These Terms govern your use of On the Bell (the “Service”), the meet-day scheduling and text-message alert service at onthebell.com. By creating a host account, running a meet on the Service, or subscribing to text alerts, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, don’t use the Service.
1. What the Service does
On the Bell lets competition hosts (gyms, clubs, and event organizers) publish a live meet schedule and send text-message alerts to people who have subscribed for a given meet: families, athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers. Subscribers get a public live program and, if they follow a specific athlete or team, a personalized one.
SMS program terms
Program: On the Bell meet alerts. When you sign up, On the Bell sends you automated text messages about the competition you chose: schedule changes, warm-up and awards calls, on-deck and up-now alerts for the athlete or team you follow, and announcements from the meet host such as delays, venue notices, and safety messages.
- How you opt in. You subscribe by texting a meet’s join keyword to our number, or by entering your mobile number and checking the consent box on a meet’s sign-up page at onthebell.com/join. We send one confirmation text when you sign up. We never text a number that hasn’t opted in.
- Message frequency varies; up to 15 messages per meet day, depending on the meet and what you follow. You receive nothing outside the meets you signed up for.
- Message and data rates may apply. Your carrier’s standard messaging charges apply to every text you receive or send.
- To cancel, reply STOP at any time. You’ll get one final text confirming you are unsubscribed, and we stop texting you for every meet you follow. Reply START to rejoin.
- For help, reply HELP or email hello@onthebell.com.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Delivery depends on your carrier and device; meet-day texts are a convenience, not a substitute for the host’s official announcements.
- Supported on all major U.S. carriers. You must be the account holder for the mobile number, or have the account holder’s permission, and be 18 or older to subscribe.
Your mobile number and opt-in are used only to send the messages you signed up for. See the Privacy Policy for how we handle that information.
2. Host accounts
- Hosts sign in with a one-time code emailed to them. You are responsible for the security of your email account and for everything done under your host organization by the staff you invite.
- You must provide accurate organization details and be authorized to act for that organization.
- We may suspend or close host accounts that violate these Terms, send messages people didn’t consent to, or put our messaging numbers at risk with carriers.
3. Host responsibilities for messaging
Hosts write the content of most texts and decide who is added to a meet. When you use the Service as a host, you agree that:
- Every recipient has consented. Subscribers join through the Service’s keyword and sign-up page flows, which record consent. If you add a contact yourself (staff, judges, volunteers), you confirm that person has agreed to receive meet texts from you and you will honor any request to stop.
- Messages are about the meet. Texts must relate to the competition the recipient signed up for: schedule, logistics, venue, safety, results, and similar. No marketing, fundraising appeals, or unrelated promotion, and nothing prohibited by U.S. carriers (including content involving sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco or cannabis, illegal activity, gambling, or high-risk financial offers).
- You have the right to share the roster. Rosters you upload (athlete names, club, level, and similar) are data you already hold as the host. You are responsible for having the authority to use it here and for keeping it accurate.
- You will not misuse the Service: no scraping, probing, reselling, or using it to send messages on behalf of anyone other than your organization’s own events.
4. Subscribers
- You subscribe to a specific meet, and only that meet’s host and On the Bell can text you about it.
- Reply STOP at any time to end all texts from On the Bell. See the SMS program terms above.
- The live program pages are informational. Times shift as a competition runs ahead or behind and are published by the host as a courtesy; always follow the host’s on-site instructions.
- Personalized program links are private to you. Don’t share them; anyone with the link can see which athlete you follow.
5. Fees and message credits
- Hosts pay for outbound texts with prepaid message credits purchased through the Service. Prices, what a credit covers, and any expiration are shown at the time of purchase.
- Credits are deducted per outbound message segment when a message is sent. Sending stops when a host’s balance runs out.
- Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see your full card details. Purchases are final and non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise or we agree in writing.
- Prices may change; changes never affect credits you’ve already purchased.
6. Your content
Hosts keep ownership of the rosters, schedules, and messages they put into the Service. You give us the license we need to store, display, and transmit that content to operate the Service, including delivering your texts through our messaging providers. We don’t sell it or use it for advertising.
7. Availability and disclaimers
The Service is provided “as is.” We work hard to keep it up on meet day, but we don’t guarantee uninterrupted availability, that every text will be delivered, or that delivery will be on time. Text delivery depends on carriers and networks outside our control. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose.
8. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, On the Bell is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for lost revenue or data, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim arose. Some jurisdictions don’t allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.
9. Termination
Hosts can stop using the Service at any time. Subscribers can leave by replying STOP. We may suspend or end access for conduct that violates these Terms or threatens the Service, other users, or our carrier relationships. Sections 5 through 8 survive termination.
10. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms as the Service evolves. The effective date at the top always reflects the current version, and material changes will be noted on this page. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms.