Monthly Species Challenge Rules

These Monthly Species Challenge Rules form part of the Strike & Scale legal framework and should be read together with the Membership Terms & Conditions, the Competition Rules, the Photo & Catch Submission Rules, and the Privacy Policy.

Where these Rules conflict with the Membership Terms & Conditions, the Membership Terms & Conditions prevail.

Contents

1. Format
2. Eligibility
3. Monthly Entry Allowance
4. Monthly / Weekly Separation
5. Monthly-to-Weekly Crossover
6. Catch / Measurement Requirements
7. Monthly Winner / Ties
8. Monthly Prizes
9. Winner Verification
10. Fishing / Responsible Fishing
11. Rule Changes
12. Related Documents

1. Format

1.1. Each Monthly Species Challenge features one (1) nominated species for the relevant Monthly Competition.

1.2. The winner is determined by the longest verified eligible Catch of the nominated species.

1.3. Likes/Votes do NOT determine the Monthly winner.

2. Eligibility

2.1. Monthly Species Challenge is available to:

• a) eligible active Schoolie subscribers; and
• b) Members holding a valid Monthly Unlock for that Competition.

2.2. Free Fry and Fingerling do NOT receive standard Monthly access through their base tier.

2.3. A Free Fry or Fingerling Member may purchase a Monthly Unlock where available, which gives full Schoolie-level access — including the Monthly Species Challenge — until that challenge closes.

3. Monthly Entry Allowance

3.1. A maximum of four (4) regular Monthly Species Challenge entries are available during the applicable Monthly competition, with one (1) regular entry becoming available at each applicable weekly unlock point. An unlocked regular entry that is not used remains available and accumulates for use later in that same Monthly competition. Members also receive one (1) flexible bonus entry for the Monthly competition.

3.2. Accumulation applies only within the same Monthly competition. Unused entries do not carry into another Monthly competition.

Progressive Unlock

3.3. The progressive unlock is based on the stage/week of the current Monthly competition. It is NOT based only on how long the Member has personally held the entitlement. If an eligible Member first obtains Monthly access during Week 3, the Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 regular entries have already unlocked, and therefore up to three (3) regular entries are available at that point (assuming none have been used). The fourth regular entry remains locked until the next applicable weekly unlock point. The Member also has the one (1) flexible bonus entry. Future weekly entries are not granted early.

3.4. This principle applies to eligible Monthly participation through both Schoolie Membership and Monthly Unlock.

Monthly Unlock

3.5. A Monthly Unlock does not immediately unlock future regular Monthly Species Challenge entries. Regular entries become available according to the weekly unlock points of the applicable Monthly competition. Where a Monthly Unlock is activated after the Monthly competition has commenced, any regular entries whose weekly unlock points have already occurred become available upon activation, subject to any entries already used. Future regular entries remain locked until their applicable weekly unlock points. The Member also receives the applicable one (1) flexible bonus entry for that Monthly competition.

3.6. Example: A Monthly Unlock activated during Week 3 — 3 regular entries available + 1 flexible bonus entry available + 1 regular entry still to unlock. The Member does not receive all five entries immediately.

Flexible Bonus Entry

3.7. The flexible bonus entry:

• a) is available at any time during the Monthly Competition;
• b) is separate from the 4 regular entries;
• c) is not automatically consumed; and
• d) must be deliberately selected where offered in the upload flow.

Expiry

3.8. Unused Monthly entries expire when that Monthly Competition closes. They do NOT carry into the next Monthly Competition.

4. Monthly / Weekly Separation

4.1. Monthly entries are separate from standard Weekly Best Catch entries.

4.2. A later Monthly Unlock does NOT create or restore standard Weekly entries for Weekly periods that have already closed.

