Go Hack Official Rules 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. CONTEST IS OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND WORLDWIDE, EXCEPT FOR ITALY, BRAZIL, QUEBEC, CRIMEA, CUBA, IRAN, SYRIA, THE SO-CALLED DONETSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC AND LUHANSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC, and NORTH KOREA.

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

The Go Hack (the “Contest”) is a skill contest where participants must build (or update) open source web applications using Go (App Track), OR use Go to help the European Organization for Nuclear Research (“CERN”) improve the featured public repositories with open source code contributions (CERN Collaboration Track). The application that you develop will be evaluated by judges, who will choose the winner(s) in accordance with these Official Rules.  The prize(s) will be awarded to entrant(s) with the highest score for the judging criteria.  See below for the complete details. 

1. BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these Official Rules (“Rules”). Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You agree that submission of an entry (“Entry” or “Application”) in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. You may not submit an Entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and Google with respect to the Contest.

2. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to enter the Contest, you must be: (1) above the age of majority in the country, state, province or jurisdiction of residence (or at least twenty years old in Taiwan) at the time of entry; (2) not a resident of Italy, Brazil, Quebec, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, orNorth Korea; (3) not a person or entity under U.S. export controls or sanctions; and (4) have access to the Internet as of March 24, 2022. Contest is void in Italy, Brazil, Quebec, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, North Korea,  and where prohibited by law.  Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Google, Devpost, Inc., and their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (“Contest Entities”), and members of the Contest Entities’ and their immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the households (whether related or not) of such employees, officers and directors are ineligible to participate in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time.

If you are entering as part of a company or on behalf of your employer, these rules are binding on you, individually, and/or your employer.  If you are acting within the scope of your employment, as an employee, contractor, or agent of another party, you warrant that such party has full knowledge of your actions and has consented thereto, including your potential receipt of a prize.  You further warrant that your actions do not violate your employer’s or company’s policies and procedures.   

3. SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by Google LLC (“Google” or “Sponsor”), a Delaware corporation with principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA, 94043, USA.

4. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins at 12:00:00 P.M. Pacific Time (PT) Zone in the United States on March 24, 2022 and ends at 2:59:59 P.M. PT on May 16, 2022 (“Contest Period”). ENTRANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.

5. HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter the Contest, visit the Contest website located at gohack.devpost.com (“Contest Site”) during the Contest Period and follow the instructions for one of the two available tracks. 

  1. “App Track”. Build or significantly update open source web applications using Go OR 

  2. “CERN Collaboration Track”. Use Go to help CERN improve the featured public repositories with open source code contributions (“CERN Collaboration Track”) 

Please find the Application Requirements and Submission Requirements outlined below (hereinafter, referred to collectively as the “Requirements”).  

5A. Application Requirements. Entries to the Contest must meet the following Requirements: 

  1. Functionality: The Application must be capable of being successfully installed and running consistently on the platform for which it is intended and must function as depicted in the video and/or expressed in the text description.

  2. Platforms: A submitted Application must run on the platform for which it is intended and which is specified in Section 5B of these Official Rules (Submission Requirements).

  3. New and Updated Applications: 

  • App Track Entries: Applications to the App Track must either 

    • be newly created by the Entrant during the duration of the Contest Period 

    • or if the Application existed before the start of the Contest Period, it must be originally created by and significantly updated by the Entrant and improvements must be explained on the entry form. 

  • CERN Collaboration Track Entries: Contributions to the CERN Collaboration Track must be newly created during the Contest Period. Additionally, submissions to the CERN Collaboration Track must be built using one of the following featured repositories (each a “Repository”):

  1. Third Party Integrations: If an Application integrates any third-party SDK, APIs and/or data, Entrant must be authorized to use them in accordance with Section 11 of these Official Rules (Intellectual Property Rights).

  2. Testing: Entrant must make the Application available free of charge and without any restriction, for testing, evaluation and use by the Sponsor and Judges until the judging period ends.

