illawarra.ai

Volunteer Hub
Challenge

Code for the club. Build the hub our volunteers deserve.

A community competition to design and build a Volunteer Hub for Figtree FC. The club hosts it. illawarra.ai sponsors a $500 prize and provides mentorship while entries are open. You build from scratch, with whatever AI coding tools you already use.

Registration opens Friday 6 November 2026. Introduce yourself by emailing [email protected] or joining the WhatsApp group by Thursday 26 November 2026 (end of day). Submissions close Thursday 17 December 2026. Winners are announced Saturday 19 December 2026. See Key dates.

Figtree FC Volunteer Hub Challenge badge
Figtree FC Ă— illawarra.ai
Prize
$500 AUD, paid by illawarra.ai
Length
Six weeks of building
Who
Individuals and teams of up to four
Tools
Any AI tools and any tech stack that can be handed over to Figtree FC to host and manage for the long term

What you are building

Build a Volunteer Hub that helps coordinators post opportunities to get involved, and helps people find something that suits their skills and availability. Usability for a non-technical volunteer matters more than a long feature list. A marshalling roster that gets more people on the sideline on match day is a win 🏆.

Must address

  • Sign-in that suits volunteers, such as an email magic link or a simple account
  • A list of opportunities, e.g. Marshalling, our volunteers can search and choose from
  • A way to claim an opportunity, and to unclaim it
  • A coordinator view of unfilled or understaffed needs
  • A mobile-friendly interface. Most volunteers will be on a phone

Stronger entries

  • A distinction between a job (a fixed task, such as mowing a pitch) and a duty (a time window to staff, such as canteen or marshalling)
  • Skills or training badges where a role needs them, such as equipment training
  • Capacity and conflict rules, such as a maximum number of people on a duty
  • Simple admin setup for locations, recurring weekly needs, and a season
  • A clear path for the club to take over hosting and data

Why now?

Figtree FC is growing, and it has one of the largest memberships in the Illawarra. On a busy Saturday morning an estimated 2,000+ players, parents, siblings, and friends come to Harry Graham Park. The club needs more volunteers so those match days can go ahead, and so it can meet its obligation to keep people safe while they are there. Several times last season, a shortage of marshalls nearly forced the club to close, which would have meant cancelling every game that day and risk a significant financial penalty from Football South Coast. We don't want to have to consider making those decisions next year and we're hoping that raising awareness and making it easier for people to help will mean we won't have to.

How to enter

This is a vibe-coding competition. That means using modern AI coding tools, such as ChatGPT/Codex, Cursor, Claude Code, or GitHub Copilot to build software quickly. A software-engineering background is welcome. It is not required. If this is something new for you, Paul from illawarra.ai will be here to help.

The call is open to the public. Teams with a real connection to Figtree FC or Illawarra community football will be named as club-connected in announcements. That acknowledgement is not a judging score.

  1. Introduce yourself from Friday 6 November 2026. The last day to join is Thursday 26 November 2026, end of day. Email [email protected], or join the WhatsApp group (link or QR below). Say who you are, whether you are entering alone or with a team, and that you accept the terms.
  2. Build from Friday 6 November through Thursday 17 December 2026. Mentorship from the facilitator is optional and equally available. Using it does not change your score. The WhatsApp group is for questions and updates about the competition. Joining is not required if you introduce yourself by email. This page governs if chat and the page disagree.
  3. Submit one entry by Thursday 17 December 2026: a working demo, the source code, a short write-up, and acceptance of the terms. Every person who contributed is named.
  4. Judging is club-led and runs after submissions close through Friday 18 December 2026. The panel may ask shortlisted teams for a 10 to 15 minute demo.
  5. The result is a prize winner, plus a separate decision by the club about whether to adopt any entry. The club can adopt an entry that did not win, if that entry accepted these terms. Every entry does.

How to join

There is no separate registration form. Introduce yourself in either of these ways before registration closes:

QR code to join the Figtree FC Volunteer Hub Challenge WhatsApp group. Scan with the WhatsApp camera.
Scan this QR code with the WhatsApp camera to join the group.

Key dates

These dates are locked. Work submitted for the prize must be created during the competition period (6 November through 17 December 2026, Australia/Sydney).

