Terms of Service – Puddletown Chess
Last Updated: 2026-April-24
Welcome to Puddletown Chess. These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of our website, registration forms, homework app, chess classes, tournaments, events, communications, scholarships, and related programs.
By using our website, registering for a class or event, creating an account, submitting homework, making a payment, applying for a scholarship, or participating in any Puddletown Chess program, you agree to these Terms.
If you are registering or participating on behalf of a child or minor, you confirm that you are the child’s parent, legal guardian, or an adult authorized by the child’s parent or legal guardian.
These Terms are important. Please read them carefully.
1. Who We Are
Puddletown Chess is an Oregon-based nonprofit organization that provides scholastic chess programs, including classes, tournaments, training programs, homework tools, community events, scholarships, and related youth development activities.
Our website is: www.puddletownchess.org.
Throughout these Terms, “Puddletown Chess,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Puddletown Chess and its officers, directors, leaders, coaches, volunteers, contractors, partners, and representatives.
“You” means the person using our website or services. If you are a parent or guardian registering a minor, “you” also includes the child or children you register.
2. Parent and Guardian Responsibility
Most of our students and participants are minors. Because minors may not have the legal ability to enter into binding contracts on their own, all registrations, payments, account creation, program participation, and use of our services by minors must be authorized by a parent or legal guardian.
By registering a child, paying for a program, allowing a child to use our homework app, or allowing a child to participate in our classes, tournaments, or events, you confirm that:
You are the child’s parent or legal guardian, or you are authorized by the parent or legal guardian.
You accept these Terms on behalf of yourself and the child.
You are responsible for the child’s participation, conduct, communications, account activity, homework submissions, and compliance with these Terms.
You understand that Puddletown Chess may communicate with students, parents, coaches, and volunteers for program-related purposes.
You agree to supervise your child’s participation as appropriate, especially for online classes, homework app usage, messaging, comments, and in-person events.
We expect parents and guardians to stay involved and aware of their child’s participation in our programs.
3. Children Under 13
Some Puddletown Chess users may be under 13 years old. Children’s privacy laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, may apply when online services collect personal information from children under 13.
Our services are intended to be used with parent or guardian involvement. If your child is under 13, you must authorize their use of our website, homework app, registration forms, classes, tournaments, messaging features, and related services.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate parent or guardian involvement, we may take steps to delete the information, restrict the account, request parent confirmation, or take other appropriate action.
Parents may contact us at [insert email address] to review, correct, or request deletion of their child’s information, subject to reasonable identity verification and legal/program requirements.
4. Programs and Services
Puddletown Chess may offer:
Chess classes and training programs
Online and in-person instruction
Scholastic chess tournaments
Casual chess events
Homework assignments and homework submission tools
Student accounts and parent-managed accounts
Coach feedback, comments, and messaging
Office hours or additional coaching support
Scholarships and financial assistance
Community programs, volunteer opportunities, and special events
Other youth leadership, chess education, or community-building programs
We may change, pause, expand, or discontinue programs at any time. We may also adjust schedules, coaches, venues, formats, curriculum, class levels, tournament structures, or event details when needed.
5. Accounts and Homework App
Some students may use an online homework app or account-based tools to receive assignments, submit homework, view feedback, communicate with coaches, or track progress.
When using our homework app or any account-based service, you agree that:
Account information must be accurate.
Parents or guardians are responsible for minor users.
Students must submit their own work unless collaboration is specifically allowed.
Users may not impersonate others, share inappropriate content, harass others, misuse messaging tools, attempt to access another account, interfere with the app, or use the platform for non-program purposes.
We may review homework submissions, comments, messages, and related activity for educational, moderation, safety, technical, and administrative purposes.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, create safety concerns, misuse the platform, or disrupt the learning environment.
Messaging and commenting features are intended only for program-related communication among students, parents, coaches, volunteers, and administrators. We may add, remove, limit, or modify messaging, chat, comment, or communication features at any time.
6. Online Classes and Communications
Puddletown Chess may conduct classes, meetings, office hours, coaching sessions, or events through Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, email, messaging platforms, homework tools, or other online services.
By participating in online programs, you understand that:
Third-party platform terms and privacy policies may apply.
Students should participate respectfully and appropriately.
Parents are responsible for ensuring that minors participate from a safe and appropriate environment.
Classes, meetings, or sessions may be monitored, moderated, or recorded for training, safety, quality, or educational purposes when appropriate.
We may remove participants from online sessions for disruptive, unsafe, inappropriate, or disrespectful behavior.
Students, parents, coaches, and volunteers may not record, screenshot, download, distribute, or repost class content, student images, messages, or other participant information without permission.
7. In-Person Events, Tournaments, and Assumption of Risk
Puddletown Chess hosts in-person classes, tournaments, and community events at various venues. These may include churches, schools, community spaces, businesses, rented facilities, or other locations.
By registering for or attending an in-person event, you understand and agree that participation involves ordinary risks, including but not limited to:
Travel-related risks
Slips, trips, falls, or physical injury
Illness or exposure to contagious disease
Food-related risks or allergies
Property loss or damage
Interactions with other students, parents, volunteers, coaches, or visitors
Venue-related risks
Emotional stress from competition or disputes
Unexpected schedule changes, crowding, or logistical issues
You voluntarily assume these risks for yourself and for any minor child you register or bring to an event.
Puddletown Chess carries insurance coverage and may also use separate waivers or releases for certain programs or events. These Terms do not replace any separate waiver. If you sign or agree to a separate waiver, that waiver also applies.
You agree to follow all posted rules, venue rules, tournament rules, safety instructions, and directions from Puddletown Chess staff, coaches, volunteers, tournament directors, or venue representatives.
We may remove or refuse participation to any person whose behavior is unsafe, disruptive, disrespectful, dishonest, harassing, discriminatory, damaging to property, or inconsistent with the spirit of our programs.
8. Parent Supervision at Events
Puddletown Chess works hard to create safe, welcoming, and well-organized events. However, we are not a childcare provider, daycare provider, or full-time supervision service.
Parents and guardians are responsible for:
Ensuring their child arrives and is picked up on time.
Making sure their child understands event rules.
Supervising younger children and siblings who attend events.
Informing us of relevant needs, allergies, accommodations, or concerns.
Remaining reachable during events.
Ensuring their child respects venue property and other participants.
Unless we specifically state otherwise in writing, parents should not assume that Puddletown Chess is taking full custodial responsibility for a child.
9. Conduct and Community Standards
Our programs are built around learning, respect, inclusion, sportsmanship, and community.
Students, parents, coaches, volunteers, and attendees may not:
Harass, threaten, bully, intimidate, or discriminate against others.
Use hateful, abusive, sexually inappropriate, or violent language.
Cheat, tamper with tournament results, falsify ratings, or interfere with fair play.
Disrupt classes, tournaments, or events.
Damage venues, equipment, technology, chess boards, clocks, furniture, or other property.
Access restricted areas of venues.
Misuse online tools, homework systems, messaging, comments, or chat features.
Share another person’s private information without permission.
Use Puddletown Chess programs for spam, advertising, solicitation, or unrelated business purposes.
Violate applicable laws, school rules, venue rules, or platform rules.
We may issue warnings, remove participants from a class or event, suspend accounts, deny future registrations, revoke volunteer roles, or take other appropriate action.
10. Chess Tournaments and Fair Play
Tournament participants must follow all tournament rules, pairing instructions, fair play standards, and directions from tournament directors.
Players are expected to:
Play honestly.
Record and report results accurately.
Avoid outside assistance during games.
Respect opponents.
Follow time-control rules.
Ask tournament directors for help when disputes arise.
Parents, siblings, friends, coaches, and spectators may not give hints, signals, suggestions, or coaching during games.
We may correct pairings, adjust sections, review reported results, investigate disputes, and make final tournament decisions. We may also remove or disqualify players for cheating, result tampering, repeated rule violations, or serious misconduct.
11. Payments
Puddletown Chess may accept payments through third-party services such as Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or other external payment platforms.
By making a payment, you understand that:
Third-party payment processor terms may apply.
Puddletown Chess does not control all aspects of external payment systems.
A registration may not be confirmed until payment is received, unless we state otherwise.
You are responsible for providing accurate payment and registration information.
Chargebacks, failed payments, duplicate payments, or payment disputes may delay or affect registration.
We may change prices, fees, discounts, scholarship amounts, or payment methods at any time.
Please contact us directly if there is a payment issue. We generally try to resolve payment concerns fairly and generously.
12. Refunds, Credits, and Cancellations
Puddletown Chess aims to be generous and practical with refunds and credits. If you cannot attend a class, tournament, or program, please contact us at puddletownchess@gmail.com
Unless a specific program states a different policy, we may offer refunds, credits, transfers, or other accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
We may consider factors such as timing, program type, fixed costs, venue commitments, coach scheduling, whether the program has already started, and whether a spot could have been offered to another student.
We do not guarantee a refund in every situation, but our general approach is to work with families in good faith.
If Puddletown Chess cancels a program or event, we may offer a refund, credit, transfer, reschedule option, or other reasonable solution.
13. Scholarships and Financial Assistance
Puddletown Chess may offer scholarships, discounts, free training, reduced fees, or other financial assistance.
Scholarships may prioritize or consider factors such as:
ADHD, autism, neurodivergence, disability, or learning differences
Financial need
Underrepresented communities
First-come, first-served availability
Rural access or geographic barriers
Community impact
Partner organization referrals
Program fit
Available funding
Discretionary leadership review
Scholarship information may be collected through free-form responses, checkboxes, registration forms, self-reported information, parent-provided information, student-provided information, third-party referrals, or partner organizations.
By applying for or accepting a scholarship, you agree that:
Information provided should be truthful and accurate to the best of your knowledge.
Scholarship availability is limited and not guaranteed.
We may approve, deny, modify, renew, or discontinue scholarships at our discretion.
Scholarship awards may depend on available funding, program capacity, eligibility, and organizational priorities.
Scholarship information will be handled with care and shared only with people who reasonably need it for program administration, scholarship review, accommodations, reporting, or legal/accounting purposes.
Scholarships are not medical, educational, psychological, or clinical services. Puddletown Chess does not diagnose ADHD, autism, neurodivergence, disability, or any medical or mental health condition.
14. Accessibility and Accommodations
We want our programs to be welcoming and accessible. Parents or participants may contact us at puddletownchess@gmail.com to discuss reasonable accommodations, learning needs, disability-related considerations, sensory needs, communication preferences, or other concerns.
We will make good-faith efforts to support students within our resources, venue limits, volunteer capacity, program format, and safety requirements.
We cannot guarantee that every accommodation request can be fulfilled, but we will try to work with families respectfully and practically.
15. Photos, Videos, and Media
Puddletown Chess may take photos, videos, or recordings at classes, tournaments, events, award ceremonies, community programs, or online activities.
We may use these photos, videos, recordings, names, team names, tournament results, ratings, testimonials, or event highlights for purposes such as:
Website updates
Social media posts
Newsletters
Marketing materials
Flyers
Community updates
Fundraising
Grant applications
Volunteer recognition
Student achievement recognition
Press or media outreach
Our general approach is opt-out. This means we may use event photos or videos unless a parent, guardian, or adult participant tells us not to.
If you do not want yourself or your child to appear in identifiable photos, videos, or marketing materials, please notify us in writing at puddletownchess@gmail.com. We will make reasonable efforts to honor opt-out requests going forward.
Because events may involve group photos, public tournament halls, livestreams, social media posts by other families, or third-party venues, we cannot guarantee complete removal from every image or recording, especially after content has already been published or shared.
16. User Content and Homework Submissions
Students and users may submit homework, answers, comments, messages, feedback, ideas, questions, games, chess notation, documents, images, or other content through our website, homework app, forms, email, or other tools.
You retain ownership of your original content, but you give Puddletown Chess permission to use, store, review, display, reproduce, modify, and share that content as reasonably needed to provide our services, give feedback, teach classes, improve curriculum, operate programs, moderate conduct, maintain records, or communicate with parents and coaches.
We may use anonymized or de-identified examples of homework, games, puzzles, mistakes, or learning patterns for educational purposes.
You may not submit content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, discriminatory, sexually explicit, violent, private, misleading, infringing, or unrelated to our programs.
17. Intellectual Property
All materials created or provided by Puddletown Chess, including curriculum, lesson plans, worksheets, homework sets, puzzles, class recordings, training videos, slides, website content, logos, branding, event materials, forms, and written content, are owned by Puddletown Chess or its licensors unless otherwise stated.
You may use these materials only for personal, educational, non-commercial participation in our programs.
You may not copy, sell, redistribute, publicly post, upload, publish, modify, or create competing materials from our content without written permission.
Students may not share class recordings, homework answers, private links, paid materials, or coach feedback outside the program unless we give permission.
18. Coaches, Volunteers, and Third Parties
Puddletown Chess may work with coaches, volunteers, youth leaders, parents, contractors, mentors, partner organizations, venues, payment processors, technology providers, and other third parties.
We try to work with people and partners who support our mission and values. However, we are not responsible for every action, statement, policy, technology issue, or decision of third parties outside our control.
Some programs may involve partner organizations or outside platforms. Their terms, policies, waivers, privacy practices, and rules may also apply.
19. Health, Safety, and Medical Issues
Parents and guardians are responsible for informing Puddletown Chess of any relevant allergies, medical conditions, behavioral needs, disability-related needs, emergency contacts, or safety concerns that may affect participation.
Puddletown Chess does not provide medical care, clinical care, therapy, counseling, diagnosis, or emergency medical services.
