Trading competition terms and conditions
Part-Time Quant Academy · Version 2 · Published 23 September 2026
Version 2 opens entry to paid PTQ subscribers as well as PTQA members. Nothing else changed from version 1 (14 September 2026).
These are the standing rules for the PTQA monthly trading competition. Each round also needs a published round notice containing its dates, eligible countries, simulation settings and exact prizes. This page does not open a round for entry or confirm a prize for a particular month. Read the round notice before entering. If those details are missing, contact us before submitting.
1. Who runs the competition
The promoter is Lewis Jackson Ventures Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 14843004. Our registered address is 46 Priory Road, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8JB, United Kingdom. Contact us at lewis@jackson.ventures.
We refer to the promoter as “we”, “us” and “our”. PTQA means Part-Time Quant Academy. Skool hosts the Academy community; it does not run or sponsor this competition.
2. What you are entering
You submit your own strategy rules. We measure their simulated performance over the round’s published period, using the same published simulation assumptions for all entrants. The competition uses simulated money. It does not place real trades or require a broker deposit.
Competition access is separate from the paid PTQ software. It does not include a paid PTQ licence, backtesting credits, broker access or the full strategy workspace. You do not need the $997 Premium upgrade to enter.
There is no separate competition entry fee. Entry is for eligible PTQA members and paid PTQ subscribers. For Academy members, membership charges apply; the Basic membership is currently $9/month. Paid PTQ subscribers need nothing extra. Neither buys a prize.
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 and, when entering, have either a current PTQA membership or a current paid PTQ subscription, and use a verified account. One person may use one competition account and submit one entry per round. Do not enter through someone else’s account.
The round notice must list the countries where entry is available. Living somewhere else, or being unable lawfully to participate or receive a prize there, makes you ineligible for that round. We do not assume that the competition is available worldwide. Do not disguise your location or provide false information.
The promoter’s employees, people administering or judging the competition, and their immediate families cannot win prizes. Staff test entries must be excluded from prize rankings.
Cancelling a membership or subscription after an accepted entry does not by itself invalidate that entry. Fraudulent membership or identity information may invalidate it. Ordinary subscription cancellation and refund rights remain separate from the competition.
4. The monthly round notice
Before accepting entries, we will publish a notice in the Academy or competition area stating:
- The opening and closing date and time for entries, with the timezone.
- The start and end of the measurement period, plus the expected results date.
- Eligible countries and any round-specific entry restrictions.
- Permitted markets, instruments and strategy types.
- Starting simulated balance, position and leverage limits, execution timing, fees, spreads, slippage and market-data assumptions.
- The exact number, value and currency of prizes, how places receive them, and the payment timetable.
- The applicable version of these terms and any additional round rules.
A general reference to a monthly competition or “up to $500” does not specify a particular round’s prize allocation. The round notice must make that allocation clear before entry. We will not reduce an advertised prize because fewer people enter than expected.
5. Submitting and locking your strategy
Submit through the competition’s designated entry form before the deadline. Saving a draft, creating an account or posting a strategy in Skool is not an accepted entry. Keep the submission confirmation. Contact us promptly if you think a submission failed.
Your submitted strategy rules lock for the round. You cannot replace them after submission or use information that became available after the relevant simulated decision. The round notice defines the inputs and execution rules the system supports. Unsupported or invalid entries cannot be scored; we will explain a rejection where reasonably possible.
You may use AI tools to help create your entry. You remain responsible for understanding your rules and having the right to submit any code, data or other material you use. Buying a higher Academy tier or a PTQ subscription gives no scoring preference.
6. How the score works
We rank measured entries by the round’s percentage return and maximum percentage drawdown. Drawdown is the largest percentage fall from a previous peak in simulated account value during the measurement period. Return is measured over the round, without annualising it.
For a positive return, score = return percentage ÷ maximum drawdown percentage. For example, a 9% gain with 3% drawdown scores 3.
For a negative return, score = return percentage × (1 + maximum drawdown percentage ÷ 100). For example, a −10% return with 20% drawdown scores −12. A larger drawdown therefore makes a losing result worse.
A flat return scores zero. A positive return with zero measured drawdown ranks above finite scores. This describes the recorded simulation; it does not mean a strategy has no real-world risk.
Higher scores rank first. Equal scores are separated by higher return, then lower drawdown, then earlier submission time, and finally entry ID in ascending order. Scores use the underlying measurement precision; the current ranking implementation compares return and drawdown tie-break values rounded to two decimal places.