Competition dates
Registration opens Friday 6 November 2026
Registration closes Thursday 26 November 2026, end of day (Australia/Sydney)
Submissions close Thursday 17 December 2026, end of day (Australia/Sydney)
Judging Friday 18 December 2026
Winners announced Saturday 19 December 2026

What to submit

  • A live demo URL, or a packaged demo with clear instructions to run it
  • Full source-code access. A private repository shared for judging is fine. Transfer to the club follows the terms
  • A short description: what you set out to do, how to run it, the architecture, major dependencies, expected hosting cost, and known limits
  • Acceptance of these terms, including the warranties about ownership

How entries are judged

A panel of three to five people scores the prize. At least two members represent Figtree FC, for example an executive member and a volunteer coordinator. An independent community or technology reviewer may join. The facilitator may give technical advice if the panel asks, and does not vote.

Each voting judge scores independently. Scores are combined, and the panel discusses large differences. The prize winner is decided by a majority of voting judges. Any recommendation to adopt an entry is recorded separately, for the club to decide.

The prize and club adoption are different decisions. Winning does not mean the club will run your app. A non-winning entry can still be the one the club chooses to pilot.

Judging criteria, 100 points
Criterion Points What good looks like
Fit for Figtree FC volunteering 25 It solves real club volunteer work. The language and assumptions fit community football.
Usability on a phone 20 A parent or player can find and claim a shift in minutes, with little training.
Coordinator value 15 Gaps are visible. An admin can set up opportunities without a developer.
Core rules work 15 Claims, capacity, double-booking, and skill gates behave correctly.
Ownership path 15 The stack is clear, deploy is documented, and nothing locks the club to a vendor it cannot leave.
Presentation 10 A working demo, a readable README, and honest notes on what is not finished.

Competition rules

These rules govern entry, submissions, and the prize. The terms and conditions govern ownership, transfer, liability, and acceptance. The Key dates on this page are locked as of 4 November 2026.

1. Eligibility

  1. 1.1The competition is open to individuals and to teams of no more than four people.
  2. 1.2It is open to the public. A meaningful connection to Figtree FC or to Illawarra community football may be acknowledged in club and sponsor communications. It is not a scoring criterion.
  3. 1.3If an entrant is under 18, a parent or legal guardian must be named on the entry and must accept these rules and the terms on that entrant’s behalf. The guardian gives the warranties and the transfer promised in the terms for that entrant.
  4. 1.4You accept the terms when you introduce yourself by email or by joining the WhatsApp group, and again at submission if asked.
  5. 1.5The facilitator, the voting judges, and members of their households cannot win the prize.

2. Teams and submissions

  1. 2.1Each individual or team may lodge one primary submission.
  2. 2.2Every teammate who contributed must be named on the submission.

3. Tools and originality

  1. 3.1You may use any AI tools, programming languages, and frameworks.
  2. 3.2The submission must be created for this competition during the competition period published under Key dates.
  3. 3.3Third-party open-source libraries and frameworks are allowed under their own licences. Disclose them where they are material to running or owning the app.
  4. 3.4Do not reskin an existing commercial product you do not own. Do not submit work owned by an employer unless you have authority to hand it to the club on the terms below.

4. Submission package

  1. 4.1A submission must include a live demo URL, or a packaged demo with clear run instructions.
  2. 4.2It must include full source-code access. Private access for judging is acceptable. Transfer on the club’s request is covered by the terms.
  3. 4.3It must include a short description of aims, how to run the app, the architecture, major dependencies, expected hosting cost, and known limitations.
  4. 4.4It must include acceptance of the terms, including the warranties that the work is unencumbered.

5. Mentorship

  1. 5.1Mentorship is optional and offered on an equal-access basis. Using it is not an advantage in scoring.
  2. 5.2Questions may be asked in an optional WhatsApp group, with an AI assistant ("Figgy") available for questions about the competition. Joining the group is not required to enter. This page is authoritative if the assistant and the page disagree.

6. Conduct and data

  1. 6.1Be respectful in club and mentor channels. Harassment, or misuse of personal data, is grounds for disqualification.
  2. 6.2Do not use official club personal data beyond what this brief already states. Demos use fictional or demo data only. Any later pilot with real member data is a club decision, under club control, after the competition.

7. Administration and the prize

  1. 7.1Figtree FC and illawarra.ai may cancel, postpone, or amend the competition for a good reason, with reasonable notice. Too few entries is one such reason.
  2. 7.2Decisions on eligibility, disqualification, and the prize, made by the panel or by the club’s nominees, are final, subject to checking the terms and the payee details.
  3. 7.3The prize is $500 AUD, paid by illawarra.ai to the declared winner after eligibility and the terms are verified. A team nominates one payee and divides the prize among themselves as they agree.

Terms and conditions

These terms are part of entering. Introducing yourself by email or WhatsApp, or submitting an entry, is acceptance. They are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia.

