ operates and owns the Portal. Platform NZ and Platform AU are each a Platform Entity, and together they are Platform, we, us or our.

2. Who you are contracting with

You enter into these Terms with Platform NZ and Platform AU. Each Platform Entity may rely on and enforce these Terms in its own right.

Your Service Provider is the Platform Entity that supplies your recruitment, placement, support or other paid services. It is the entity named in your Service Agreement. If no Service Agreement names one:

• Platform AU is your Service Provider if you live in Australia; and
• Platform NZ is your Service Provider in all other cases.

Each Platform Entity is responsible only for its own acts, omissions and services. A Platform Entity is not liable for the obligations of another Platform Entity unless it has expressly agreed in writing to be.

3. Definitions

In these Terms:

• Athlete means the student-athlete for whom a Portal account is held.
• Guardian means a parent or legal guardian of an Athlete who is under 18.
• Service Agreement means any separate written agreement for paid Platform services, including any package, order form, proposal acceptance or invoice terms.
• Your Content means material you upload or supply, including photos, videos, documents and academic records.
• Platform Materials means everything in the Portal other than Your Content and third-party content.
• you means the Athlete and, where an Athlete is under 18, also the Guardian who accepted these Terms.

4. Accepting these Terms

By creating an account, or by accessing or using the Portal, you agree to these Terms. These Terms apply together with our Privacy Policy and any Service Agreement.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Portal.

We may record evidence of acceptance. This may include the name, account, email address, date, time, IP address and relationship to the Athlete of the person accepting, and the version of the Terms accepted.

5. Purpose of the Portal

The Portal helps Athletes and families with education, preparation, college exploration, recruitment, placement and related Platform services. Features may include athlete profiles, Training Ground, Roadmap, Actions, Meetings, Documents, the Academic Command Centre, College Map, Degree Explorer, Resources (including videos, webinars and podcasts), communications, reminders and AI-assisted tools.

Not every feature is available to every user. Access may depend on the package purchased under your Service Agreement.

The Portal is a support tool. It does not replace or vary your Service Agreement.

6. Athletes under 18

If an Athlete is under 18, a Guardian must accept these Terms before the account is activated. We may limit access until this is done.

By accepting these Terms, the Guardian:

• agrees to these Terms on their own behalf and on behalf of the Athlete;
• confirms they have legal authority to do so;
• is responsible for the Athlete's use of the Portal and for supervising it as appropriate to the Athlete's age; and
• is responsible for any payments due under a Service Agreement they enter into.

If an Athlete is under 13, the account must be created and managed by a Guardian. The Athlete may use it only under that Guardian's supervision.

An Athlete who turns 18 while holding an account may be asked to accept these Terms in their own name. Until they do, the Guardian's acceptance continues to apply.

Creating an Athlete account does not, by itself, create a Service Agreement. A Service Agreement is formed only as set out in that agreement.

7. Account security

You must give us information that is accurate, complete and kept reasonably up to date. You must keep your login details confidential and tell us promptly if you know or suspect your account has been compromised.

We are not responsible for loss caused by unauthorised use of your account to the extent it resulted from your failure to take reasonable steps to protect your login details.

8. Acceptable use

You must not:

• access another person's account without permission, or let unauthorised people use yours;
• share login details outside your family or authorised representatives;
• impersonate another person;
• attempt to bypass, probe or test Portal security without our written permission;
• interfere with the Portal, or introduce viruses or harmful code;
• reverse engineer, decompile or copy the Portal's software;
• use bots, crawlers, scrapers or other automated tools;
• systematically copy or download Portal information;
• harvest contact details of coaches, universities, athletes or anyone else;
• use Portal information to create or support a competing database, recruitment service or software product;
• upload content that is unlawful, defamatory, fraudulent, misleading or infringing; or
• use the Portal for any unlawful or unauthorised purpose.

9. Confidential information

Some information in the Portal is not public. This includes coach and recruitment contact details we have compiled, non-public college and programme information, our pricing, our methodologies and Training Ground materials (Confidential Information).

You must use Confidential Information only for your own recruitment and education with Platform. You must not disclose it to anyone outside your family, your school or your authorised advisers without our consent.

This clause does not apply to information that is publicly available or that you obtained independently from its original source. It does not stop you from contacting any coach or college directly.

