THE TITLE HAS TO SURVIVE SCRUTINY.
A business should understand how it wins. An agency should be able to challenge the methodology. A sponsor should never be able to buy the result.
01 · Eligibility
The entrant must be an operating, verifiable business. Season 01 prioritizes British Columbia. A working public website is required and the submitter must be authorized.
02 · No purchase requirement
No VIRON purchase is required to apply, enter, qualify, advance or win. Commercial relationships never add score.
03 · Category assignment
The League assigns the business to the division that best matches its primary customer-facing model.
04 · Website freeze
The evaluated URL and timestamp are recorded at the relevant cutoff. Material redesigns can trigger a re-test or be held for the next round.
05 · Real-user blind testing · 35%
Neutral users complete common tasks and score clarity, trust, ease, comprehension and decision confidence. Agency attribution is hidden where practical.
06 · Technical benchmark · 25%
Reproducible checks cover mobile performance, loading stability, broken routes, HTTPS, responsive behavior, accessibility baseline and action availability.
07 · Independent panel · 25%
Judges use one rubric, disclose conflicts, do not score their own work and lock scores before public-vote results are revealed where practical.
08 · Verified public vote · 15%
One verified vote per eligible person per defined matchup or round. Rate limits, challenge systems and risk scoring may reject abusive traffic.
09 · Tie-break
Higher real-user score wins the first tie-break, then expert score, then technical score. A persistent tie receives a controlled re-test.
10 · Conflict firewall
VIRON clients, sponsors, Founding Ten companies and partner relationships receive no scoring advantage.
11 · Vote manipulation
Purchased votes, bots, credential sharing, coordinated technical abuse or attacks on competitor pages can invalidate votes or disqualify an entrant.
12 · Judge conflict
A judge with material financial, employment, family or agency conflict must recuse from the affected entrant.
13 · Media & brand permission
The League uses only the business name, logo, website imagery and competition media covered by the approved permission scope.
14 · Appeals
An entrant may challenge factual or technical errors during the stated review window. Disagreement with taste alone is not an error.
15 · Disqualification
Identity fraud, unauthorized entry, vote manipulation, security abuse, false evidence or serious rule violations can remove an entrant.
16 · Rule changes
The methodology cannot be quietly changed mid-round. A necessary correction must be documented and applied consistently to every affected entrant.