Terms and Conditions of Service — SparLink

Last updated: April 21, 2026 Version: 1.0

⚠️ Draft pending legal review.

Preamble

These Terms and Conditions (hereafter "Terms") govern use of the SparLink application and service (hereafter "SparLink", "the Service", "we") offered by SparLink (hereafter "the Provider"), with registered office at [to be defined], VAT number [to be defined].

By registering for and using SparLink you declare that you have read, understood, and fully accepted these Terms. If you do not accept, please do not use the Service.

1. Description of the Service

SparLink is a digital platform for combat-sports practitioners that integrates three core functions:

1. Matchmaker — a tool to find compatible sparring partners based on profile, discipline, level, and geographic location.
2. Round timer — a training timer with discipline presets and customization.
3. Log and feedback — a training-session log and structured feedback system between practitioners.

The Service is offered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) accessible via the web and mobile devices, without any executable to install.

2. User account

2.1 Registration

To use the Service's features you must create an account by providing:

• a valid email;
• a password (of which we keep only a cryptographic hash);
• a display name (display_name);
• confirmation that you are at least 16 years old.

2.2 Minimum age

The Service is intended for users aged 16 or over. By registering you declare, under your own responsibility, that you have reached this age. Accounts of users under 16 will be deleted as soon as identified.

2.3 Truthfulness of data

You undertake to provide truthful and up-to-date information. In particular:

• profile photo — it must be a real, recent, recognizable photo of you; photos of other people, AI-generated images passed off as real, generic avatars, and offensive content are prohibited;
• weight, height, level, discipline — they must reflect your actual situation. Falsifying this data invalidates matchmaking and can endanger your safety and that of your sparring partner.

2.4 Credential responsibility

You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. You must notify us immediately at info@sparlink.app if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

2.5 One account per person

Creating multiple accounts for the same natural person, or creating accounts with false identities, is prohibited. Breach results in the closure of all linked accounts without refund.

3. User conduct

The Service is social in nature (matchmaker + chat) and depends on mutual respect between users. The following is prohibited:

• Harassment and abuse — offensive language, threats, stalking, inappropriate advances, sexually explicit or unwanted content in chat or messages.
• Fake profiles — use of photos that are not your own, fictitious identities, fake coach roles without real qualifications.
• Spam — promotional messages, chain letters, pyramid schemes, unauthorized advertising.
• Discrimination — refusing partners on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
• Unlawful content — any content that violates Italian or EU law (defamation, hate speech, copyright infringement, child sexual abuse material, etc.).
• Fraudulent activity — identity theft, phishing, hacking attempts, manipulation of the referral/commission system.
• Use of the Service to find opponents for illegal fights — SparLink is for consensual sports training, not illegal fights.

3.1 Reporting

If you experience or witness conduct that violates these Terms, you can report the user via the in-app "Report" feature or by writing to info@sparlink.app.

3.2 Ban policy

In the event of a breach, we reserve the right to:

1. Warning — for minor breaches (e.g., first-time spam, rude language).
2. Temporary suspension — up to 30 days for repeated breaches.
3. Permanent ban — for serious breaches (harassment, fake profiles, fraud, unlawful content). A ban prevents the creation of new accounts.

In the case of a permanent ban on a paid account, no refund is provided for the unused period (see § 8).

4. ⚠️ Disclaimer on training and injuries

IMPORTANT — READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY.

Combat sports are physically demanding activities that carry inherent risks of injury, including serious injury. Use of SparLink does not replace supervision by a qualified instructor and does not guarantee the compatibility or safety of a sparring partner.

4.1 SparLink is not a coach, not a doctor

SparLink is a facilitation tool (matchmaker, timer, log). It does not provide medical advice, personalized training programs, diagnoses, prescriptions, or sports certifications. Information declared by users (level, weight, discipline) is not verified by us, except as provided in § 5 for coaches.

4.2 Sparring is a high-risk activity

Sparring, even at amateur level, can cause:

• head trauma and concussions;
• fractures, dislocations, contusions;
• muscle and joint injuries;
• in rare cases, permanent injury or death.