10. Safeguarding

The safety of young people is a priority for Platform.

For Athletes under 18:

• Platform staff will communicate with Athletes through the Portal, through approved Platform channels, or with a Guardian included;
• Guardians may access or be informed about Portal communications and meetings involving their Athlete; and
• any concern about the conduct of a Platform staff member, contractor or other user can be reported to support@platformsportsmanagement.com. We will take every report seriously.

If you believe a young person is in immediate danger, contact emergency services first: 111 in New Zealand, 000 in Australia, or the local emergency number where you are.

11. Recruitment information

You authorise each Platform Entity to collect, use and share the information reasonably needed to provide the Portal and your services, in line with applicable privacy law and our Privacy Policy.

This may include contact details, date of birth, citizenship and residency, school and academic records, grades and transcripts, intended study, athletic history, rankings, statistics, test results, photos, videos and highlight footage, coach references, eligibility information, and your recruitment, scholarship, financial and college preferences.

To provide recruitment services, we may share appropriate information with colleges and universities, coaches, athletic and admissions departments, governing bodies, educational organisations, our service providers and others reasonably involved in your services. These parties may be anywhere in the world, including the United States.

12. International data

Platform operates in New Zealand and Australia and works with organisations overseas. Your information may be stored, processed or disclosed outside the country where you live, including by Platform NZ, Platform AU and our service providers.

Our Privacy Policy lists the main countries and categories of service provider involved. Where the law requires your consent or authorisation before overseas disclosure, we will obtain it.

13. Your Content

You keep ownership of Your Content.

You grant each Platform Entity, and the service providers acting for them, a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, copy, format, edit for presentation, transmit and share Your Content. This licence is only for operating the Portal and providing the services you have requested, including sending recruitment material to colleges and coaches.

The licence lasts as long as reasonably needed for those purposes and for legitimate legal, record-keeping and dispute-resolution needs.

You confirm that you own Your Content or have permission to supply it, and that supplying it does not infringe anyone's rights. If Your Content shows other people, you confirm you have their permission (or their Guardian's) where needed.

We will not use your name, image, likeness, story or content in general advertising or promotion without your separate consent (or your Guardian's, if you are under 18).

14. Feedback

If you give us suggestions or feedback about the Portal, we may use it to improve our services without any obligation to you. We will not identify you publicly without your consent.

15. Platform's intellectual property

Platform NZ owns or licenses the Platform Materials. These include the Portal software and source code, interfaces, branding, methodologies, Training Ground, recruitment and educational resources, videos, written materials, graphics, workflows, databases, the organisation and presentation of College Map, Degree Explorer, the Academic Command Centre and templates. Platform AU uses the Platform Materials under licence from Platform NZ.

We give you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to use the Platform Materials for your own use in connection with Platform services.

Without our written permission, you must not reproduce for commercial purposes, redistribute, sell, license, scrape, systematically download, publish substantial parts of, or reverse engineer the Platform Materials, or use them to build or improve a competing service.

This does not stop you using information that is publicly available from its original source.

16. College Map and college information

The Portal provides information about colleges, programmes, majors, coaches, conferences, divisions, locations, scholarships, financial aid, estimated costs and admission requirements. We work to keep it useful and current, but colleges change this information often and without telling us.

We do not promise that third-party college information is always complete, current or error-free. Before making a significant academic, financial or recruitment decision, confirm the key facts with the institution or relevant organisation.

17. Degree Explorer

Degree Explorer helps Athletes identify possible areas of study. Its results are indicative only. They do not mean you meet entrance requirements or prerequisites, will be admitted, will receive credit or a scholarship, will graduate, or will achieve any career outcome.

18. Academic Command Centre and eligibility tools

The Academic Command Centre, including GPA and core-GPA tracking, GPA scenarios, core-course tracking and eligibility checklists, gives estimates based on the information entered and our understanding of current rules.

These tools are not an eligibility decision. Eligibility is decided only by the relevant body, such as the NCAA Eligibility Center, the NAIA Eligibility Center or the NJCAA, and by the institution. Their results may differ from the Portal's estimates.

19. Athletic eligibility information

We provide information about NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, conference and college rules. These rules and their interpretation change, and eligibility depends on individual circumstances.

