Season rules

These are the standing rules for every Podium season. They set out who can enter, how a winner is decided, how prizes are funded, and how they are paid.

Before each season opens we publish a short season sheet alongside these rules, naming that season's prize pool, its divisions, its start and end dates, and the tracks in play. The season sheet and these rules together form the binding terms for that season.

Podium is operated by Speedim Technology.

Entry is open to anyone aged 16 or over who holds an eligible Podium account, except employees of Speedim Technology, our contractors, our prize sponsors, and their immediate families.

Entrants aged 16 or 17 need consent from a parent or guardian, and any prize is paid to that parent or guardian.

One account per person. Multiple accounts controlled by the same person are removed from the standings and forfeit any prize.

Where local law prevents us from running a skill contest or paying a prize, entrants in that place can take part for rank and credentials but are not eligible for cash.

There are two routes onto the leaderboard, and both compete for the same prizes on the same terms:

• Free route. Create a free account and earn Momentum Points through the free courses, assessments and projects available on that tier. This route is always open and is never limited in a way that puts a free entrant out of contention.
• Subscriber route. A subscription unlocks the full catalogue and additional features. It does not buy points, does not multiply a score, and does not improve a ranking position on its own.

Every prize is decided solely by Momentum Points (MP), an objective score earned from graded projects, assessments and demonstrated mastery. Nothing about who wins is left to chance: there are no random bonuses, no lucky draws, and no tie-break by lot.

The scoring rules are published before a season opens and do not change during it. Your score is itemised — you can see which piece of work produced which points.

Entrants compete inside a skill division, so beginners are ranked against beginners. Divisions are named on the season sheet.

Ties are broken by objective, skill-based measures in this order: the higher score in graded project work, then the earlier time at which the tied score was reached. If a tie still stands, the tied entrants each receive the full value of the higher prize position.

Prizes are funded by Speedim Technology from our own operating and marketing budget, together with named sponsors where we have them.

Prizes are not funded from entry fees, and no part of a subscription is pooled and paid back to entrants. Podium takes no percentage of a participant-funded pot, because no such pot exists. Prizes are merit awards made by the company.

A season's pool is confirmed and set aside before that season opens, and is published on the season sheet. Once a season has started, the published amounts cannot be reduced.

Season 1 status: the pool is being finalised and has not yet been announced. No figure shown anywhere on this site is a committed prize amount until it appears on the Season 1 season sheet.

Reaching a prize position makes you a provisional winner, not a confirmed one. Before we pay, provisional winners complete a verified assessment under proctored conditions, to confirm the skill the score claims.

We also ask for proof of identity and age, and the details we are legally required to collect before sending money.

A provisional winner who declines verification, fails it, or cannot be reached within 14 days of us making contact forfeits the prize, and it passes to the next eligible entrant.

Confirmed prizes are paid within 30 days of verification completing, by bank transfer to an account in the winner's own name.

Prizes are paid in Nigerian Naira unless the season sheet says otherwise. We meet transfer costs on our side; any charge your own bank applies is yours.

Winners are responsible for any tax due on a prize in their own country. Where we are required by law to withhold or report, we will, and we will tell you what was withheld.

Prizes are not transferable and there is no cash alternative beyond the cash prize itself.

The following end a season for the account involved and forfeit any prize: submitting work that is not your own, sharing or selling assessment answers, using another person to complete work, automating activity to generate points, operating more than one account, or interfering with another entrant's ability to compete.

We review suspicious scoring patterns and may hold a payout while we do. If we act against your account you will be told which rule was engaged and given a genuine opportunity to respond before the decision is final.

Our decision on scoring and eligibility is final, but it is always explained.

We may correct an error in these rules or in a season sheet, and we may suspend or cancel a season if events outside our control make it impossible to run fairly.

If a season is cancelled after it has begun, prizes are awarded on the standings at the moment of cancellation, in the published order.

We will never reduce a published prize pool once a season has started.

What we collect and why is set out in our privacy notice. Verification and payment involve identity and payment details, which we hold only as long as the law requires us to.

We name public winners by first name and last initial, with their division and rank. We ask separately before using anything more.

These rules are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Nigerian courts have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.

Questions about these rules, or a decision made under them, can be raised by replying to any Podium email.