Competition Rules

These Competition Rules govern the Weekly Best Catch, Monthly Species Challenge, Most Active Member, and other competitions or competition-specific periods displayed by Strike & Scale.

The Competition Rules are separate from the Strike & Scale Membership Terms & Conditions.

The Membership Terms govern accounts, membership, payments and general Platform use. The Competition Rules govern competition participation, entries, voting, ranking, verification, winner determination and prizes.

These Competition Rules should be read together with the Membership Terms & Conditions, the Photo & Catch Submission Rules, the Privacy Policy, and any applicable competition-specific pages or notices.

Where there is any inconsistency between these Competition Rules and the Membership Terms & Conditions, the Membership Terms & Conditions prevail unless otherwise required by law.

General Eligibility

• Weekly Best Catch is available to eligible Free Fry, Fingerling and Schoolie Members.
• Members aged 16 or 17 may participate only through an eligible Free Fry Account and with the required parent/legal guardian consent.
• Fingerling, Schoolie and Monthly Unlock are 18+.
• Monthly Species Challenge is available to eligible Schoolie subscribers and Members holding a valid Monthly Unlock for that competition.
• Free Fry or Fingerling Members may purchase a Monthly Unlock where offered, which gives full Schoolie-level access — including the Monthly Species Challenge — until that challenge closes.
• Competitions are open to eligible Members in all Australian states and territories unless a competition page states otherwise.

Skill-Based Competitions

Strike & Scale competitions are intended to be skill-based. Unless separately stated under specifically approved rules, winners are not selected by random draw.

Professional Anglers Are Not Eligible

Professional Anglers are not eligible to enter Strike & Scale prize Competitions.

A Professional Angler may still hold and use a Strike & Scale Account for ordinary platform purposes, subject to the normal Membership Terms & Conditions. Professional status affects Competition eligibility, not ordinary membership.

Professional Angler Definition

“Professional Angler” means a person who, during the previous 12 months:

• (a) competed as a professional or elite-level competitive angler;
• (b) was paid or materially sponsored specifically to compete in fishing competitions;
• (c) was a contracted member of a professional competitive fishing team or fishing-brand pro-staff program for competitive angling; or
• (d) regularly earned income as a fishing guide or charter operator where their work involves personally guiding or assisting clients to catch fish.

A person is not automatically considered a Professional Angler merely because they:

• work in a tackle, fishing, marine or boating business;
• receive occasional products or samples from a fishing brand;
• create recreational fishing content;
• previously won an ordinary recreational fishing competition; or
• hold a commercial fishing licence,

unless their circumstances otherwise satisfy the Professional Angler definition above.

Professional status is assessed at the time the relevant Competition entry is made.

Timing of Professional Status

Eligibility is assessed when the relevant Competition entry is made. If a Member was eligible when they entered and later became a Professional Angler, that later change does not automatically invalidate an earlier valid Competition entry.

However, once a Member satisfies the Professional Angler definition, they are not eligible for new Strike & Scale prize Competition entries while that status applies.

False Eligibility Declarations

A Member must not knowingly provide false or misleading information or make a false declaration concerning their eligibility to participate in a Competition.

Where Strike & Scale reasonably determines that a Member has made a materially false eligibility declaration, Strike & Scale may:

• (a) reject or disqualify affected Competition entries;
• (b) void affected Competition results;
• (c) withhold or withdraw prizes;
• (d) suspend or permanently remove the Member’s eligibility to participate in Strike & Scale Competitions;
• (e) where a prize has already been paid or supplied, seek recovery of the prize or its value to the extent permitted by law; and
• (f) take other action reasonably necessary to protect Competition integrity.

Strike & Scale may refer suspected fraudulent or unlawful conduct to relevant law-enforcement or regulatory authorities where appropriate.

A report or allegation alone does not establish that a Member is ineligible. Strike & Scale will make an eligibility determination using reasonably reliable information and relevant records.

Winner Verification

Before any Competition prize is finalised, the potential winner’s Competition eligibility must be reviewed. Professional Angler status forms part of winner eligibility verification. This is separate from Catch evidence verification.

Strike & Scale may use reasonably available information and existing records when assessing Professional Angler status. This eligibility verification does not permit a Member to provide additional or replacement Catch evidence.

