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RAWLINGS® SOFTBALL BAT NAMING CAMPAIGN
Official Rules – April 2025
1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. THE PURCHASE OF ANY GOOD AND/OR SERVICE WILL NOT INCREASE A PARTICIPANT’S CHANCE OF WINNING. THIS CONTEST IS INTENDED FOR PLAY IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ONLY AND WILL BE GOVERNED BY U.S. LAW.
2. SPONSOR. The 2025 Rawlings® Softball Bat Naming Campaign (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc., 111 Westport Plaza Drive, Suite 1100, Saint Louis, Missouri 63146 (“Rawlings”). The Contest entry period starts on April 21, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. Central Time (“CT”) and ends on April 28, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CT (the “Contest Period”). All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. CT on April 28, 2025, although Rawlings reserves the right to extend the Contest Period in the event that not enough valid entries were received. Eligibility for entry into the Contest will cease at the applicable time and date, and all entries received thereafter will be considered disqualified and will be ineligible for participation. If Rawlings does not receive your entry for any reason, or if your entry is not entered correctly, the entry will be invalid and you will be ineligible to participate or win. Rawlings’ computer will be the official clock of the Contest.
3. ELIGIBILITY. ONLY LEGAL RESIDENTS, WHO, AT THE TIME OF ENTRY, ARE EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR FOURTEEN (14) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WITH VALID PARENTAL OR LEGAL GUARDIAN CONSENT, RESIDING IN THE FIFTY (50) U.S. STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE OR WIN. RAWLINGS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS CONTEST IS VALID IN ANY PARTICULAR JURISDICTION. RESIDENTS OF JURISDICTIONS WHERE THIS CONTEST IS PROHIBITED ARE INELIGIBLE TO COMPETE IN THIS CONTEST.
IF YOU ARE A MINOR IN THE JURISDICTION IN WHICH YOU RESIDE, BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST AND/OR ACCEPTING THE PRIZE (DEFINED HEREIN), YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN. PROOF OF PERMISSION MAY BE REQUIRED AT ANY TIME AND IN ANY FORM DEEMED NECESSARY BY RAWLINGS.
Employees of Rawlings and its promotional partners, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, and the immediate family members of such persons (defined as a person’s spouse, parents, children, grandparents, and/or siblings, regardless of where they live), or persons living in the same households of such persons, whether or not related, are not eligible.
By entering into this Contest, you (i) agree to comply with and be bound by these Official Rules, the decisions of Rawlings, which are final and binding in all matters, and any and all applicable laws, rules, or regulations (collectively, “Applicable Laws”); (ii) represent that you satisfy these eligibility requirements; and (iii) waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules. THIS CONTEST IS SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE LAWS AND IS VOID WHEREVER PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
4. BINDING AGREEMENT. These Official Rules form a legally binding agreement with respect to the Contest. If you do not agree to the Official Rules, you are not eligible to participate in the Contest or to win the Prize. Your participation in and submission of an entry to the Contest constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, these Official Rules and all decisions of Rawlings pertaining to the Contest. Receiving a Prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
5. HOW TO ENTER. To enter, visit https://cloud.info.rawlings.com/softball-bat-naming-contest during the Contest Period, complete the entry form by providing your full name and contact information and including one (1) name suggestion for the new Rawlings® fastpitch softball bat in your submission (the “Entry”). Entries wiith multiple bat name suggestions will not be judged. Only online Entries will be eligible, and all other methods of entry are void. Entries will be subject to the Eligibility Requirements set forth in Section 6 herein.
Limit one (1) Entry per person. For avoidance of doubt, participants may not enter with multiple email addresses, nor may participants use any other device or artiface to enter as multiple participants. If multiple Entries are submitted by any participant, only the first entry received by Rawlings (as determined by the Rawlings) will be entered into the Contest. Any participant who attempts to enter with multiple email addresses under multiple identities or uses any device or artiface to enter multiple times will be disqualified, in Rawlings’ sole discretion. Automated Entries are prohibited, and any use of automated devices will cause disqualification. All Entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the holder of the email account included in the Entry. For these purposes, an email account holder shall mean the primary person who is assigned to such email account by the Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with such email account. Rawlings is not responsible for, and shall not be liable for late, lost, misdirected, unsuccessful, or illegible Entries for any reason. Rawlings reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject any Entry for failure to fully comply with these Official Rules. Each Entry must be the original work of the participant and may not have been published previously, entered in any other contest, or have won any other award. Statements made in the Entry must be true and accurate. Except for User-Generated Content (hereinafter defined), which will be subject to Section 10 herein, all Entries become the sole property of Rawlings and will not be acknowledged or returned.
Rawlings is not responsible for and will not consider any Entries that (i) are incomplete, incorrect, damaged, illegible, misdirected, inaccurate, or inaccurately captured, not received by Rawlings (including as a result of your privacy settings on a website), lost, stolen, modified, tampered with, delayed, undelivered, or late for any reason, including as a result of any technical, electronic, telephone, hardware, software, internet, server, email platform, website, application, access provider, network, computer, data transmission, or any third-party service errors, malfunctions, or difficulties (including any active or passive filtering) of any kind (collectively, “Transmission Failures”); or (ii) do not conform to any of the requirements of these Official Rules (collectively, “Faulty Entries”).
If Rawlings determines in its sole discretion that there is any suspected or actual tampering, it may void the Entry(ies) at issue, and/or terminate the Contest, at which time, it may opt to award the Prize to a winner based on the judging criteria herein from among all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to termination or cancellation.
CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, RAWLINGS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
6. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. By entering the Contest, all participants warrant that their Entries conform with the requirements set forth herein (the “Entry Requirements”):
- • Entry must be original to the participant and may not contain copyrighted materials owned by others without permission. Rawlings does not permit the infringement of others’ rights, and any use of materials not original to the participant (except copyrighted materials owned by Rawlings) is grounds for disqualification from the Contest.
- Entry must comply with these Official Rules.
- Entry cannot be sexually explicit or suggestive, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional, or age group, profane or pornographic, obscene, or offensive, or include references to nudity or any materially dangerous activity.
- • Entry cannot endorse any form of hate or hate group, defame, misrepresent, or contain any disparaging remarks about Rawlings or its business, or any other third parties.
- Entry cannot contain trademarks or other brand indicia owned by others, advertise or promote any third-party brand or product of any kind, or depict any trade secrets or other proprietary information that violates the security and privacy practices of any third party, without permission.
- • Entry cannot contain materials embodying the names, personal information (such as license plate numbers, email address, or street addresses), or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, without permission.
- • Entry cannot communicate messages inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill with which Rawlings wishes to associate.
- Entry cannot depict a violation, and cannot itself be in violation, of any law.
ENTRIES POSTED BY RAWLINGS ARE THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF RAWLINGS IN ANY MANNER. Rawlings reserves the right to waive the Entry Requirements set forth herein in its sole discretion. Any waiver of any obligation hereunder by Rawlings does not constitute a general waiver of any obligation to participants. By participating in this Contest, you warrant and represent that your Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademark rights, rights of privacy, publicity, or other intellectual property, or other rights of any person or entity, and that any publication of the Entry via various media outlets, including Internet posting, will not infringe on the rights of any third party.
7. PRIZE: [One (1) Prize]. All eligible participants will be competing for one (1) prize which shall consist of a 2025 Rawlings® fastpitch softball bat to be named by this Contest (approximate retail value dependent upon drop and length of the bat but ranging between $399.00 and $449.00 (USD) (the “Prize”). The estimated total retail value of all Prizes awarded will be between $399.00 and $449.00 (USD). Rawlings will work with the winner to provide the drop and length of the winner’s choosing, but certain combinations may be subject to availability. The awarding and acceptance of the Prize is subject to all Applicable Laws. The winner is solely responsible for the reporting and payment of all tax liabilities or other assessments incurred by any winner as a result of the Contest, including but not limited to federal, state, and local income taxes and for all other fees or costs associated with the Prize received, regardless of whether it, in whole or in part, is used. The winner may be required to provide his/her Social Security Number for tax reporting purposes and/or to complete an IRS 1099-MISC form for the value of the Prize and return it to Rawlings.
The Prize is awarded AS IS and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No substitution of the Prize will be permitted, except by Rawlings, which may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable. The Prize is not transferable or assignable and may not be redeemed for cash. Odds of winning will be dependent upon the number of Entries received.
8. WINNER SELECTION. Judging for the Contest will take place in three (3) rounds: (1) private judging by Rawlings; (2) public voting; and (3) final selection by Rawlings.
Round 1: All eligible Entries received during the Contest Period will be judged by a panel of Rawlings judges based on weighed criteria of: 1) creativity (25%); 2) originality (25%); 3) brand aesthetic (35%); and 4) adherence to the Official Rules (15%). The initial round of judging will be completed, and the top five (5) name submissions will be identified, between April 29, 2025 and May 2, 2025.
Round 2: The top five (5) names will be announced and public voting will open on May 2, 2025. The public will be invited to vote for their favorite name by 11:59pm CT on May 5, 2025. Only one (1) vote per individual.
