These terms govern your use of lsmaf.org, your Federation membership, sanctioned competition, and any roster you submit on behalf of others. Please read them before you join or compete.
By using lsmaf.org, registering for Federation membership, or submitting a roster, you agree to these Terms. The Light Sword Martial Arts Federation ("LSMAF," "the Federation," "we," "us") is a Virginia nonstock corporation (nonprofit). Our 501(c)(3) status is pending. If you do not agree, do not use the site or register as a member.
Federation membership is offered in the following categories: athlete, athlete under 18 (through a parent or guardian), coach, official, academy, and affiliate. Each category carries its own published dues, benefits, and eligibility. Dues are annual and are billed through our membership system at members.lsmaf.org; Dues are non-refundable except as required by law or as the Federation decides in writing. Membership may be suspended or revoked for violations of Federation rules, including the Constitution, Code of Conduct, and Competition Rulebook, or for providing false information on a membership form. A member under 18 is registered and represented by a parent or guardian, who accepts these Terms on the minor's behalf and is responsible for the accuracy of the minor's registration.
Sanctioned events run under our published rules, including the Competition Rulebook and Officials Certification standards, across the Federation's three certified formats: Forms, Paired Performance, and Combat. Participation in light sword martial arts is physical activity, and you take part at your own risk, whether you compete, coach, officiate, or otherwise take part on the event floor. You may be required to sign a waiver at the event before you compete or officiate, and event staff may refuse entry to anyone who has not done so. Results and rankings from sanctioned events are published as part of the Federation's permanent record, including on Saber Circuit, our official tournament platform, and once published they are not removed except to correct an error in the record.
If you submit a roster of team members on behalf of an academy, club, or affiliate, you confirm that you have each listed person's permission to submit their name, email, date of birth, and consent, and, for anyone under 18, their guardian's permission as well. You are responsible for the accuracy of information you submit about someone else.
The Federation's text messaging program is "LSMAF text messages." Messaging is opt-in only: you receive texts from us only after checking the SMS consent box on one of our forms. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel at any time. Reply HELP for help, or email [email protected]. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Opting in to text messages is not a condition of membership. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle your phone number and consent.
The "LSMAF office" chat on our site is an AI assistant. Its answers may be wrong or incomplete, and nothing it says is an official ruling of the Federation; the Competition Rulebook and our other published documents govern in any conflict. Do not share sensitive personal information in the chat. Conversations may be reviewed by our staff.
The Federation's rules, governing documents, forms curriculum materials, name, logo, and marks belong to the Federation. You may not copy, redistribute, or claim ownership of them, or use the Federation's name or marks to suggest an endorsement, without our written permission.
You agree not to misuse the site, our membership system, or our website chat. This includes: no attempting to access another member's account or records; no submitting false information about yourself or another person, including on a roster; no interfering with sanctioned events, officiating, or the integrity of results; no using automated tools to scrape or copy the site or our published documents; and no using the site or our chat for any unlawful purpose.
Our membership system runs on the Acadevo platform, and our public site runs on the Scale platform, both operated for us by Holistically Simple. Payment is processed by Stripe. Text messages you opt in to receive are delivered through a messaging carrier. Each of these providers has its own terms, and the Federation is not responsible for their availability, security, or performance.
The site, our membership system, and our website chat are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses, or that any particular competition schedule, ranking, or recognition outcome will occur. To the extent permitted by law, the Federation is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including personal injury arising from participation in training or sanctioned events, arising from your use of the site, your membership, or your participation in Federation activities. Nothing in this section limits any liability that cannot be limited under Virginia law.
These Terms are governed by the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.
We may update these Terms as the Federation grows. We will post the revised Terms on this page with a new effective date. Continued use of the site or continued membership after a change means you accept the update.
Questions about these Terms go to one address: [email protected]. You can also write to us at 4701 Shore Dr., Ste. #103-440, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.