Official Site of the National Hockey League

2024 Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award Official Rules

Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award is intended to recognize the individuals that best utilize hockey as a platform for participants to build character and develop important life skills for a more positive family experience. The objective of this Program (as defined below) is to recognize the commitment of those who are improving lives and strengthening their communities through the game of hockey. The winners of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award – one (1) selected for the fifty (50) states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia (the “U.S. Region”) and one (1) selected for Canada (the “Canadian Region” and together with the U.S. Region, each a “Region”) - will be announced in June of 2024 (date to be announced).

The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award (the “Program”) is sponsored and administered by NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises, LLC, 395 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10001 (“Sponsor”).

ELIGIBILITY: In order to nominate an individual for an Award (as defined in Section 8 below) (a “Nominator”), or to vote (a “Voter”) you must be a current legal resident of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia) or Canada who is at least fourteen (14) years of age or older as of the time of submitting your nomination or voting. If you are a minor in your place of residence, you must have the permission of your parent or legal guardian to submit a nomination and/or to vote. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of such consent at any period during the Program. A Nominator residing in the U.S. Region may nominate any legal resident of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia) and a Nominator residing in Canada may nominate any legal resident of Canada (each, a “Nominee”). Subject to the restrictions below, Nominee, if living, must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and the age of majority if 18 is not the legal age of majority in the Nominee’s jurisdiction of residence. If Nominee is deceased, such person must have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence prior to their death. Employees, officers, directors, members (current or former) governors, owners, representatives, and agents of the Sponsor, the National Hockey League (“NHL”), the NHL member clubs (“NHL Clubs”), NHL Enterprises, L.P., NHL Enterprises Canada, L.P., NHL Enterprises, B.V., NHL Network US, L.P. (all foregoing entities including Sponsor, the “NHL Entities”), Hyundai Auto Canada Corp (“Hyundai”), Discover Products Inc. (“Discover”), Deltatre, Inc., Jebbit, Inc. and each of their respective parent and affiliate companies, companies that they operate, licensors, and award providers (collectively, the “Ineligible Entities”) may nominate other individuals, but are not eligible to be nominated themselves. For clarity, an individual merely volunteering for any of the Ineligible Entities may be nominated, provided that such Nominee does not receive payment or derive any income from any of the Ineligible Entities in connection with such volunteering activity. Members of the aforementioned employees’, officers’, directors’, members’, governors’, owners’, representatives’, and agents’ immediate families, namely spouses, children, siblings and parents, and/or persons living in the same household of such persons (at least three (3) months a year, whether or not related) are eligible to nominate an individual but are not eligible to be nominated. Each Award will only be provided to the respective Nominees who are the subjects of the winning Submissions (as defined below). The Program is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial, municipal, territorial, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

Participation in the Program constitutes Nominator’s, Nominee’s or Voter’s (or if a minor in the case of a Nominator or a Voter, Nominator’s or Voter’s parent’s/legal guardian’s) full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Program. Winning the Award is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

TIMING: The Program begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on January 18, 2024, ends when the Award Winners (as defined below) are announced in June 2024 (the "Program Period") and consists of the phases (each, a “Phase”) as set forth in the list below. Sponsor’s computer is the official Program clock.

Phase 1: Nomination

Start Date: January 18, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET
End Date: February 4, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET

Phase 2: Judging to Select Potential Semi-Finalists; Notification and Clearance of Potential Semi-Finalists/Nominees; & Notification of Finalists

Start Date: February 5, 2024
End Date: February 25, 2024 11:59 p.m. ET

Phase 3: Public Voting (Top 3 Finalists for each Region)

Start Date: May 6, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET
End Date: May 19, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET

Phase 4: Award Winners Determined

Start Date: May 20, 2024
End Date: May 22, 2024

Phase 5: Winners Announced

June 2024
HOW TO ENTER: To nominate a Nominee, go to nhl.com/OReeAward (the “Program Website”) during the Nomination Phase and:

(a) follow the online instructions to complete the nomination form and provide, as the Nominator, your First and Last Name, Email Address, Phone Number, and Country along with your Nominee’s First and Last Name, Nominee’s Organization (optional), Nominee’s Role/Title (optional), City, State/Province, and Country;

(b) upload your essay nomination of a Nominee (subject to the eligibility restrictions above) who you think deserves to win The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award by describing how that individual, like Willie O’Ree, used the sport of hockey to help others, to improve their community or to positively change hockey culture and include responses to the following:

(1) How has your Nominee made a lasting impact on their community through the sport of hockey? (Max. 300 words)

(2) How has your Nominee made an impact on the community specifically in the PAST YEAR? (Max. 300 words)

(3) Share a specific example of a time when your Nominee changed someone’s life through hockey. (Max. 300 words)

(4) Award namesake Willie O’Ree embodied teamwork, courage and perseverance. How does you Nominee demonstrate these three (3) things in their day-to-day life, within their work in hockey and outside of it? (Max. 300 words)

Optional – What else would you like to share that showcases how your Nominee is a community champion, changemaker within hockey and truly outstanding? (Max. 300 words)

(your completed nomination form and essay nomination, together, herein, a “Submission”); and

(c) check the box that confirms that you have read and agree to abide by the Official Rules and that you have permission of the Nominee (or if deceased, the permission of their legally-authorized representative who is at least the legal age of majority) to be included in your Submission.

NOTE: For Nominators using a mobile device to participate in any aspect of this Program, message and data rates may apply. Check with your wireless service provider for details on any applicable charges. Nominators are solely responsible for any such wireless charges.

Submission Guidelines: Each Submission must:

include the required essay;
be the Nominator’s original work;
be in English or French; and
have the permission of the Nominee (or if nominating someone who is deceased, the permission of their legally-authorized representative who is at least the legal age of majority) to have the Nominee’s name and associated information entered into the Program.

Non-compliant Submissions will not be considered. Eligible Submissions must display content consistent with nominating an individual who you think is the ideal person to win The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award and may not:

contain materials embodying the first or last names or likeness identifying any person, living or dead, without permission;
be indecent, obscene, hateful, offensive, tortious, defamatory, or libelous;
contain material that violates, infringes or otherwise misappropriates the rights of any third party (including trademark rights, copyrights, and rights of publicity);
improperly or incorrectly suggest, through the use of NHL or NHL Club trademarks or any other means, that Sponsor, Willie O’Ree, Hyundai, Discover, NHL or any NHL Clubs endorse, sponsor, or are affiliated with any Nominee, Nominator, Voter or any third party;
disparage or demean Sponsor, Willie O’Ree, Hyundai, Discover, or any of the other Ineligible Entities or any employee, officer, director, member, or owner of any of the foregoing, any other person or entity affiliated with the Program (including any employee, officer, director, member or owner of such affiliated entity);
promote alcohol, drugs, tobacco, violence, or firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing);
contain any personally-identifiable identification (other than Nominator’s or Nominee’s name and associated information as requested by this Program) such as license plate numbers, email addresses or street addresses; or
contain material that is unlawful in any way.

Any Submission that violates any of the foregoing restrictions, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, shall be void and will not be considered in the Program. By submitting a Submission, Nominator represents that they have obtained all necessary permissions to feature any identifiable third parties including, for clarity, the Nominee that appears in the Submission (in the case of a deceased Nominee, any necessary permissions should be obtained from a legally-authorized representative). If requested, Nominator must be able to provide such permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to remove and/or disqualify any Submissions that it finds unlawful, or in violation of these Official Rules, all in its sole discretion. Released Parties (as defined in Section 9 below) are not responsible for lost, late, stolen, incomplete, inaccurate, invalid, un-intelligible, garbled, delayed or misdirected Submissions, all of which will be void. Sponsor reserves the right to post (or to not post) any Submission onto any Program-related gallery. The posting of any Submission has no bearing on the winning status of any respective Nominee. The Sponsor reserves the right to remove any Submission from the Program Website at any time, for whatever reason, including subsequent determination that a Submission does not comply with these Official Rules.