Platform does not make eligibility determinations, and Portal information is not an official ruling. Where eligibility matters to a decision, confirm current requirements with the governing body or institution.

20. Training Ground

Training Ground is an education and development programme. Completing modules, knowledge checks or commitments, and any Platform staff sign-off, show progress through our curriculum only. They are not a qualification, certification or guarantee of readiness, recruitment or results.

21. Meetings

Meetings with Platform staff may be held through or scheduled in the Portal. We will tell you before a meeting is recorded or transcribed, including by an AI note-taking tool. We will not record a meeting with an Athlete under 18 unless a Guardian has been notified and has not objected.

Recordings and notes are handled under our Privacy Policy and used to deliver and quality-check your services.

22. Scholarships, financial aid and costs

References to scholarships, financial aid, offers or college costs are for recruitment planning and information. Unless the institution providing the funding confirms it in writing, Platform does not guarantee any athletic or academic scholarship, need-based or institutional aid, NIL or commercial income, scholarship percentage or amount, tuition or living costs, or net cost of attendance.

Before committing financially, review the documents issued directly by the institution.

23. Artificial intelligence

Some Portal features use artificial intelligence or automated systems. AI output can be wrong, incomplete or out of date, or misunderstand what you asked.

AI tools are assistance only. Do not rely on them as the sole source for decisions about admissions, eligibility, scholarships, contracts, visas or immigration, law, tax, finances, health or mental health. Check important AI output with Platform staff or the relevant authority.

24. Wellbeing

The Portal includes content about adversity, moving overseas and life as a student-athlete. The Portal is not a crisis, counselling or medical service, and messages sent through it may not be read immediately.

If you or someone else is at risk, contact emergency services (111 in New Zealand, 000 in Australia). For free support, call or text 1737 in New Zealand, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 in Australia. Elsewhere, contact local emergency or support services.

25. No professional advice

Unless agreed in writing, nothing in the Portal is legal, immigration, tax, financial, investment, medical, psychological or other regulated professional advice. Get independent professional advice where you need it.

26. What Platform is and is not

Platform is an independent student-athlete recruitment, education and support business. Platform is not a university, college, athletic or admissions department, the NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA, an immigration authority or a scholarship provider. Platform is not authorised to bind any college or coach, and cannot control their decisions.

27. No guaranteed outcomes

Your Service Provider will provide the services set out in your Service Agreement with due care and skill.

Recruitment outcomes, however, depend on decisions and factors outside Platform's control. Unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, Platform does not guarantee:

• admission to any institution or degree;
• recruitment by any coach, or receipt of any offer;
• any scholarship, its value, or any financial aid or college cost;
• a roster spot, starting position or playing time;
• athletic or academic eligibility;
• visa approval, immigration status or transfer approval;
• NIL, commercial or professional sporting opportunities; or
• any particular academic, sporting, financial or career result.

Coaches, rosters, scholarship funding, college policies, athletic rules and government rules can change after an Athlete has accepted an opportunity. Platform is not responsible for those changes to the extent they are outside its reasonable control.

28. Information you provide

We rely on information from you, your family, your school, your coaches and other third parties. You must make sure the information you give us is materially accurate, and provide documents and updates when we reasonably ask.

Platform is not responsible for a loss or missed opportunity to the extent it is caused by information that was inaccurate, misleading, withheld or not updated, by documents not provided, by deadlines you missed, or by your not following reasonable instructions from Platform.

29. Independent decisions of third parties

Colleges, coaches, admissions and athletic departments, governing bodies, scholarship providers, immigration authorities, governments, airlines, accommodation providers, technology providers and other third parties make their own decisions. This includes decisions made after Platform has introduced an Athlete to them.

To the extent permitted by law, Platform is not responsible for their acts, omissions, representations or decisions.

30. Third-party services

The Portal may link to, integrate with or draw information from third-party services, such as university and governing-body websites, maps, video platforms, payment providers, cloud storage, communication tools, analytics, CRM systems and AI providers.

Platform does not control those services just because they are accessible through the Portal. To the extent permitted by law, Platform does not guarantee their availability, accuracy, security or continued operation. Their own terms and privacy policies may also apply.

31. Deadlines and reminders

Portal timelines, tasks, reminders and notifications are convenience features. They may not capture every deadline or requirement.

