Terms and Conditions for Participation
General Terms and Conditions for Participation in the Laufgelage
VWI-Hochschulgruppe Erlangen-Nürnberg e.V.
Version 6 of 8 October 2026
This English translation is provided for your convenience. The contract is based on the German “Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen für die Teilnahme am Laufgelage”, which are available at Teilnahmebedingungen. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version prevails (§ 15(3)).
§ 1 Organiser, subject matter and purpose
(1) The Laufgelage is organised by VWI-Hochschulgruppe Erlangen-Nürnberg e.V., c/o Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Technische Fakultät, Cauerstraße 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany, registered in the register of associations of the Local Court (Amtsgericht) of Fürth under VR 200019 (the “Organiser”). The Organiser is represented by its board. Contact: kontakt@laufgelage.de.
(2) The Laufgelage is a social event at which teams of two eat the three courses of a menu in one evening, each course in a different group. The courses take place in the private homes of participating hosts; they may be followed by a joint closing event in public premises. The purpose of the event is to make new contacts, to promote intercultural exchange and to share food and cooking. The Organiser’s contractual obligations are to allocate the teams and courses, to pass on the necessary contact details, to organise the event and to provide access to the closing event; the participants provide the catering for the courses among themselves.
(3) These terms govern the contractual relationship between the Organiser and the participants.
§ 2 Scope, conclusion and duration of the contract
(1) Registration takes place via the registration form of the registration platform at anmelden.laufgelage.de; the address www.laufgelage.de/anmelden permanently redirects there. By clicking the button “Register with obligation to pay”, the participant makes a binding offer to conclude an event contract and then makes the payment via PayPal. If the participant does not complete the payment within 90 minutes of clicking the button, the offer lapses; the data entered are then deleted. If a payment is received after the offer has lapsed, the Organiser will refund it without undue delay. If a voucher covers the participation fee in full, the participant makes the offer by clicking the button “Register free of charge”. The participant is bound by this offer until the confirmation of participation, and at the latest until the end of the second day before the day of the event; § 4(3) applies to teams on the waiting list. An automatic acknowledgement of receipt does not constitute acceptance. The contract is concluded only upon the Organiser’s separate confirmation of participation in text form (for example by email; Section 126b of the German Civil Code, BGB). The confirmation of participation is the registration confirmation or, upon moving up, the notification of moving up, in each case with ticket; if a team is placed on the waiting list, the Organiser notifies this separately.
(2) Registration is only possible as a team of exactly two persons; individual registrations and teams of more than two persons are excluded. A person who also registers their team partner must ensure that they are authorised to do so; if there is no such authorisation, Section 179 BGB applies. The Organiser concludes a separate contract with each registered participant. Each team member may change the joint team information in the self-service area and cancel the team’s registration with effect for both team members; the Organiser will notify the other team member of this in text form without undue delay. The registering person is liable for the accuracy of the information they submit.
(3) The version of these terms in force at the time of registration applies. It is sent to the participant in text form together with the confirmation under paragraph 1. These terms will not be changed unilaterally after the contract has been concluded.
(4) Conflicting terms of the participant do not become part of the contract unless the Organiser agrees to them in text form.
(5) The contract ends when the event ends. Provisions which by their nature continue to apply, in particular § 7(3) and (4) and § 9, remain unaffected.
§ 3 Procedure, private homes, role of the Organiser
(1) Participation requires that each team has a place to cook in Erlangen or within the catchment area of the event. The Organiser allocates the teams and courses and announces the allocation in good time before the event. It may change the allocation and the procedure until the event begins if this is necessary because of cancellations or because a cooking location or venue is no longer available, provided that the overall character of the event is preserved and the change is reasonable for the participant; the participant will be informed in text form without undue delay.
(2) The courses take place in private homes provided by participating hosts. The Organiser is neither the owner nor the possessor of these premises; it does not exercise the Hausrecht there (the right to decide who may enter and stay) and has no power of control over them. The Hausrecht lies with the respective host. The Organiser brings the participants together and organises the procedure; each host is responsible for hosting their course in their own home.
(3) The hosting of the course in the home at the cooking address is also subject to the Host Terms (annex to these terms), in particular as regards safety in the home and the indemnity of the Organiser; the Host Terms determine who is a host. They are agreed together with these terms and, for the hosting relationship, take precedence over them.
(4) The participants prepare the food themselves and under their own responsibility. The Organiser does not produce or supply food or drinks and does not supervise their preparation. Participants with allergies or intolerances are expected to state this when registering and to satisfy themselves on site. The registering person enters the allergies, intolerances and preferences of both team members in a shared free-text field. This information is voluntary; it is only stored and passed on to the respective cooking partners and hosts if the person concerned has given separate and explicit consent to this (Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR). If the registering person enters information concerning their team partner, they confirm by ticking a separate checkbox that this person has been informed about the information concerning them and has explicitly consented to its storage and to its transmission to cooking partners and hosts.
(5) Participants make their own way between the courses. The Organiser does not provide transport or accompany participants on their way.
§ 4 Participation fee, right to participate, oversubscription
(1) The participation fee is as stated in the registration form. It becomes due upon the confirmation of participation under § 2(1). If the Organiser requires payment upon registration, it will refund the payment in full without undue delay if no contract is concluded.
(2) Registration in itself does not give rise to a right to participate. The Organiser may reject a registration if
a) the number of registrations exceeds the number of available places,
b) the requirement under § 3(1) is not met,
c) the information in the registration is incomplete or obviously incorrect, or
d) the participant is subject to a participation ban under § 8(4).
Reasons must be given for the rejection. In the case of (d), the rejection is shown to the registering person directly on the registration page; the Organiser will provide the reasons in text form within two weeks upon request via the contact form.
(3) In the case of paragraph 2(a), registrations are considered in the order in which they are received; instead, the Organiser may hold a draw if it announces this on the event website before the registration period begins. Registrations that are not considered and registrations received after the registration deadline are placed on a waiting list. Teams on the waiting list maintain their offer, in derogation from § 2(1), until the event begins. Until receipt of the confirmation of participation, they may withdraw it at any time free of charge, in text form, for example in the self-service area or by email to kontakt@laufgelage.de; any participation fee paid will then be refunded in full without undue delay. If a team receives the confirmation of participation (notification of moving up, with ticket) before the event begins, the contract is concluded thereby, without any further declaration by the team being required. The team that has moved up may cancel free of charge within 24 hours of receipt of the notification of moving up, and at the latest until the event begins; the participation fee will then be refunded in full without undue delay. If the notification of moving up is received after the time determined in § 5(3) sentences 2 and 3, the team may cancel free of charge until the event begins, and the participation fee will be refunded in full even if it does not take part. The notification of moving up is sent to both team members. Anyone who does not move up will receive a refund in full of any participation fee already paid, without undue delay as soon as it is clear that they cannot move up, and at the latest within one week after the event.
(4) If a registration is rejected, the Organiser refunds any participation fee already paid in full without undue delay, using the same method by which it was paid.
(5) After the contract has been concluded, the Organiser may withdraw from it in text form no later than seven days before the event if (a) the minimum number of teams required to hold the event is not reached, (b) the allocated cooking location is lost without replacement, or (c) an official order or a case of force majeure prevents the event. In this case, it refunds the participation fee in full; further claims exist only under § 9. The required minimum number is announced on the event website before the registration period begins.
§ 5 Cancellation by the participant
(1) The participant may cancel their participation at any time by notifying the Organiser in text form. As long as the self-service area offers cancellation, and at the latest until the allocation has been created, cancellation is also possible there; after that, by email to kontakt@laufgelage.de. These channels are recommended but are not a condition for a valid cancellation. The decisive time is when the cancellation is received by the Organiser. Until the allocation has been created, the participant may change their registration details themselves in the self-service area; after that, the Organiser makes changes on request.
(2) If the participant cancels by the registration deadline, the Organiser refunds the participation fee in full; for cancellations via the self-service area, this happens automatically. Paragraph 3 applies to any later cancellation, including one via the self-service area; there is then no automatic refund.
(3) If the participant cancels after the registration deadline, the Organiser refunds the participation fee less a handling fee of EUR 2 if the place is filled by a team from the waiting list or by a substitute under paragraph 5; the Organiser will, where possible, fill vacated places from the waiting list. If the place cannot be filled, the Organiser refunds 50 per cent of the participation fee if the cancellation is received by the time stated in the registration form for the respective event when the participant registers; this time is no earlier than two days before the day of the event and will not be changed to the participants’ disadvantage once registration has opened. If no time is stated, the end of the second day before the day of the event applies. Otherwise, the participation fee remains payable; any expenses saved are credited.
(4) In the cases of paragraph 3 in which the Organiser retains a handling fee or the participation fee remains payable in whole or in part, the participant may prove that the Organiser has incurred no expense or damage, or a significantly lower expense or damage; in this case, the Organiser refunds correspondingly more.
(5) If, up to 48 hours before the event, the participant names a substitute who takes over their contract, the substitution becomes effective upon the Organiser’s confirmation in text form and receipt of the substitute’s payment; the Organiser then refunds the participation fee in full to the participant who withdraws. The Organiser may reject the substitute on the grounds set out in § 4(2)(b) to (d).
(6) In special cases of hardship, in particular in the event of death, serious illness or a serious accident of the participant or a person close to them, the Organiser may grant a further refund at its discretion.
(7) If the participant does not attend without having cancelled, the participation fee remains payable; any expenses saved are credited. Paragraph 4 applies accordingly.
(8) Failure to pay the participation fee does not constitute a cancellation. If the participant does not pay despite a reminder and a reasonable deadline, the Organiser may withdraw from the contract.
§ 6 Information on the right of withdrawal
There is no right of withdrawal for this contract, which is concluded via the website (distance contract). Under Section 312g(2) no. 9 BGB, there is no right of withdrawal for contracts for the provision of services related to leisure activities if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance. This is the case for the Laufgelage, because the day of the event is already stated in the registration form and is therefore part of the contract. The Organiser draws attention to this before the participant submits their contractual declaration. Irrespective of this, the Organiser grants the participant the option to cancel under § 5.