Limit: There is no limit to the number of individuals that a Nominator can nominate, but any Nominator may only nominate the same individual once. Nominators are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any Nominator to submit more than one (1) nomination for the same individual by using multiple email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods may void all of that Nominator’s Submissions. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Only eligible Submissions uploaded through the Program Website will be accepted. All Submissions become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

JUDGING TO SELECT SEMI-FINALISTS: Sponsor representatives (together, the “Judging Panel”), will judge and score each Submission based on: (i) how well the description of how the Nominee has made a lasting impact embodies the ideals represented by Willie O’Ree (75%); (ii) how well the description of how the Nominee has made an impact in the past year embodies those same ideals (15%); and (iii) persuasiveness and clarity of expression (10%). The Nominees associated with each of up to ten (10) Submissions (pertaining to ten (10) separate Nominees) with the highest scores for each Region (each subject to verification of eligibility, compliance with the terms of these Official Rules, and completion of the required documents as further described below) will be deemed the semi-finalists (each, a “Semi-Finalist”) for each Region, as applicable. Without limiting the foregoing, the Judging Panel may also consider whether or not the Nominee has engaged in behavior that is inconsistent with the brand images of the NHL Entities, Discover, Hyundai or Willie O’Ree or that otherwise could reflect unfavorably upon any of the foregoing, as determined by the Judging Panel in their sole discretion, and the Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any Nominee on this basis. In the event of a tie, an additional “tie-breaking” judge will determine the Semi-Finalists based on the criteria listed herein. Decisions of Sponsor are final and binding on all matters relating to this Program.

Odds of Winning: The odds of winning an Award or a Secondary Prize (each as defined below) depend upon the number of eligible Submissions received for each Region during the Nomination Phase, the judging criteria and the number of votes received.