Athletes and families remain responsible for meeting official deadlines set by colleges, schools, governing bodies, testing organisations and immigration authorities. Platform is not responsible for a missed deadline to the extent it was not reasonably known to Platform, or was available to you and not passed on to us.

32. Availability

We aim to keep the Portal reliable, but no online service runs without interruption. The Portal may be unavailable because of maintenance, updates, technical failures, third-party or internet outages, cyberattacks or other events outside our reasonable control.

To the extent permitted by law, Platform does not guarantee the Portal will always be available, error-free, free of every vulnerability, or compatible with every device or browser.

33. Security

Platform will take reasonable security measures appropriate to the Portal and the information it holds, including information about young people. No internet-connected system is completely secure.

To the extent permitted by law, Platform is not liable for unauthorised access, cyberattack or data loss caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control, where it has taken the reasonable security measures required by law. This does not limit Platform's obligations under privacy law, including notifying you of a notifiable privacy breach.

34. Paid services

If you or your Guardian enter into a Service Agreement, it governs the services purchased, scope, fees, payment plans, refunds, cancellations, transfers, duration and other package-specific terms.

If these Terms and a Service Agreement conflict on a paid-service matter, the Service Agreement applies to that matter to the extent permitted by law.

35. Suspension and termination

Platform may suspend, limit or end Portal access where reasonably necessary to:

• protect an Athlete, another user or Platform;
• maintain security, or respond to unauthorised access;
• investigate suspected misuse, or prevent unlawful activity;
• comply with law;
• protect Platform's intellectual property or Confidential Information;
• respond to a material breach of these Terms or of a Service Agreement, including non-payment; or
• administer the end of a service relationship.

Where reasonable, we will tell you why and give you a chance to fix a breach before ending access permanently. We may act immediately where there is a safeguarding concern, a security risk or unlawful conduct.

You may close your account at any time by contacting us. Ending Portal access does not by itself end a Service Agreement, or rights and obligations already arising under it.

36. When your service ends

When your access ends, we will give you at least 30 days to download Your Content, unless access ended because of unlawful conduct or a serious safeguarding or security concern. You can also ask us for a copy within that period.

After that, we may delete Your Content or keep it only where reasonably needed for legal, regulatory, record-keeping or dispute-resolution purposes, in line with our Privacy Policy. You may ask us to delete your personal information, subject to those legal requirements.

37. Clauses that continue

Clauses about confidentiality, intellectual property, liability, indemnity, disputes and governing law continue after these Terms end.

38. Consumer rights

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or changes any right, guarantee or remedy you have that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or changed. This includes, where they apply:

• the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and the Fair Trading Act 1986 (New Zealand); and
• the Australian Consumer Law, including its consumer guarantees that services will be supplied with due care and skill.

If mandatory law gives you a right that conflicts with these Terms, the mandatory law applies to the extent of the conflict. Every limitation in this Part H applies only to the extent the law allows.

39. Losses we are not responsible for

Platform is not liable for loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when you accepted these Terms or entered your Service Agreement.

Platform is also not liable for loss to the extent it is caused by matters outside Platform's reasonable control, including:

• the independent decisions of colleges, coaches, governing bodies, governments or other third parties;
• a coach changing roles, or a college changing or ending a programme;
• roster, playing-time or scholarship-funding decisions;
• changes to sporting rules or the law; or
• the matters described in clauses 28 and 31.

This includes resulting losses such as loss of opportunity, an anticipated scholarship or financial aid, NIL, sponsorship or future earnings.

This clause does not limit Platform's liability for loss caused by its own breach of these Terms or a Service Agreement, its negligence, or its failure to meet a consumer guarantee.

40. Cap on our liability

To the extent permitted by law, the total combined liability of all Platform Entities to you, for all claims arising from the Portal, these Terms and the service giving rise to the claim, is limited to the fees actually paid to any Platform Entity for that service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

Where no fees have been paid for the relevant service, including free Portal access, that combined liability is limited to NZ$100 (or A$100 if Platform AU is your Service Provider).

This cap applies to claims in contract, tort (including negligence), under statute or otherwise. It does not apply to liability that cannot lawfully be limited, or to loss caused by Platform's fraud, wilful misconduct, or negligence causing death or personal injury.