An entry without valid measurements is marked unmeasured, not assigned zero. Leaderboard positions during the round are provisional. We review completeness and errors before confirming winners. Historical backtests, screenshots and claims about live profits do not replace the competition’s forward measurements.
7. Fair play and disqualification
Do not create multiple entries through different accounts, impersonate another entrant, manipulate market data or results, exploit a software defect, interfere with another entry, or gain unauthorised access to the service. Do not submit material you have no right to use.
We may investigate a suspected breach and temporarily withhold a result while we check it. Disqualification must have a documented reason connected to these rules. We will explain the reason and provide a reasonable opportunity to respond, unless doing so would compromise security or a legal investigation. A low score or a losing strategy is not misconduct.
8. Winners and prizes
The highest-ranked eligible entries receive the prizes allocated in the round notice, after verification. A provisional leaderboard position is not a confirmed prize award. We will contact potential winners using their verified account email and explain the evidence reasonably needed to confirm identity, eligibility and payment details.
The round notice must state the response deadline, payment method and payment date before entries open. We will make reasonable attempts to contact a winner. We will not demand an administration fee, additional purchase or trading deposit to release a prize. If a winner is ineligible, declines, or does not respond after the published deadline and reasonable contact attempts, the prize may pass to the next eligible entry under the same ranking rules.
Cash prizes are paid in the currency advertised. Any recipient bank conversion charges and relevant tax obligations will be explained where known; you are responsible for your own tax reporting. We will not replace a cash prize with Academy credits without the winner’s agreement.
9. Data gaps, errors and interruption
Simulated fills and market data can contain errors. If a problem affects scoring, we will investigate, explain the impact and apply any correction consistently to affected entries. We will not treat missing data as a real trading loss or invent performance to fill a gap.
If results cannot be measured fairly, we may pause finalisation while the issue is resolved. We will communicate the reason and revised results timetable. We will not change entry deadlines or material rules merely to improve participation or favour an entrant. Changes during a round will be limited to unavoidable circumstances or legal requirements, with entrants treated fairly and the original conditions preserved wherever possible.
If cancellation is unavoidable, we will explain why and how accepted entries and advertised prizes will be handled. Cancellation does not remove your statutory rights or our obligations concerning advertised prizes. These terms do not give us an unrestricted right to withhold prizes.
10. Your strategy and personal information
You retain ownership of your strategy. You allow us to store, run and review it for competition administration, scoring, fraud prevention and resolving disputes. Entry does not give us permission to sell your strategy or publish its private logic.
The competition leaderboard may show your display name, rank and simulated performance. Do not use sensitive personal information as your display name. We will seek separate permission before using your photograph, testimonial or private strategy details in advertising.
We may publish limited winner information to demonstrate that prizes were awarded. Contact us if you object to publication or need it limited. We may still need to supply evidence to a regulator. Our privacy policy explains how personal information is handled. Competition service messages are separate from optional marketing consent.
11. Trading risk and the limits of a competition result
This is an educational simulation. It provides no investment advice, personalised recommendation or promise of income. A competition score, prize or successful simulation does not show that a strategy will make money in a real account. Actual trading involves execution differences, costs and the risk of losing capital.
Do not place real trades to qualify for the competition. We do not hold trading funds or manage an entrant’s portfolio through this competition.
12. Questions, complaints and your rights
Email lewis@jackson.ventures with the round name, entry ID and a description of the issue. Raise scoring concerns promptly so we can review them before paying prizes. We will review the relevant records and give you a reasoned response. Our administration decisions do not remove your right to challenge an error or use legal remedies.
We will run the competition with reasonable care and skill. Nothing here excludes liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or anything else the law does not allow us to exclude. Your statutory consumer rights remain intact.
English law applies, subject to mandatory protections in your country of residence. Nothing here prevents a consumer bringing a claim in a court available to them under applicable law.
13. Which terms apply
These competition terms and the round notice govern competition participation. The general PTQ terms apply to other services where relevant, but their paid-product restrictions do not remove the separate competition access described here or require a competition entrant to buy PTQ. Skool membership billing remains subject to the terms shown when you joined.
Each round must identify its rules version before entry. Later revisions apply to future rounds unless a change is required by law or is a permitted correction under section 9. You can save or print this page for your records.