SEMI-FINALIST NOTIFICATION: For each Region, up to ten (10) Nominators with the top scores will be notified via email and/or phone by a Sponsor representative using the information provided with their Submission on the Program Website between February 5, 2024 and February 25, 2024. Each such Nominator will be required to respond to Sponsor by the deadline provided on the notification and to provide the contact information of the Nominee that they nominated in the Program and who was selected as a Semi-Finalist. In the event that the Semi-Finalist is deceased, the Nominator who nominated such Semi-Finalist will be required to provide the contact information for the legally-authorized representative that provided permission for the Nominator to nominate such Semi-Finalist into the Program. Each Nominator of a Semi-Finalist (or if the Nominator is a minor, their parent/legal guardian) will then be required to complete an Affidavit of Eligibility, Publicity Release (except where prohibited by law) and Liability Waiver. Once the Nominator has provided contact information for the respective Semi-Finalist, such Semi-Finalist (or if deceased, their legally-authorized representative) will be required to complete a W9 or W8 tax form (as applicable), and will also be required to complete, to the extent permitted by law, a Publicity and Liability Release that provides, among other things, the Semi-Finalist’s consent to be the potential subject of a public online vote as a Finalist (as defined below) in connection with the Program, their agreement to participate in, and cooperate with Sponsor in the creation and development of, any potential content (including videos and other media) to support, advertise, and/or promote the Program and the Program’s public fan vote, and their agreement to participate in, and be filmed, photographed, or otherwise recorded prior to, at, or otherwise in connection with, any prize or Award announcement or presentation (together with the Affidavit, the “Release Forms”). All Release Forms must be received by Sponsor by the date provided in the respective notifications. If any Semi-Finalist or Nominator cannot (a) be contacted after two (2) attempts, (b) fails to respond and/or to provide any of the requested Release Forms within the required time period, (c) is otherwise in non-compliance with these Official Rules, or (d) declines to or cannot accept a prize (as described below) and Award (if applicable) to be presented, the Semi-Finalist will be disqualified and will no longer be eligible for a chance to win a prize and Award, if applicable. In the event that a Semi-Finalist is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may select an alternate Semi-Finalist from within the same Region whose Submission has the next highest score based on the judging criteria, time permitting. Sponsor reserves the right, at its discretion, to disqualify any Semi-Finalist, or subsequent Finalist, if, the Semi-Finalist or Finalist, as applicable, has engaged in any behavior that is inconsistent with the brand images of the NHL Entities, Discover, Hyundai or Willie O’Ree or that otherwise could reflect unfavorably upon any of the foregoing, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion.
DETERMINING FINALISTS/NOTIFICATION OF FINALISTS: Once the deadline for providing the Nominees’ contact information and returning the required Release Forms has ended, the Judging Panel along with Willie O’Ree (and Hyundai representatives solely in connection with Canadian Nominees and Discover representatives solely in connection with U.S. Nominees), will collectively review the up to ten (10) submissions for each Region, including all information provided in such respective Release Forms and, using the same judging criteria outlined in Section 4 above, will each vote to determine, in their sole discretion, the top three (3) Semi-Finalists that will advance to the Public Voting Phase (as defined below) for each Region (each such advancing Semi-Finalist, a “Finalist”). Such determination of the three (3) Finalists for each Region (six (6) total) will result in 75% of each Finalist’s overall score. The public vote (as further described below) will result in the remaining 25% of each Finalist’s overall score. Finalists will be notified by telephone and/or email by a Sponsor representative and will be required to complete additional documents required by Sponsor, which must be returned by the deadline date provided with such notification. At Sponsor’s sole discretion, the three (3) Finalists for each Region may be publicly announced prior to the start of the Public Voting Phase. Please note: though up to ten (10) Semi-Finalists for each Region may have been notified as Semi-Finalists, only three (3) selected Finalists for each Region, as determined above, will be put up for public vote. Remaining Semi-Finalists will no longer be eligible to proceed in the Program, unless as determined in Sponsor’s discretion, any of the original three (3) Finalists for either Region put up for public vote is unable to proceed as a Finalist in the Program for any reason.
PUBLIC VOTING: At the start of the Public Voting Phase (the “Public Voting Phase”), the three (3) Finalists’ Submissions for each Region will be posted on the Program Website for public vote. During the Public Voting Phase, Voters can vote for the Finalist Submission that they feel best embodies the spirit of The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award by visiting the Program Website and following the instructions to vote. For clarity, residents in the U.S. Region may vote for any Finalist in the U.S. Region and residents in the Canadian Region may vote for any Finalist in the Canadian Region. As noted in Section 6, the public vote will account for the remaining 25% of each Finalist’s overall score. The Finalist for each Region who receives the highest total overall score when factoring in the judges’ scores and the number of votes at the end of the Public Voting Phase will be deemed the winning Submission for that Region and the Nominee associated with that Submission will be a potential “Award Winner”, subject to compliance with these Official Rules and final determination of Sponsor. In the event of a tie in voting results, an additional “tie-breaking” judge will determine the Finalist Submission for the respective Region based on the judging criteria described in Section 4 and the Finalist that receives the highest overall score will be deemed the winning Submission. There is a limit of one (1) vote per person per day and votes are subject to verification at any time. Only votes submitted through the Program Website are valid. Any attempt by any individual to vote by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void any associated votes and that individual may be banned from voting. No person may vote by proxy for any other person. Use of any automated system to vote or subvert the voting process is prohibited and will result in disqualification and all associated votes will be void. Votes generated by script, macro or other automated means or any other means intended to impact the integrity of the voting process, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, may be void. Votes obtained by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, payment for votes or offering to trade votes, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may result in those votes being void and the respective Finalist Submission being disqualified.

Confidentiality: Finalists and their associated Nominators shall not disclose and shall refrain from communicating (either privately or publicly via social media or otherwise) any information whatsoever related to the results of the Program until after the announcement (virtual, live, broadcast or otherwise) of the applicable Award Winner has taken place in June 2024. Finalists and their associated Nominators will be required to sign related documentation accordingly.