If a potential winner is determined to have been a Professional Angler and therefore ineligible when the entry was made, Strike & Scale may mark the entry ineligible or disqualified, record the reason, decline to award the prize to that entry, and consider the next valid eligible result under the Competition Rules.

Already-Awarded Prizes

If Strike & Scale later reasonably determines that a prize was obtained because of a materially false Professional Angler or eligibility declaration, Strike & Scale may record the affected Competition and prize, mark the result as subject to recovery or review, and preserve records of the declaration and decision.

Strike & Scale does not automatically initiate any payment reversal or financial recovery from within the Platform. The Competition Rules state that Strike & Scale may seek return of the prize or its value to the extent permitted by law. Any actual legal or recovery action will be handled separately by Strike & Scale.

Catch Rules

All Competition Catch Submissions must comply with the Photo & Catch Submission Rules.

• Upload to the Feed does not itself mean the Catch has been accepted into a Competition.
• Catch publication, Weekly eligibility and Monthly eligibility are separate statuses.
• Strike & Scale may use automated checks and manual review.
• Flagged entries may be manually reviewed using the original submitted evidence and relevant existing Platform, Account and Competition records.
• If the existing Catch evidence is insufficient to verify the Catch or Competition entry, the entry is rejected or marked ineligible — Strike & Scale does not request replacement or supplementary Catch evidence after submission.
• Potential winners undergo human verification using the evidence and records already available.

Likes / Votes

Weekly Best Catch is determined by the highest number of valid on-platform Likes/Votes received during the official Weekly voting window, subject to eligibility, anti-manipulation checks, verification and the applicable tie process. Manual review does not arbitrarily replace the valid voting result.

Monthly Species Challenge is determined by verified fish length, not Likes/Votes.

Prizes

• The Monthly Species Challenge awards a cash first prize and a cash second prize, each starting from a seeded base amount, and a third prize of 1,000 Reward Credits.
• Mystery Length and Weekly Best Catch each award a cash prize starting from a seeded base amount.
• The seeded base amount for each competition period is shown on that competition’s page. The live prize can grow above it with membership revenue.

• Displayed rankings are provisional until required verification is complete.
• Payment of a Membership Package fee does not give a Member ownership of a prize pool.
• Prize entitlement arises only after a winner is validly determined and confirmed.

Staff and Moderators

Strike & Scale staff and moderators may enter competitions on the same terms as any other Member, using only their own membership tier’s entries and votes. They can never verify, measure, approve, reject, hide or delete anything relating to their own entry, and cannot take part in a tie-break for a competition they have entered.

Weekly Winner Stand-Down

A Member confirmed as the winner of a Weekly Best Catch competition may not enter the Weekly Best Catch for 12 Weekly competition periods, starting with the first period that opens after voting closes in the competition they won. From the moment voting closes until the result is confirmed, the Member in first place, or every Member tied for first, is held back from entering; the hold lifts if another Member is confirmed, no winner is declared, or the result is revoked. The Monthly Species Challenge, Mystery Length and Most Active Member are unaffected.

Annual Species Challenge Calendar

The current Annual Species Challenge Calendar, including the featured species and format for each competition period, is published on the Strike & Scale platform. Competition species, dates and special formats may be updated before the applicable competition period where reasonably required.

Sustainable Fishing

At Strike & Scale, we support responsible and sustainable recreational fishing.

Where practical and appropriate, we encourage anglers to practice catch and release to help protect Australia’s fisheries for future generations.

We recognise that many anglers also fish within legal limits to provide food for themselves and their families. Strike & Scale respects all lawful and ethical fishing practices.

Members are responsible for complying with all applicable recreational fishing laws, including size limits, bag limits, closed seasons and protected species requirements in their state or territory.

Together, we can enjoy the sport of fishing while helping ensure healthy fish populations for generations to come.

Competition-Specific Rules

Competition-specific rules are published on the following pages:

• Weekly Best Catch Rules
• Monthly Species Challenge Rules
• Mystery Length Rules

Photo & Catch Submission Rules

All competition entries must also comply with our Photo & Catch Submission Rules, including Upload Verification Code requirements.