41. Reducing loss

If a problem arises, you and Platform must each take reasonable steps to avoid or reduce any resulting loss. Neither is liable for loss the other could reasonably have avoided after becoming aware of the problem.

42. Responsibility for misuse

You are responsible for, and must compensate each Platform Entity for, loss it suffers to the extent directly caused by your:

• deliberate unlawful use of the Portal;
• deliberate infringement of Platform's intellectual property, or breach of clause 9 (Confidential Information);
• deliberate introduction of malicious software;
• unauthorised scraping or extraction of Portal data;
• fraud; or
• supply of content you knew you had no right to supply.

Where an Athlete is under 18, the Guardian who accepted these Terms shares this responsibility. Platform will take reasonable steps to reduce any loss it claims under this clause.

43. Events outside our control

Platform is not responsible for delay or failure in performing an obligation to the extent caused by events outside its reasonable control. These include natural disasters, extreme weather, war, terrorism, civil unrest, pandemics, government action, changes in law or sporting rules, industrial action, and internet, telecommunications, cloud or other third-party outages or cyberattacks.

Platform will tell you as soon as reasonably practicable and resume performance when it can. Your Service Agreement may say more about what happens to affected services.

44. Our people

Platform's directors, employees and contractors are not personally liable to you for acts or omissions in the course of their work for Platform, except for fraud or wilful misconduct. Each Platform Entity holds the benefit of this clause for them, and they may rely on it to the extent the law allows. This does not reduce Platform's own liability for their work.

45. Changes to the Portal

Platform may update, replace or discontinue Portal features as its services and technology develop. We do not promise that any free feature will remain available.

If a change materially reduces a paid service Platform has agreed to provide, your Service Agreement and mandatory consumer rights continue to apply.

46. Changes to these Terms

Platform may update these Terms where reasonably necessary because of changes to our services, the Portal, technology, security, business operations, third-party systems or the law. The current Terms and their effective date will always be available in the Portal.

If a change materially affects your rights or obligations, we will give you at least 14 days' notice before it takes effect, and may ask you (or your Guardian) to accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree to a material change, you may close your account. Doing so does not affect rights already arising under a Service Agreement.

47. Notices and electronic communications

We may give you notices about your account or the Portal by email, through Portal notifications or by other contact details linked to your account. This is not consent to marketing messages where separate consent is required.

You must keep your contact details reasonably up to date. Notices to Platform must be sent to the email address in clause 53.

48. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect personal information, including the rights you have to access and correct it. By using the Portal, you acknowledge that the Privacy Policy has been made available to you.

Each Platform Entity will comply with the privacy laws that apply to it, including the Privacy Act 2020 (New Zealand) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Australia).

49. Complaints and disputes

If you have a complaint or dispute, please contact us first using clause 53.

1. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and try to resolve it within 20 business days.
2. If it is not resolved, either party may propose mediation by an independent mediator, with the cost shared equally unless agreed otherwise.
3. If it is still not resolved, either party may take it to a court or tribunal.

This process does not stop either party from seeking urgent relief, or you from going to the Disputes Tribunal (New Zealand), a state or territory consumer tribunal or fair trading agency (Australia), or a privacy regulator at any time.

50. Governing law

If Platform AU is your Service Provider, these Terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia, and the courts of that state have non-exclusive jurisdiction.

In all other cases, these Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand, and New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.

This clause does not remove any mandatory consumer, privacy or other statutory rights that apply to you where you live.

51. Assignment

You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our written consent. Platform may transfer its rights and obligations to another Platform Entity, or to a buyer of all or part of the Platform business, if this does not reduce your rights. We will tell you if this happens.

52. Other terms

• Severability: if any part of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, it will be read down as far as needed to make it enforceable, or otherwise removed. The rest continues to apply.
• No waiver: if Platform does not enforce a term straight away, it can still enforce it later.
• Whole agreement: these Terms, the Privacy Policy and any Service Agreement make up the whole agreement about your use of the Portal. Nothing in these Terms overrides a specific commitment in a Service Agreement.

53. Contact

• New Zealand | Platform Limited, trading as Platform Sports Management, a New Zealand company (company number 5538425, NZBN 9429041544105) (Platform NZ); and
• Australia | Platform Sports Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 689 976 109, ABN 40 145 676 026, an Australian company (Platform AU).

Email: support@platformsportsmanagement.com