AWARDS, SECONDARY PRIZES AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES: There is one (1) award prize (each an “Award”) available in this Program that will be awarded to one (1) of the three (3) nominated Finalists in each Region (one (1) for the U.S. Region and one (1) for the Canadian Region (each, an “Award Winner”) consisting of The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, a custom, limited-edition Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award jersey, and a $25,000 USD or CAD donation (as applicable) provided to the charity of each Award Winner’s choice, as approved by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of each Award is $25,250 USD or CAD. Sponsor will coordinate the donation to each Award Winner’s selected charity, along with the delivery of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award (i.e., the trophy) and jersey with the Award Winner following the applicable Award announcement. There are two (2) secondary prizes for the U.S. Region and two (2) secondary prizes for the Canadian Region (each a “Secondary Prize”) available in this Program each consisting of a $5,000 USD or CAD donation (as applicable) provided to the respective charity selected by each of the two (2) remaining Finalists (each a “Secondary Prize Winner”), as approved by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor will coordinate the donation to each of the respective charities with the Secondary Prize Winners following the applicable Award announcement. In accepting a prize, each Finalist is responsible for all federal, state, county, provincial, local and all other taxes (including income and withholding) on the applicable prize and costs and expenses not specifically listed above. For clarity, only one (1) Finalist for each Region will become the Award Winner for that Region and win the Award.

All details and other restrictions of prizes/Award not specified in these Official Rules will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Actual value of prizes/Award under this Program may be lower or higher at the time of their fulfillment, and any difference between actual value and the stated ARV (if actual value is lower than stated ARV) will not be awarded. Sponsor is not responsible if any element of any prize/Award is delayed, postponed or cancelled for any reason. Prizes/Award are non-transferable, non-refundable, and no substitution or cash redemption will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right, for whatever reason, to substitute any prize and/or Award (or any component thereof) for one (1) of equal or greater value. Finalists must be able to accept the respective prize (and Award, if applicable) as presented or the respective prize (and Award, if applicable) will be forfeited. In the event an Award Winner cannot accept the Award in its entirety, an alternate Finalist from the respective Region may be selected as the Award Winner in Sponsor’s sole discretion.

