Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“User”, “you”, or “your”) and Nico Technologies cc trading as Shoviq (“Shoviq”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). They govern access to and use of the SHOVIQ website, show-discovery and entry services, the show-management application, and related services (collectively, the “Platform”).

By visiting, browsing, registering an account, maintaining an Animal Vault, publishing a show, or submitting a show entry, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, Refund & Cancellation Policy, and POPIA Compliance Notice.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (“ECTA”), Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”), and Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

2. User Roles and Account Governance

2.1 Exhibitors and Registered Owners

• Individuals, studs, registered companies or agricultural trusts may enter animals and maintain records in the Animal Vault.
• Users must provide accurate contact details and proof of authority when acting for a stud, farm, company or another person.

2.2 Representatives and Training Centres

• Professional handlers, riders, trainers and training centres may submit entries for registered owners.
• The representative must link an entered animal to its registered owner and identify the representative facility.
• Representatives warrant that they have authority from the owner to submit entries, accept show rules and incur relevant fees.

2.3 Show Organisers and Club Secretaries

• Breed societies, agricultural show committees, clubs and federations may configure schedules, manage entries, process levies, publish catalogues and conduct scoring.
• Organisers remain responsible for class eligibility, timetables, judges and local show regulations.

2.4 Officials, Judges and Ring Stewards

• Authorised officials may access the rosters, scorecards, classifications and placings needed for their assigned work.
• Officials may not alter scores or results outside an authorised adjudication workflow.

2.5 Account Eligibility and Minors

• An account holder must be at least 18 years old to publish a show or execute a financial transaction.
• Junior riders and handlers may participate only under a parent, legal guardian or authorised representative profile with appropriate consent.

3. Platform Role and Event Organiser Role

SHOVIQ supplies software for scheduling, online entries, animal records, stabling and extras, payments, show numbers, rosters, scoring and results.

The host society, show committee or venue remains the organiser and operator of the physical event. It is responsible for:

• Class schedules, eligibility criteria and timetable adjustments.
• Venue and arena safety, biosecurity and veterinary or medical services.
• Appointment and decisions of judges, stewards and appeals committees.
• Compliance with breed-society constitutions, federation rules and applicable law.

SHOVIQ is not the agent, insurer, partner or joint venturer of a host society, club, exhibitor or venue.

4. Animal Vault, Identification and Pedigree Accuracy

Animals are identified through suitable registration numbers, microchips, passports, ring or leg-band codes within a species and breed context.

Each animal profile has a primary owner. A representative may be authorised to act for that owner.

Where registry information is available, SHOVIQ may pre-fill an animal’s name, sire, dam, date of birth, identification and ownership information. A user who changes that information warrants that the changes are truthful, authorised and verifiable against relevant records.

For each show, SHOVIQ may allocate one exhibit number to an animal. That number is retained across the animal’s classes for that show and may differ at another show.

5. Entries, Fees and Payments

Submitting an entry and completing checkout creates a commitment to participate under the host organiser’s published schedule and rules.

5.1 Platform Publishing Licence

• An organiser may configure and test a draft show without paying a publishing licence.
• The organiser must pay the displayed publishing licence before opening a show for public entries.
• Once a show is live and public entries are open, the publishing licence is non-refundable except where applicable law or the Refund & Cancellation Policy requires otherwise.

5.2 Exhibitor Fees and Levies

• Class fees, stabling, ground levies, bedding, fodder and society charges are set by the host organiser.
• Fees are displayed in South African Rand and include applicable tax where stated.

5.3 Payment Processing

• Payments may be handled by secure third-party payment providers.
• SHOVIQ does not store full card numbers, security codes or online-banking passwords.
• Any gateway surcharge must be disclosed before payment.

6. Veterinary Rules, Biosecurity and Animal Welfare

Owners, exhibitors and representatives must ensure that each entered animal satisfies the host organiser’s rules and all applicable health, vaccination, identification and movement requirements.

This may include:

• Equine passports, African Horse Sickness or Equine Influenza vaccination requirements.
• Movement permits or veterinary controls for regulated disease zones.
• Certificates or tests required by the host organiser or competent authority.

The host organiser and appointed veterinarian may inspect, quarantine, withdraw or refuse an animal showing illness, distress, lameness or non-compliance, subject to applicable law and published show rules.

Users must comply with animal-welfare legislation and recognised society welfare codes.

7. Liability and Indemnity

To the maximum extent permitted by law, SHOVIQ’s liability for a verified failure arising directly from use of the Platform is limited to the software fees paid by the affected user to SHOVIQ during the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

SHOVIQ is not liable for indirect or consequential losses such as loss of show points, rankings, titles, prize money, breeding value, profit, transport, accommodation or veterinary expenses, except where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

Network interruptions, electricity disruption and third-party outages may affect deadlines or service availability. SHOVIQ will take reasonable measures to maintain service continuity but cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability.

Users indemnify SHOVIQ and Nico Technologies against claims arising from physical showground, arena, stable or transport incidents except to the extent caused by SHOVIQ’s unlawful conduct or where indemnity is prohibited by law.

8. Public Catalogues, Results and Intellectual Property

Show participation may require publication of an animal’s registered name, registration or ring number, breed, pedigree, stud or owner name, handler or rider, class, score, placing and award in catalogues, schedules and results.

Private telephone numbers, residential addresses, identity numbers and payment details are not published in public catalogues or result boards.

The SHOVIQ brand, logo, interfaces, software, data model and proprietary workflows belong to Nico Technologies cc or its licensors. Users may not copy, reverse-engineer, scrape or extract protected code or proprietary data without written permission.

9. Suspension and Termination

SHOVIQ or an authorised host organiser may suspend access or reject an entry where a user:

• Provides fraudulent identification, registration, vaccination or pedigree information.
• Initiates dishonest payment disputes or chargebacks.
• Threatens or abuses organisers, officials, participants or support staff.
• Attempts to compromise security, overload services or scrape protected records.

Where reasonably possible and lawful, the affected user will receive an explanation and an opportunity to address the issue.

10. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by South African law.

Before commencing formal proceedings, a party should provide written notice to shoviq@nicotechnologies.co.za and allow reasonable time for an amicable resolution.

Unresolved disputes may be brought before a competent South African court. Nothing in these Terms prevents a consumer from exercising rights available under the CPA or other applicable law.

11. Changes to These Terms

SHOVIQ may update these Terms to reflect changes in law, services, technology or recognised show practices. Material changes will be communicated through a prominent website or in-app notice, or by email where appropriate.

Continued use after the effective date means the updated Terms apply, subject to rights that cannot lawfully be waived.

12. Contact and Legal Notices

• Legal entity: Nico Technologies cc trading as Shoviq
• General and show support: shoviq@nicotechnologies.co.za
• Legal and compliance: shoviq@nicotechnologies.co.za
• POPIA Information Officer: shoviq@nicotechnologies.co.za
• Website: www.shoviq.co.za
• Jurisdiction: Republic of South Africa