Round 3: Upon closure of the public voting in Round 2 on May 5, 2025, Rawlings will determine the winning name from the top five (5) finalists based on: 1) creativity (25%); 2) originality (25%); 3) brand aesthetic (40%); and 4) public voting results (10%).
Rawlings reserves the right not to award the Prize if an insufficient number of eligible Entries that meet the minimum judging criteria set forth herein is received, as determined by Rawlings in its sole discretion. Rawlings’ decision in connection with all matters concerning the Contest and the winner shall be final and binding. In the event of a tie, such tied Entries will be re-judged by an additional, qualified, tie-breaking judge or panel of judges based on the above criteria. In the event that multiple Entries submit the identical winning name, the Prize will be awarded to the Entry that was first received by Rawlings (although Rawlings may opt, in its sole discretion, to award an additional Prize to the subsequent Entry with the identical winning name).
The potential winner will be notified of the judges’ selection on or about May 9, 2025 via the email address included in the submission. The potential winner is subject to verification, including verification of age and residency, and Rawlings may require personal identification and/or proof of permission from a parent or a legal guardian to be presented in any form deemed necessary by Rawlings to redeem the Prize. The potential winner will be required to comply with all instructions in the Prize notification and may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release, a publishing rights release, and/or a publicity release (where permitted by law). If the potential winner is a minor, the Prize may be awarded to the minor’s parent or legal guardian who must sign and return all required documentation. Return of the Prize notification as “undeliverable,” or any failure to respond or to return any required document in the time noted, or any other failure to comply with these Official Rules will result in disqualification of the selected winner and forfeiture of the Prize (although Rawlings may still, in its sole discretion, opt to adopt the winning name selected for the new bat). Rawlings is not required to award elsewhere any Prize forfeited by the chosen winner. The Prize will be awarded after Rawlings’ receipt of the winner’s response and any required documents, as well as proper verification of the winner’s identity and eligibility. The Prize will be delivered within thirty (30) days after the official launch of the new bat (launch anticipated in June of 2026 but may be subject to change depending on research and development, product certification, and other factors outside of Rawlings’ control). Rawlings is not responsible for, and shall not be liable for late, lost, misdirected or unsuccessful efforts to notify the winner or to deliver the Prize, for any change of the winner’s contact information, or for any delay in Prize delivery.
9. PRIVACY. By entering the Contest, you recognize and agree that the information provided by you will be made available to Rawlings, and use of such information by Rawlings will be governed by Rawlings’ Privacy Policy located at https://privacy.rawlings.com/. You agree that personal information shared in connection with the Contest: (i) may be processed, shared, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and any other purposes outlined in these Official Rules, including to verify your identity, age, address, or to otherwise verify your eligibility to participate in this Contest; and (ii) may be used by Rawlings for purposes of sending marketing information generally. Rawlings will not sell or rent your data to third parties, but Rawlings cannot control, and assumes no obligation or responsibility for, others’ appropriation or use of any data Rawlings may disclose in connection with this Contest. To opt out of these practices, submit a request via email to privacy@rawlings.com.
10. LICENSES; USER-GENERATED CONTENT. By entering the Contest, to the extent you upload or submit any text or other content in connection with the Contest, including without limitation, a name suggestion for the bat (collectively, “User-Generated Content”), you grant the exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license to Rawlings to reproduce, modify, distribute, publicly display, publish, and create derivative works of the User-Generated Content in whole or in part in all media now known or hereafter devised, without territorial or time limitations and without further consideration, at the sole discretion of Rawlings (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in advertising, publicity, and other communications and marketing purposes), regardless of whether you are the winner. You represent and warrant that (i) you have all rights necessary to submit your User-Generated Content; (ii) the User-Generated Content does not infringe upon or violate any third-party copyright, trademark, moral right, right of publicity/privacy, or intellectual property, or other right of any person or entity; (iii) the submission of the Entry containing User-Generated Content is gratuitous, made without restriction, and will not place Rawlings under any obligation; and (iv) Rawlings is free to disclose the ideas contained in the Entry, including the User-Generated Content, on a non-confidential basis to anyone or otherwise use the ideas contained therein without additional compensation to you or without having to seek additional approval in connection with such use thereof. You consent to Rawlings doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe your “moral rights” in the User-Generated Content and waive all “moral rights” you may have in the User-Generated Content in favor of Rawlings. Display or publication of any User-Generated Content on Rawlings’ website, social media pages, or otherwise does not indicate that you have been or will be selected as a winner. You further acknowledge and agree that Rawlings does not waive any rights to use ideas that are similar or previously known to Rawlings, developed by its employees or sponsorship or marketing partners, or obtained from sources other than you.
11. LIKENESS. You grant to Rawlings the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, and unrestricted right to print, publish, broadcast, and use your name, image, likeness, voice, persona, biographical information, hometown, Prize information, and all statements made in connection with the Contest (collectively, “Likeness”) in all media now known or hereafter devised, without territorial or time limitations and without further consideration, at the sole discretion of Rawlings (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in advertising, publicity, and other communications and marketing purposes), unless prohibited by Applicable Laws. Notwithstanding, Rawlings is under no obligation to use your Likeness in connection with the User-Generated Content (including, without limitation, to identify you as the author thereof), regardless of whether you are the winner of the Contest. You acknowledge and agree that Rawlings will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use (or non-use) of your Likeness in connection with the User-Generated Contest (regardless of whether you are the winner of the Contest), nor will you have any claim arising out of such use (in whole or in part), alteration, distortion, or illusionary effect thereof. Upon Rawlings’ request, you (or, if under 18 years old or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, your parent or legal guardian) will sign any necessary documentation that may be required for Rawlings to make use of the rights granted herein.
12. TERMINATION OF CONTEST; CHANGES TO OFFICIAL RULES. Rawlings may terminate, suspend, or modify these Official Rules or this Contest (or any portion thereof) or disqualify any individual (and any of his/her Entries) who tampers with the Entry process and/or the administration of this Contest at any time in any manner without prior notice, for any reason whatsoever, including for reasons beyond Rawlings’ control. Without limiting the foregoing, if for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as originally planned, including should any virus, worm, bug, technical failure, unauthorized intervention, fraud, human error, force majeure, or other cause corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the Contest, or if there are insufficient eligible Entries that meet the minimum judging criteria set forth herein are received, each as determined by Rawlings, Rawlings may terminate, suspend, or modify the Contest and/or these Official Rules. Rawlings will not be liable in any way for the failure or delay of the Contest.
13. RELEASE; DISCLAIMER. Rawlings, its promotional partners, and their respective affiliates and subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, representatives, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) do not assume any liability for and may not be held liable for, and you hereby release and discharge, and will indemnify and hold them harmless from, any and all liability, losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind arising out of or relating to: (i) the Contest, including the administration of the Contest, the selection or confirmation of any winner, any errors or omissions, or the acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any Prize, including personal injuries, death, and property damage, and Rawlings’ use of the User-Generated Content; (ii) publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy, whether suffered by you or a third party; (iii) any Faulty Entries; (iv) any Transmission Failure, including any injury or damage to you or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from downloading any material connected to the Contest, all of which may affect a person’s ability to participate in the Contest; (v) any negligence on the part of Rawlings, including without limitation, any errors, omissions, or incorrect or inaccurate information in any Contest-related materials, including printing or advertising errors or the failure of or problems with any equipment or programming associated with or used in the Contest howsoever caused; or (vi) the security or privacy of information transmitted via computer networks or for breaches of privacy due to interference by a third party, including third-party computer “hackers” or otherwise. Rawlings disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Contest and any Prize. This section shall apply to the extent permitted by Applicable Law.
14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Without limiting the foregoing or any other provision herein, the Released Parties’ total liability for any and all claims, judgments, and awards against the Released Parties shall not exceed the total out-of-pocket expenses incurred by you to enter the Contest. In no event shall the Released Parties be liable for any attorneys’ fees, punitive, indirect, incidental, special, and consequential damages. If for any reason an otherwise eligible Entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, your sole remedy is the submission of another Entry, if possible. This section shall apply to the extent permitted by Applicable Law.
15. DISPUTES. Except where prohibited, you agree that: 1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with the Contest or any Prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by a state or federal court having venue in Saint Louis County, Missouri; 2) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, if any, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and 3) under no circumstances will you be permitted to obtain awards for, and you hereby waive all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental, and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of Rawlings and you in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Missouri, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Missouri or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Missouri.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS, EACH OF YOU (AND IF YOU ARE A MINOR, YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN) AND RAWLINGS MAY BRING CLAIMS (WHETHER IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION) AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF, CLAIMANT, OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, COORDINATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INJUNCTIVE RELIEF, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. This also means that you and Rawlings may not participate in any class, collective, consolidated, coordinated, private attorney general, request for public injunctive relief, or representative proceeding brought by any third party. Notwithstanding this provision or any other language in these Official Rules, you or Rawlings may participate in class-wide settlement. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU (AND IF YOU ARE A MINOR, YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN) AND RAWLINGS WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.
16. CONTEST RULES AND WINNER. These Official Rules and the name of the winner will be posted at https://cloud.info.rawlings.com/softball-bat-naming-contest after confirmation and validation of the winner is complete.