5. Monthly-to-Weekly Crossover

5.1. An eligible Monthly Catch may also be selected/submitted for the applicable Weekly Best Catch.

5.2. The current system permits 1 Monthly-to-Weekly crossover per active Weekly Competition period.

5.3. A valid Monthly-to-Weekly crossover:

• a) does NOT consume the Member’s standard Weekly entry allowance; and
• b) remains subject to Weekly Best Catch verification and voting rules.

5.4. Crossover opportunities do NOT accumulate. If unused when that Weekly period closes, the crossover opportunity expires and cannot be recovered later.

6. Catch / Measurement Requirements

6.1. Catch and measurement requirements must comply with the current Photo & Catch Submission Rules, including:

• a) the Catch must be the nominated species;
• b) the Catch must be legal where caught;
• c) the required verification code must be physically visible where required;
• d) Angler ID/date/other evidence must be included where specified;
• e) where required, the fish must be laid flat on a hard stable surface;
• f) an appropriate rigid metric measuring mat/device must be used;
• g) the required measurement points and scale must be clearly visible; and
• h) the verified measurement accepted by Strike & Scale is used for ranking.

6.2. Any additional competition-specific evidence requirement, such as release proof, must be satisfied in the ORIGINAL submission.

6.3. Strike & Scale will NOT request replacement Catch photos, measurement photos or supplementary Catch evidence later.

6.4. If the evidence supplied is insufficient, the entry is rejected or marked ineligible.

7. Monthly Winner / Ties

7.1. The provisional Monthly winner is the eligible Catch with the longest verified measurement.

7.2. Where two or more eligible entries record the same longest verified length, the higher placing will be awarded to the valid entry that was submitted to Strike & Scale first, determined by the Platform’s original submission timestamp.

7.3. The same rule applies when determining subsequent tied placings where required.

7.4. The following are NOT used as a Monthly tie-break:

• a) catch time;
• b) photo time;
• c) moderation approval time;
• d) verification completion time;
• e) number of Likes/Votes; or
• f) a judging panel.

8. Monthly Prizes

8.1. The Monthly Species Challenge uses seeded prizes.

8.2. 1st prize: a cash prize starting from a seeded base amount shown on the competition page for that period.

8.3. 2nd prize: a cash prize starting from a seeded base amount shown on the competition page for that period.

8.4. 3rd prize: 1,000 Reward Credits.

8.5. The live cash prize values will be displayed on the Platform and may increase above their seed amounts, including with membership revenue or where Strike & Scale adds further funding or a supplementary sponsor-supplied prize.

8.6. Payment of a Membership Package fee does not give a Member ownership interest in a prize pool. Prize entitlement arises only after a winner is validly determined and confirmed.

9. Winner Verification

9.1. Potential Monthly winners must undergo human verification before a result or prize is finalised.

9.2. Human verification uses:

• a) original Catch evidence;
• b) original measurement evidence;
• c) original upload information;
• d) Account records;
• e) Competition records; and
• f) relevant existing Platform records.

9.3. Strike & Scale does NOT ask the entrant to provide replacement Catch or measurement evidence to repair an inadequate original submission.

9.4. If the winning Catch cannot be confidently verified using the evidence already available, it must not be confirmed as the winner and may be rejected or disqualified.

10. Fishing / Responsible Fishing

10.1. Strike & Scale recommends responsible fishing practices and Catch and release where appropriate and lawful.

10.2. Members remain responsible for checking and complying with the laws applying where the fish was caught.

10.3. The eligible jurisdiction for a Competition is the jurisdiction displayed by Strike & Scale for that Competition period.

11. Rule Changes

11.1. Strike & Scale may amend, suspend or cancel Monthly Species Challenge competitions where reasonably necessary for legal, operational, security or technical reasons.

11.2. Strike & Scale’s decisions on all competition matters are final.

12. Related Documents

12.1. These rules should be read together with the following Strike & Scale documents:

• a) Membership Terms & Conditions;
• b) Competition Rules;
• c) Photo & Catch Submission Rules;
• d) Weekly Best Catch Rules;
• e) Mystery Length Rules; and
• f) Privacy Policy.