4.3 Mandatory precautions (user's responsibility)

Before every sparring session organized through SparLink, you undertake to:

1. Consult a doctor and obtain a certificate of sports fitness (competitive or non-competitive, as applicable), as required by Italian Ministerial Decree 24/04/2013 and subsequent amendments for sports practice in Italy.
2. Perform an adequate warm-up before every session.
3. Use protective equipment appropriate to the discipline (gloves, mouthguard, groin guard, headgear, shin guards, gi/no-gi as required).
4. Check the training environment (clean mat, sufficient space, no obstacles).
5. Agree in advance with the partner on intensity, rules, permitted techniques, and stop signals (tap out, safety word).
6. Stop immediately in case of illness, injury, or unwanted escalation.

4.4 Exclusion of liability

To the extent permitted by law, SparLink is not liable for:

• injuries, lesions, physical or psychological harm suffered during sparring sessions organized through the Service;
• unlawful conduct by other users;
• discrepancies between what is declared in a profile and reality (e.g., overstated level, outdated weight);
• the user's physical fitness for sports activity — it is the user's sole responsibility to obtain and maintain a valid medical certificate;
• any indirect, consequential, or lost-profit damages arising from use of the Service.

Use of SparLink is at your sole risk. By accepting these Terms you declare that you understand the risks inherent to sparring and assume full responsibility for them.

Nothing in this clause limits the Provider's liability in cases where Italian law does not allow exclusions or limitations (wilful misconduct, gross negligence, consumer damage for defective products, under Art. 1229 Italian Civil Code and the Consumer Code).

5. Verified coaches

5.1 What "verified" means

The verified coach badge indicates that the Provider has performed a basic check on the user's identity and qualification declaration (e.g., request for a copy of a federation diploma, technical certification, black belt verified by a recognized organization).

5.2 What "verified" does NOT mean

The verified-coach badge is not:

• a legal certification or professional license;
• a guarantee of teaching quality;
• a guarantee that the coach has no criminal record;
• an assumption of liability by SparLink for the coach's conduct.

5.3 Coach–student relationship

Any contractual relationship between coach and students (paid lessons, personalized programs) is outside of SparLink and arises directly between the parties. SparLink is not a party to the contract and is not responsible for its performance.

6. Intellectual property

6.1 Provider's property

The software, design, the "SparLink" trademark, the logo, editorial content produced by the Provider, and the matchmaking database are the exclusive property of the Provider and are protected by copyright and trademark law.

6.2 User-generated content

You remain the owner of content you upload to the Service (profile photo, bio, session notes, chat messages, feedback).

You grant the Provider a non-exclusive, free, worldwide, transferable (only to technical sub-processors) license, limited in duration to the time necessary to deliver the Service, to:

• host your content on our servers and CDN;
• show it to other users according to the Service's visibility rules;
• process it to deliver functionality (e.g., matchmaking, statistics, SparLink Score calculation).

On account deletion the license terminates and the content is deleted or anonymized as provided by the privacy policy.

6.3 Prohibited content

You undertake not to upload content:

• for which you do not hold the rights (third-party photos, copyrighted content);
• that is unlawful, defamatory, offensive, or discriminatory;
• of a sexually explicit nature or apt to cause embarrassment in a sporting context.

7. Subscriptions and billing

7.1 Plans

SparLink offers the following plans:

The up-to-date details of features and prices are published at sparlink.app.

7.2 Trial period

A free {{TRIAL_DAYS}}-day trial is offered to new users on paid plans. At the end of the trial, the subscription activates automatically at the prevailing price, unless cancelled before expiry.

7.3 Payment

Payments are processed by Stripe, a third-party provider certified PCI-DSS Level 1. The Provider does not store card data: all sensitive information transits and is stored only by Stripe.

Major credit/debit cards and the payment methods supported by Stripe in your country are accepted.

7.4 Automatic renewal

Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of the billing period (monthly or annual), unless cancelled. You will receive a reminder email before renewal when required by local regulations.

7.5 Cancellation

You can cancel the subscription at any time from the account settings ("Manage subscription"). Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period: you will continue to use the premium features until that date, with no further charges thereafter.

7.6 Right of withdrawal (EU consumers — 14 days)

Under Art. 52 et seq. of the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005) and Directive 2011/83/EU, as a consumer you have the right to withdraw from the subscription contract within 14 days of signing up, without stating a reason, and obtain a refund of what you paid.

Exception — digital service already started. When subscribing to a paid plan, you will be asked to expressly consent to the immediate start of the digital service waiving the right of withdrawal for the portion of service already used, as permitted by Art. 59, letter o) of the Italian Consumer Code. If you have used premium features during the trial or after activating the subscription, you may no longer be entitled to a full refund, while retaining the ability to cancel the renewal.