Five points, then the binding clauses:

  • The club can ask for your entry, whether or not you win the prize. That includes source code, configuration, and the write-up created for the competition.
  • The work has to be yours to give. It cannot be secretly owned by an employer, or bound by a licence that would stop the club using, changing, hosting, or passing it on.
  • The prize does not force a launch. Figtree FC decides whether any entry is piloted or adopted.
  • Demos stay on fictional data. Do not collect or scrape personal information about club members for the competition.
  • $500 is the whole cash prize. illawarra.ai pays it to one named payee. It is not available to other entrants.

The numbered terms below are the binding text.

1. Ownership

  1. 1.1By entering, you warrant that you are the author of the submitted code and related materials, or that you and the named teammates are the joint authors.
  2. 1.2You warrant that the work is unencumbered: free of third-party claims, free of an employer’s confidential intellectual property, and free of any restriction that would stop Figtree FC from using, modifying, hosting, or transferring the software.

2. Transfer to the club

  1. 2.1If Figtree FC asks, whether or not the entry wins the prize, you will assign to Figtree FC (or to an entity it nominates) all intellectual property rights in the submitted application source code, configuration, documentation, and related materials created for the competition.
  2. 2.2Where a specific third-party component cannot practically be assigned, you grant Figtree FC a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable licence to use, modify, host, and sublicense that component as needed to operate the Volunteer Hub.
  3. 2.3Named teammates are jointly responsible for making sure the team can give this transfer. Get any workplace or third-party permission before you submit.

3. Handing over a hosted app

  1. 3.1If the entry is a hosted app and the club adopts it, you will help transfer, in a timely way: hosting account ownership or an equivalent export; database exports and configuration; admin credentials; and environment variables and deployment documentation.
  2. 3.2The point of that handover is that the club can operate the system without you. You will not keep exclusive control of a production system the club adopts.
  3. 3.3A domain name transfers only if you own or control it in a way that allows a lawful handover to the club.

4. Open-source dependencies

  1. 4.1Open-source libraries are welcome. List the major ones and confirm they are compatible with the club owning and operating the app. MIT, Apache-2.0, and BSD are examples of licences that usually are.
  2. 4.2If you choose a GPL or other strong copyleft stack, say so. Judges may score the ownership path lower if the licence obligations would be onerous for the club.

5. Paid third-party services

  1. 5.1If the app depends on paid software-as-a-service, document the expected monthly or annual cost at the scale of a club pilot, and whether the club can open its own accounts.
  2. 5.2The club does not have to keep paying any bill that sits on your account, the sponsor’s account, or any other entrant-linked account.

6. No obligation to launch

  1. 6.1Accepting a submission, or awarding the prize, does not oblige Figtree FC to deploy any entry. Adoption sits with the club executive or the officers it appoints.

7. Prize

  1. 7.1The prize is $500 AUD, paid by illawarra.ai to the declared winner after eligibility and these terms are verified.
  2. 7.2A team shares the prize as its members agree. One payee details form is required.
  3. 7.3The prize is not a cash payment available to non-winners, and it is not a cost of the club.
  4. 7.4The sponsor’s obligation is limited to the published prize for a winner properly declared under these terms.

8. Warranties and liability

  1. 8.1Entries are provided as is. You warrant that the entry does not infringe third-party rights.
  2. 8.2To the extent the law allows, Figtree FC and illawarra.ai are not liable for your costs, tool subscriptions, unpaid time, or losses from taking part.
  3. 8.3Rights under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded are unaffected.

9. Privacy

  1. 9.1Do not scrape or misuse personal information of club members. Competition demos use fictional or demo data.
  2. 9.2Any later live pilot will use a privacy approach approved by the club, including collection notices, access control, and retention under club policy.

10. Publicity

  1. 10.1Winners and finalists may be named in club and sponsor communications: name, team name, a short project description, and screenshots that are not sensitive.
  2. 10.2A reasonable privacy objection, agreed before the announcement, will be respected.

11. Governing law

  1. 11.1These terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia.

12. Acceptance

  1. 12.1Introducing yourself by email or by joining the WhatsApp group, or submitting an entry, is acceptance of these terms and the competition rules as published on this page at that time.
  2. 12.2In these terms, “you” means each named entrant. Where an entrant is under 18, it also means the parent or guardian who accepts on that entrant’s behalf. “Club” means Figtree FC. “Sponsor” means illawarra.ai, a registered business name of Paul Middleton, ABN 67 823 720 063.

Terms published 1 October 2026. Key dates locked 4 November 2026.