  • If the Application includes software that runs on proprietary or third party hardware that is not widely available to the public, including software running on devices or wearable technology other than smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers, the Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to require the entrant to provide physical access to the Application hardware upon request. 

  • The Application must, at a minimum, support English language use. 

5B. Submission Requirements. Entries to the Contest must meet the following Requirements:

  • Baseline Submission Requirements:

    • Include an Application built with the required developer tools and meets the above Application Requirements.

    • Include a text description that explains the features and functionality of your Application.

    • Include a demonstration video of your Application. The video portion of the submission:

  • should be less than three (3) minutes in duration

  • should include footage that shows the Application functioning on the device for which it was built

  • must be uploaded to and made publicly visible on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook Video, or Youku, and a link to the video must be provided on the submission form on the Contest Site; and

  • cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights as outlined in Section 11 of these Official Rules (Intellectual Property Rights).

  • Track-specific Submission Requirements:

    • App Track: Entrant must provide Google with access to Entrant’s working Application for judging and testing. Provide a URL to the open-source code repository for judging and testing OR a link to the functioning demo. The Application must be public. 

    • CERN Collaboration Track: Entrant must provide Google with access to the Entrant’s publicly available Github Pull Request (“Pull Request”). The Pull Request must be submitted to the repository AND submitted through the Devpost submission form. Pull Requests will be considered eligible if the repository maintainer determines the contribution could be accepted into the project and if all other eligibility criteria are satisfied.

  • Written and video parts of Entries must be in English.

Limit one (1) entry per person per Track. Subsequent entries will be disqualified. All Entries must be received by 2:59 p.m. (PT) on May 16, 2022.  Entries are void if they are in whole or part illegible, incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, or late. All Entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry, and the potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that email address. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned to an email address by an Internet service provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email address for the domain.

During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Judges (defined below) will be evaluating each Entry to ensure that it meets the Requirements.  The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant who submits an Entry that does not meet the Requirements. 

6. JUDGING: Each Entry will be judged by a panel of experts who are employees of Sponsor (“Judges”).  On or around June 6, 2022, each Entry will be evaluated by the Judges based on the following criteria:

6A. Stage One: The first stage will determine via pass/fail whether the Entry meets a baseline level of viability, in that the Entry reasonably fits the theme, include all Application Requirements and Submission Requirements, and reasonably applies the required APIs/SDKs featured in the Contest.

6B Stage Two

(I). Stage Two (App Track Entries): All App Track Entries that pass Stage One will be evaluated in Stage Two based on the following equally weighted criteria for a maximum of 30 points

  • Quality of the Idea (1-10 points)

    • Includes creativity and originality of the idea.

  • Implementation of the Idea (1-10 points)

    • Includes how well the idea was executed by the developer and how well Google Golang was leveraged.

  • Potential Value (1-10 points)

    • Includes the extent to which the solution is widely useful and impactful.

(II). Stage Two (CERN Contribution Track Entries): All CERN Contribution Track Entries that pass Stage One will be evaluated in Stage Two based on the following point-based criteria for a maximum score of 50 points:

  • Is the solution robust? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution well tested? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution achieved without cutting corners? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution sophisticated? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution properly optimized? Any interesting performance improvements? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution properly documented? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution provided with examples? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution sustainable? (1-5 points)

  • Is the code readable? (1-5 points)

  • Is the solution using best coding practices (1-5 points)

 

6C. Best Use of Generics in Go

Entries from the App Track and CERN Contribution Track that utilize Go’s recently launched Generics feature will qualify for an additional round of judging. Judges will evaluate which Entry most effectively and creatively utilize Generics and will select a potential winner for this category. 

 

6D. Judging Logistics. Judges will evaluate and attribute a score to each Entry made up of scores based upon the above-listed criteria. The Entries that receive the highest overall scores will be selected as the potential winner(s). 

