Terms of service

By creating an account or booking a session, you accept these terms and our privacy policy. If you do not agree, do not use SideMat.

SideMat is a marketplace. We connect members with independent coaches and partner gyms, and handle booking and payments. Coaches are not SideMat employees, and each coach is responsible for the sessions they teach.

• You must be 18 or older to create an account. A parent or guardian may book sessions for a minor and accepts these terms for them.
• Keep your profile accurate, including your level and any injuries or conditions a coach should know about.
• You are responsible for what happens on your account. Tell us right away at support@sidemat.com if you think someone else has accessed it.
• One person, one account. Don't share it or sign up for someone else.

A booking is confirmed when you see it in My bookings. The price, length, place and cancellation window are shown before you book. Show up on time with clean gear and follow the coach's and the gym's rules on the mat.

A semi-private is a session several members share. The member who opens a semi-private holds the slot; others can join until it is full. When you join, we place a hold for your share on your card: that is the most you will pay. Everyone's share drops as members join. 24 hours before the session the semi-private locks: we charge each member their final share, never more than their hold, and release the rest.

Until the semi-private locks, you can leave and your hold is released; you are not charged. A semi-private that does not have its minimum number of members when it locks is cancelled and nobody is charged. After it locks, spots left can still be taken at the locked share, and shares are final. If the coach cancels, holds are released and any charge is refunded in full.

• Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any SideMat service fee shown at checkout. Applicable taxes are added where required.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. By paying, you also accept Stripe's terms.
• You authorize us to charge your payment method for sessions you book, to place a hold for your semi-private share and charge your final share when the semi-private locks, and any late-cancellation or no-show fee shown at booking.
• Receipts are available in the app under Payments and receipts.

• Cancel before the cancellation window shown at booking and you are not charged, or get a full refund.
• Late cancellations and no-shows may be charged in full, so the coach is paid for the time they held for you.
• If a coach cancels or doesn't show, you get a full refund.
• If something went wrong with a session, tell us within 7 days at support@sidemat.com and we will work it out with you and the coach.
• Nothing here limits the rights you have under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act.

BJJ, wrestling and MMA are physical combat sports with a real risk of injury, including serious injury. By booking, you confirm that you are fit to train, that you have told your coach about any injuries or conditions, and that you train at your own risk. Tap early, tap often, and stop if something feels wrong.

Coaches and gyms may ask you to sign their own waiver before you train. To the extent the law allows, SideMat is not responsible for injuries that happen during a session.

• You must apply and be approved before you are listed. What you tell us about your rank, experience and certifications must be true, and we may ask for proof.
• You set your rates and availability, and you are responsible for the sessions you teach, for training safely and for having the insurance and permits your work requires.
• Payouts are sent through Stripe Connect after each session, minus the SideMat fee you agreed to. You are responsible for your own taxes.
• Treat members with respect. Harassment, discrimination or unsafe coaching gets you removed.

• Partner gyms list their space and the coaches who teach there, and keep their listing accurate.
• You are responsible for a safe, clean training space, your own house rules and your insurance.
• Your share of each session taught on your mats is paid through Stripe Connect, as set out in your partner agreement.

Reviews must be honest and about your own session. Don't post anything false, hateful, explicit or that you don't have the right to share. You keep ownership of what you post and give SideMat a licence to show it on SideMat. We can remove content that breaks these terms.

When you use SideMat, don't:

• Book or pay a coach you met on SideMat outside SideMat to avoid fees.
• Harass, threaten or discriminate against anyone.
• Impersonate someone, or misrepresent your rank or experience.
• Scrape, copy, reverse engineer or disrupt the service.

You can close your account at any time from your settings or by writing to support@sidemat.com. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or puts others at risk. Sessions already paid for are settled under the cancellation rules above.

We work hard to keep SideMat running and our coaches verified, but the service is provided as is. To the extent the law allows, SideMat is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability to you is limited to the amounts you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. None of this excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law, including under the Civil Code of Québec and the Consumer Protection Act.

We may update these terms as SideMat grows. We will change the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app or by email at least 30 days before they apply. If you keep using SideMat after that, the new terms apply.

These terms are governed by the laws of Quebec and of Canada that apply there. Any dispute goes to the courts of the judicial district of Montreal, unless the law gives you the right to sue where you live. These terms are available in French and English; both versions are equally valid.