RELEASE; INDEMNIFICATION; DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: By participating in the Program, all Nominators, Nominees and Voters (or if minors in the case of Nominators and Voters, their parent/legal guardians) agree to forever and irrevocably release and hold harmless each of the Ineligible Entities, Willie O’Ree, and each of their respective officers, directors, governors, members, partners, partnerships, principals, owners, employees, volunteers, representatives, agents, affiliates (past, present and future), related entities, successors and assigns (collectively, the "Released Parties"), from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) (collectively, “Losses”) which may occur in connection with (a) the Program or any element thereof, including entry or participation therein, (b) delivery, possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of any prize, Award, or component thereof, or (c) participation in any Program-related activity, prize-related activity, or Award-related activity including without limitation in each case any Losses that may be caused or contributed to by (1) any wrongful, negligent or unauthorized act or omission on the part of any of the Released Parties, or any of their independent contractors or any other person or entity not an employee of any of the Released Parties, or (2) any other cause, condition or event whatsoever beyond the control of any of the Released Parties. In addition, by participating in this Program, each Nominator, Nominee, and Voter (or if a minor in the case of a Nominator or Voter, Nominator’s and Voter’s parent/legal guardian) agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all damages, losses, costs and expenses (including amounts paid in settlement and reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by any of the Released Parties in connection with any third-party claim, demand, liability, suit, proceeding or action arising out of or resulting from (i) breach or alleged breach of any representations, warranties or agreements of Nominator, Nominee, or Voter (as applicable) hereunder, or (ii) Nominee’s possession, use or misuse of a prize, Award or component thereof. Each Nominator, Nominee, or Voter (as applicable) hereby acknowledges that the Released Parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to a prize, Award or any components thereof and that, except as prohibited by applicable law, the prizes (and Award, if applicable) are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. Released Parties hereby disclaim all such warranties, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and/or non-infringement.
PUBLICITY: Except where legally prohibited, participation in the Program and acceptance of a prize and Award (if applicable) constitutes Nominators’ (or if minors, Nominators’ parent/legal guardian’s) and, pursuant to signed releases, respective Semi-Finalists’ (or if deceased, respective Semi-Finalist’s legally-authorized representative’s) agreement and consent to Sponsor’s, Willie O’Ree’s, Hyundai’s, Discover’s and their respective partners’, affiliates’, agents’ or affiliated third parties' use of the Nominator’s and respective Semi-Finalists’ names, likenesses, photographs, voices, opinions and/or hometowns & states/provinces, and/or Submissions for promotional purposes in any media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, without further payment or consideration, notice, review or approval. Providing a Submission constitutes Nominator’s consent to give Sponsor, its successors, assigns and licensees, a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, and display in whole or in part, the Submission, on a worldwide basis, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional or marketing purposes without further compensation or approval. Such consent includes, among other things, consent for the Sponsor to display Nominator’s Submission in a public gallery to promote the Program, consent for the Sponsor to capture and display footage, photographs, or other recordings featuring the Finalists prior to, at, or otherwise in connection with, any prize or Award announcement, show or presentation (including the NHL Awards™) virtual, live, broadcast, or otherwise, and consent for the Sponsor to incorporate the Semi-Finalist Submissions in other content (including videos and other media) to support, advertise, and/or promote current and future iterations of the Program and the Program’s public fan vote. If requested, Nominator will sign, and will cause their respective Semi-Finalist (or if deceased, their legally-authorized representative) to sign, any documentation required for Sponsor or its successors, assigns and licensees to make use of the non-exclusive rights Nominator is granting to use the Submission.
GENERAL CONDITIONS: All decisions of Sponsor in connection with this Program shall be binding and final in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, cancel, suspend and/or modify the Program, if intervening circumstances warrant, within Sponsor’s sole discretion, due to any fraud, virus or other technical problem which corrupts the administration, security, or proper entry or voting into the Program, or for any other reason. In such event, Sponsor reserves the right to award the prizes and Award (if applicable) from among the eligible Submissions received up to the time of the termination, cancellation, suspension and/or modification. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry or voting process or the operation of the Program or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Program may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term or provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that term or provision. This Program is in no way sponsored or administered by any of the other Ineligible Entities except for Sponsor.