In the event of a tie in the App Track, the App Track Entry that received the higher score from the Judges in the category of “Quality of the Idea” will be selected as one of the potential winner(s). 

In the event of a tie in the CERN Collaboration Track, the maintainer of the featured Repository will select the potential winner(s). In the event the maintainer of the featured Repository is unavailable to select the potential winner(s), Google will select the potential winner(s). 

For clarity and the avoidance of doubt, Entrants are not eligible to win in more than one Track. Additionally, the potential winner(s) of the two Tracks are not eligible for the Best Use of Google Generics prize. In the event a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, the Entry that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential winner.

On or about June 7, 2022, the potential winner(s) will be selected and notified by telephone and/or email, at Sponsor’s discretion. If a potential winner does not respond to the notification attempt within 3 days from the first notification attempt, then such potential winner will be disqualified and an alternate potential winner will be selected from among all eligible Entries received based on the judging criteria described herein.  With respect to notification by telephone, such notification will be deemed given when the potential winner engages in a live conversation with Sponsor or when a message is left on the potential winner’s voicemail service or answering machine by the Sponsor, whichever occurs first. Except where prohibited by law, each potential winner may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor.  If required, potential winners must return all such required documents within 10 days following attempted notification or such potential winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential winner will be selected based on the judging criteria described herein. In the event the potential winner is a minor, the potential winner’s parent or legal guardian must sign the documents and return them as described herein. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced.

In the event that no Entries are received, no prize will be awarded.  Determinations of judges are final and binding.

7. PRIZES: The following Prizes will be awarded:

7A. App Track Prizes.

  • 1st Place 

    • $5,000 USD Cash 

    • Virtual meeting with Go team members to discuss the winning project 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

  • 2nd Place 

    • $4,000 USD Cash 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

  • 3rd Place 

    • $3,000 USD Cash 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

  • 4th Place 

    • $2,000 USD Cash 

    • Social post promoting the winning project - awarded to one (1) Entry

  • 5th Place 

    • $1,000 USD Cash + Social post promoting the winning project 

7B. CERN Contribution Track Prizes. 

  • Best CERN Collaboration for the Reva Project Repository. 

    • $1,000 USD Cash 

    • Virtual meeting with CERN team members to discuss the winning project 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

  • Best CERN Collaboration for the Go Hep Project. 

    • $1,000 USD Cash 

    • Virtual meeting with CERN team members to discuss the winning project 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

  • Best CERN Collaboration for the GoLBD Project

    • $1,000 USD Cash 

    • Virtual meeting with CERN team members to discuss the winning project 

    • Social post promoting the winning project 

    • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

7C. Best Use of Generics Prize.

  • $2,000 USD Cash 

  • Virtual meeting with Go team members to discuss the winning project 

  • Social post promoting the winning project 

  • Personalized gopher art created by Google 

Odds of winning any prize depends on the number of eligible Entries received during the Contest Period and the skill of the entrants.  

The prize(s) will be awarded within approximately 8 weeks of receipt by Sponsor or Devpost of final prize acceptance documents. No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent for prize(s) is allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater monetary value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason.  Value is subject to market conditions, which can fluctuate and any difference between actual market value and ARV will not be awarded. The prize(s) may be subject to restrictions and/or licenses and may require additional hardware, software, service, or maintenance to use. The winner shall bear all responsibility for use of the prize(s) in compliance with any conditions imposed by such manufacturer(s), and any additional costs associated with its use, service, or maintenance. Contest Entities have not made and Contest Entities are not responsible in any manner for any warranties, representations, or guarantees, express or implied, in fact or law, relating to the prize(s), regarding the use, value or enjoyment of the prize(s), including, without limitation, its quality, mechanical condition, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, with the exception of any standard manufacturer's warranty that may apply to the prize(s) or any components thereto.   