In an emergency, we may contact a parent or guardian, call emergency services, notify venue staff, or take other reasonable steps to protect a participant’s safety.
Parents are responsible for any medical costs, emergency costs, or related expenses arising from participation.
20. Food and Allergies
Some events may include food, snacks, pizza, drinks, or other refreshments. Food may be provided by Puddletown Chess, volunteers, venues, restaurants, families, or third-party vendors.
We cannot guarantee that food will be free from allergens, cross-contamination, or specific ingredients.
Parents and participants are responsible for managing allergies, dietary restrictions, and food-related risks. If your child has a serious allergy or dietary restriction, please notify us in advance and send appropriate food if needed.
21. No Guarantees of Results
We work hard to help students improve, build confidence, and enjoy chess. However, we do not guarantee any specific result, rating increase, tournament placement, scholarship outcome, college admissions benefit, leadership outcome, or personal development result.
Student progress depends on many factors, including attendance, effort, practice, homework completion, tournament experience, coaching fit, family support, and individual learning pace.
22. Website Availability and Technology
We try to keep our website, forms, homework app, and online tools available and working properly. However, technology may fail.
We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, error-free operation, data availability, compatibility, or continued availability of any website feature, homework feature, messaging tool, class recording, or online service.
We may update, suspend, restrict, or discontinue technology features at any time.
23. Privacy
Your use of our website and services may involve collection and use of personal information. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect information.
Please review our Privacy Policy at: [insert Privacy Policy URL].
If there is a conflict between these Terms and the Privacy Policy regarding personal information, the Privacy Policy will generally control for privacy-specific issues.
24. International and Out-of-State Participants
Puddletown Chess is based in Oregon, USA. Most of our students are in Oregon, but we may serve students, families, coaches, or volunteers from other states or countries.
By using our services from outside Oregon or outside the United States, you understand that:
Our services are operated from the United States.
Your information may be processed in the United States.
You are responsible for complying with local laws that may apply to you.
We may limit participation, account access, scholarships, payments, or services in certain locations due to legal, operational, payment, privacy, safety, or capacity reasons.
25. Donations and Fundraising
Puddletown Chess may accept donations, sponsorships, grants, or other support for its mission, programs, scholarships, and community activities.
Donations may be subject to separate terms, tax rules, donor acknowledgments, restrictions, or fundraising policies. We recommend consulting a tax advisor about deductibility or tax treatment of donations.
Unless specifically agreed in writing, donations are generally non-refundable.
26. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Puddletown Chess and its officers, directors, leaders, coaches, volunteers, contractors, partners, venues, and representatives will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, emotional distress, loss of opportunity, or reputational harm.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim related to our website, programs, classes, tournaments, events, homework app, scholarships, or services will not exceed the amount you paid to Puddletown Chess for the specific program giving rise to the claim, or $100, whichever is greater.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some limits may not apply to you.
27. Disclaimer of Warranties
Our website, programs, homework app, classes, tournaments, events, content, and services are provided “as is” and “as available.”
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, availability, safety, and error-free operation.
We do not promise that our services will meet every expectation, be uninterrupted, be error-free, or produce any particular educational, chess, rating, leadership, financial, or personal outcome.
28. Indemnification
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Puddletown Chess and its officers, directors, leaders, coaches, volunteers, contractors, partners, venues, and representatives from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses arising from:
Your use of our services
Your child’s participation
Your violation of these Terms
Your violation of law
Your misconduct or negligence
Your submitted content
Your payment disputes or chargebacks
Your violation of another person’s rights
Damage caused by you or your child at an event or venue
29. Suspension or Termination
We may suspend, restrict, or terminate access to our website, homework app, classes, tournaments, events, scholarships, volunteer opportunities, or other services if we believe that:
You violated these Terms.
Your conduct creates safety, legal, financial, privacy, or reputational concerns.
Your behavior disrupts the program or harms others.
Payment has not been received or has been disputed.
A student, parent, coach, volunteer, or attendee acts in a way that is inconsistent with our community standards.
We may also refuse future registrations when appropriate.
30. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date above.
The updated Terms will apply after they are posted or otherwise made available. Continued use of our website or services after updates means you accept the revised Terms.
For major changes, we may provide additional notice when practical.
31. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Oregon, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
Unless otherwise required by law, any dispute related to these Terms or Puddletown Chess services will be handled in the state or federal courts located in Oregon.
32. Contact Us
For questions about these Terms, refunds, scholarships, privacy, photos/videos, accessibility, safety, or program concerns, please contact us:Puddletown Chess
Website: www.puddletownchess.org
Email: puddletownchess@gmail.com