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: Without limiting anything set forth above in these Official Rules, Released Parties shall not have any obligation, responsibility or liability, including any obligation or responsibility to provide the prizes and, if applicable, an Award, to any Finalist, with regard to: (a) Submissions entered through the use of any robotic or automated device/computer program or any other non-human mechanism, entity, or device; (b) Submissions or votes that are geographically misassigned or in excess of the stated Submission/vote limit; (c) Submissions that are illegible, late, forged, destroyed, lost, misplaced, stolen, misdirected, tampered with, incomplete, deleted, damaged, garbled, altered or otherwise not in compliance with or in violation of these Official Rules, whether caused by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Program or any other reason beyond Released Parties' control; (d) any technical or human error which may occur in the creation, submission, assignment or processing of Submissions or votes in the Program, including any technical or human error in connection with any social media platforms, Program Website and/or the hosting thereof; (e) Submissions, votes, prize/Award claims or notifications that are not received by the intended recipient due to transmission, technical, computer or human failures or error of any kind, including any Submissions, votes, prize/Award claims or notifications that are delayed, misdirected, or undelivered as a result of any failure or problem with the availability, functionality, operability or use of any network, server, ISP, website (including the Program Website), computer, internet connection, hand-held mobile device, social media platform, or any other equipment or connection used in connection with the Program; (f) changes in a Nominator’s or Nominee’s (or if a minor, their parent/legal guardian’s, or if deceased, their legally-authorized representative’s) information which affects the ability to contact such Nominator or Nominee (or, where applicable, their parent/legal guardian or legally-authorized representative); (g) typographical errors in Program promotional material; (h) cancellations and/or delays or any change by any company or any other persons providing any of components of the prizes/Award due to reasons beyond the control of any of the Released Parties; (i) any interruptions/postponement/cancellation of Program; (j) human error; incorrect or inaccurate transcription of Submission information; (k) any technical malfunctions of the computer on-line system, computer dating mechanism, computer equipment, software, any social media platform, or internet service provider utilized by any of the Released Parties or by Nominator; (l) interruption or inability to access the Program, any Program-related Web pages (including the Program Website), any social media platform, or any on-line service via the Internet due to hardware or software compatibility problems; (m) any damage to Nominator’s, Nominee’s, or Voter’s (or any third person’s) computer and/or its contents related to or resulting from any part of the Program; (n) any lost/delayed data transmissions, omissions, interruptions, defects; and/or (o) any other errors or malfunctions, even if caused by the negligence of any one or more of the Released Parties.
DISPUTES: With regard to United States (including District of Columbia) Nominators, any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Program or any prize/Award awarded shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S.A. or the appropriate New York State Court located in New York County, New York, U.S.A., and all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Nominators, the Nominees, Voters and Sponsor in connection with the Program, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A. without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York, U.S.A. or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York, U.S.A; With regard to Canadian Nominators, any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Program or any prize/Award awarded shall be resolved exclusively by the courts of the Province of Ontario, and all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Nominators, the Nominees, Voters and Sponsor in connection with the Program, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada and the laws of Canada applicable therein without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the Province of Ontario or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Province of Ontario. Applicable to all Nominators: Except where prohibited by law, all Nominators, Nominees (or if minors, their parents/legal guardians, or if deceased, their legally-authorized representatives) and Voters agree that (i) any and all such disputes, claims, and causes of action shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Program, but in no event attorneys’ fees; (iii) under no circumstances will Nominators, Nominees (or if minors, their parents/legal guardians, or if deceased, their legally-authorized representatives) or Voters be permitted to obtain awards for, and Nominators, Nominees (or if minors, their parents/legal guardians, or if deceased, their legally-authorized representatives) and Voters hereby waive all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental, consequential and/or any other damages, other than actual out-of-pocket expenses; (iv) they waive any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased; (v) they irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts, as applicable to each such Nominator, Nominee or Voter, and waive any claim of forum non conveniens or lack of personal jurisdiction that they may have; and (vi) if any provision of these Official Rules is declared invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be deemed modified to the extent necessary and possible to render it valid and enforceable, and that in any event, the unenforceability or invalidity of any provision will not affect any other provision of these Official Rules, and these Official Rules will continue in full force and effect, and be construed and enforced, as if such provision had not been included, or had been modified as described above, as the case may be.
PRIVACY: Information collected from Nominators will be used by Sponsor (including, for clarity, to disclose to the Judging Panel, and Willie O’Ree (and solely in connection with Canadian Nominees only the presenting sponsor’s representatives) in connection with its administration and promotion of this Program, including to notify Nominators and Nominees, verify and confirm Semi-Finalists and Finalists, and fulfill the prizes/Awards, and for publicity purposes in accordance with (and as authorized by) these Official Rules. Information collected from Nominators is otherwise subject to and may be used and shared by Sponsor in accordance with Sponsor’s Privacy Policy at http://www.nhl.com/info/privacy-policy and applicable law. Canadian Nominators are advised that personal information collected will be stored on servers located in the United States and may be accessible to U.S. law enforcement, courts and other governmental institutions pursuant to the laws of the United States.
WINNERS LIST: For the name of the prize winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to “The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award Winners List”, NHL Dept. SGL/JE, 395 Ninth Avenue, NY, NY 10001. Residents of Canada may omit return postage. Winners List requests must be received by no later than August 31, 2024.