9. TAXES: PAYMENTS TO POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO DEVPOST AND GOOGLE ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY DEVPOST AND GOOGLE TO PERMIT IT TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN (INCLUDING PROVINCIAL) TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES GOOGLE IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. In order to receive a prize, potential winners must submit the tax documentation requested by Devpost and Google or otherwise required by applicable law, to Google or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law, including, where relevant, the law of the potential winner’s country of residence. Each potential winner is responsible for ensuring that (s)he complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the prize may be forfeited and Google may, in its sole discretion, select an alternative potential winner.

10. GENERAL CONDITIONS:  All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Google reserves the right to disqualify any entrant from the Contest if, in Google’s sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, Google, or the Judges.  

11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: By submitting an Entry in this Contest, the entrant warrants and represents the Submission, including programming and related material, is open source and not subject to the proprietary rights of any person or entity. Further, the entrant agrees that if any portion of the Entry should be deemed to be owned by the entrant that (s)he will, as a condition of entry, grant Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, publicly perform, publicly display and create a derivative work from, any Entry that entrant submits solely for the purposes of allowing Google to test and evaluate the Entry for purposes of the Contest and to advertise, display, demonstrate, or otherwise promote the Contest. Entrant specifically agrees that Google shall have the right to use, reproduce, publicly perform, and publicly display the Entry in connection with the advertising and promotion of the Contest via communication to the public or other groups, including, but not limited to the right to make screenshots, animations and video clips available for promotional purposes.

12. PRIVACY: Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Google may collect, store, share and otherwise use personally identifiable information provided during the registration process and the contest, including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Google will use this information in accordance with its Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/), including for administering the Contest and verifying entrant’s identity, postal address and telephone number in the event an Entry qualifies for a prize. 

Entrant’s information may also be transferred to countries outside the country of entrant’s residence, including the United States.  Such other countries may not have privacy laws and regulations similar to those of the country of entrant’s residence.

If an entrant does not provide the mandatory data required at registration, Google reserves the right to disqualify the Entry. 

Entrant has the right to request access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data held by Google in connection with the Contest by writing to Google at this email address go-hack@google.com.

13.  PUBLICITY.  By accepting a prize, entrant agrees to Sponsor and its agencies use of his or her name and/or likeness and Entry for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

14. WARRANTY, INDEMNITY AND RELEASE: Entrants warrant that their Entries are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Entry and that they have the right to submit the Entry in the Contest and grant all required licenses.  Each entrant agrees not to submit any Entry that (1) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (2) otherwise violates the applicable state or federal law.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, each entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Contest Entities at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the entrant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Contest Entities from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from (a) any Entry or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (b) any misrepresentation made by the entrant in connection with the Contest; (c) any non-compliance by the entrant with these Rules; (d) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to the entrant’s involvement with the Contest; and (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest.

Entrant releases Google from any liability associated with: (a) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site; (b) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry information; or (c) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners.

15. ELIMINATION: Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by any entrant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entrant from the Contest.

16. INTERNET: Contest Entities are not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Entries or entry materials due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit an entrant’s ability to participate.

17.  RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY.  If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Google reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Google further reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site.  Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Site, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Google reserves the right to seek damages from any such entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.

18. NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT: Under no circumstances shall the submission of an Entry into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Google, or the Contest Entities. You acknowledge that you have submitted your Entry voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. You acknowledge that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied-in-fact contract now exists between you and Google or the Contest Entities and that no such relationship is established by your submission of an Entry under these Rules.

19. FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and all entrants expressly waive any and all such rights.

20. ARBITRATION: By entering the Contest, you agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim, or demand related in any way to the Contest will be decided by binding arbitration. All disputes between you and Google of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Rules, shall be submitted to Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect in the San Jose, California, USA area, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred.

21. WINNER’S LIST: You may request a list of winners after May 19, 2022 but before December 19, 2022 by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to:

go-hack@google.com

Google LLC

1600 Amphitheater Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 USA 

(Residents of Vermont need not supply postage).