To exercise the right of withdrawal within 14 days: write to {{BILLING_EMAIL}} stating your account email and a withdrawal request. The refund will be credited to the same payment method within 14 days of receipt of the request.

See also the Refund Policy for details.

7.7 Price changes

We may change prices in the future. Any price increase applicable to your subscription will be notified to you with at least 30 days' notice by email. You may cancel before the new price takes effect; otherwise the increase will be deemed accepted.

7.8 Invoicing

Users with a VAT number can enter their tax details in account settings to receive an electronic invoice. Consumer users will receive a receipt.

8. Refunds

The refund policy is detailed in the Refund Policy document. In summary:

• EU 14-day right of withdrawal — yes, with limits for service already used (§ 7.6).
• Mid-period cancellation — no pro-rata refund, but access until the end of the paid period.
• Ban for Terms violation — no refund for unused days.
• Prolonged malfunction — evaluated on a case-by-case basis, write to {{BILLING_EMAIL}}.

9. Limitation of liability

9.1 "As-is" nature of the Service

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of uninterrupted availability, absence of errors, or fitness for a particular purpose, subject to mandatory statutory warranties.

9.2 Liability cap

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Provider's total liability towards you for any claim arising from or connected to the Service is limited to the total amount paid by the user to the Provider in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

9.3 Exclusions

To the extent permitted by law, the Provider is not liable for:

• indirect, consequential, or exemplary damages;
• data loss due to events outside our control (e.g., natural disasters, third-party cyberattacks);
• conduct of other users of the Service;
• injuries during sparring sessions (see § 4).

9.4 Statutory reservation

The limitations in § 9.2 and § 9.3 do not apply in case of wilful misconduct or gross negligence by the Provider, nor where Italian law does not allow such limitations (e.g., product liability for consumers, personal injury).

10. Account suspension and closure

10.1 By the user

You can close your account at any time from the settings ("Delete account"). Deletion is irreversible after 30 days (see privacy policy).

10.2 By the Provider

We may suspend or close your account, with or without notice, in the following cases:

• breach of the Terms (in particular § 3, § 4, § 6.3);
• fraud or abuse of the referral/commission system;
• prolonged inactivity (> 24 months);
• a reasoned request from a judicial authority;
• Service discontinuation (see § 11).

In the case of closure for your breach of the Terms, no refund is provided for the unused subscription.

11. Service continuity and discontinuation

We strive to provide the Service with continuity, but we do not guarantee a specific uptime SLA on the Free plan. On paid plans, specific SLAs may be defined in the Service Level Agreement (if published).

Should the Provider decide to discontinue the Service:

• we will give paying users at least 90 days' notice;
• we will make data export available (see privacy);
• we will refund the unused portion of the current subscription, pro-rata from the date of discontinuation.

12. Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms in case of:

• regulatory changes;
• new Service features;
• adjustments to security or pricing policies.

In case of substantial changes, we will notify you by email with at least 30 days' notice. If you do not accept the changes, you can cancel the subscription before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after they take effect constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by Italian law.

For any dispute arising from or connected to these Terms, the Court of Milan (to be confirmed) has exclusive jurisdiction, except for any different mandatory forum provided by law for consumers (Art. 66-bis of the Italian Consumer Code, which establishes the jurisdiction of the consumer's place of residence or domicile for disputes with professionals).

13.1 Alternative dispute resolution (ODR)

Pursuant to EU Regulation 524/2013, the European Commission makes available an online dispute resolution (ODR) platform accessible at: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

14. General provisions

14.1 Assignment

You may not assign the rights and obligations arising from these Terms without our written consent. We may assign the contract as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of a business unit, upon notice to users.

14.2 Severability

If a clause of these Terms is declared invalid or ineffective, the other clauses remain in full force.

14.3 No tacit waiver

Failure to exercise a right does not constitute a waiver of that right.

14.4 Notices

Official notices from the Provider are made by email to the address associated with your account. You are required to keep it up to date.

15. Contacts

• Support: info@sparlink.app
• Legal matters: legal@sparlink.app
• Billing / refunds: {{BILLING_EMAIL}}
• Provider: SparLink — [to be defined] — VAT number [to be defined]

Terms version 1.0 — effective from {{EFFECTIVE_DATE}}