§ 7 Duties and obligations of the participants
(1) The participant is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their registration details, in particular regarding the cooking location, diet, allergies and how they can be reached.
(2) The participant follows the organisational instructions of the Organiser and its staff and respects the Hausrecht of the respective host. The participant shows consideration for the neighbours, especially in the evening and at night.
(3) In the course of the event, the participant receives personal data of other participants, namely, from the hosts of the stations they visit, team names, first names and surnames, address including floor and the name on the doorbell, and telephone numbers; as a host, the participant receives from their guests team names, telephone numbers and information on eating habits and alcohol and, only with consent, information on allergies, intolerances and preferences. The host may use the information on allergies, intolerances and preferences only to prepare the course and deletes it after the event. Otherwise, the participant may use the data received for the purposes of the event and to keep in personal contact. Passing the data on to third parties without the consent of the person concerned, using them for advertising purposes and any commercial or paid use are prohibited.
(4) If the participant culpably breaches the prohibitions in paragraph 3, they owe the Organiser a contractual penalty of EUR 250 for passing the data on to third parties or using them for advertising purposes and EUR 1,000 for commercial or paid use. Several acts based on a single decision count as one breach. A contractual penalty incurred is credited against any claim for damages of the Organiser arising from the same breach; the right to claim further damage remains unaffected.
(5) Participants must be at least 18 years old. Alcoholic drinks may not be given to participants under 18; this also applies to participants giving drinks to each other.
(6) The Organiser has not taken out event liability insurance for the Laufgelage. Participants are therefore recommended to have private liability insurance covering damage they cause to other participants or hosts. There is no obligation to do so.
§ 8 Event areas, admission, Hausrecht
(1) Event areas are the public areas shown in the schedule and the premises of the participating catering businesses. The private homes of the hosts are not event areas; § 3(2) applies to them.
(2) In the public event areas, participants must carry their confirmation of participation or their participation wristband and show it on request. Participants receive the wristband at a wristband stand or at the evening box office on presentation of their QR code or after their name has been checked. Admission checks, including of the minimum age under § 7(5), may take place. Weapons and dangerous objects are prohibited; participants are advised that the cooperation partners apply their own house rules on their premises.
(3) The Organiser may refuse admission and expel a participant from the public event areas if there is good cause. Good cause exists in particular if the participant carries dangerous objects, is evidently heavily intoxicated by alcohol or under the influence of drugs, uses violence against persons, violates youth protection rules, or behaves in a discriminatory or degrading manner, in particular through racist, antisemitic, sexist or homophobic statements or acts. If there is a well-founded suspicion of a criminal offence against persons or the property of others, the Organiser may expel the participant immediately; the right to report the matter to the police is reserved.
(4) In the event of serious or repeated breaches within the meaning of paragraph 3, the Organiser may exclude the participant from future events (participation ban). The participation ban applies for two years from the decision. In cases of violence against persons, sexual harassment or assault, substantial damage to the property of others, or a further serious breach after an earlier ban, it may apply for up to five years.
(5) The participation ban is decided by resolution of the Organiser’s board or jointly by the two persons responsible for the Laufgelage designated for this purpose by resolution of the board; the decision and the reason for it are recorded in writing. Before the decision, the participant is given the opportunity to comment, insofar as this is possible and reasonable without endangering other persons. The decision, with its reason and duration, is communicated to the participant in text form; the participant may request a review at any time. The board reviews existing bans before each registration period begins and lifts them as soon as the reason for them no longer applies or their duration has expired.
(6) To enforce the participation ban, the Organiser stores the email address and telephone number of the banned participant and checks registrations against them as soon as the registration platform supports this check; if either of these then matches, the registration is not accepted, which is shown to the registering person before payment. Until then, the Organiser enforces the ban by rejecting the registration of the banned person or refusing them admission; in this case, it refunds in full any participation fee already paid. The ban applies only to the banned person; in this case, the other registered person may cancel their participation free of charge and receives their participation fee back in full. After the confirmation of participation, admission is refused because of the ban only if the ban becomes known only afterwards. Details of the processing are set out in the privacy policy.
(7) If a participant is refused admission or expelled for good cause for which they are responsible, the claim to the participation fee remains; the Organiser credits any expenses saved. The participant may prove that higher expenses were saved. Any further claim for damages of the Organiser remains unaffected.
(8) In the hosts’ private premises, the host exercises the Hausrecht. The Organiser can neither grant nor refuse admission there.
§ 9 Liability of the Organiser
(1) The Organiser is liable without limitation for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health based on a breach of duty by the Organiser, its legal representatives or vicarious agents, and for damage based on intent or gross negligence of the Organiser, its legal representatives or vicarious agents. Liability under the German Product Liability Act, under a guarantee given and for fraudulent concealment of a defect also remains unaffected.
(2) Unless paragraph 1 applies, the Organiser is liable for simple negligence only for the breach of an essential contractual obligation, that is, an obligation whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on compliance with which the participant may regularly rely. In this case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract at the time the contract was concluded.
(3) Otherwise, the Organiser’s liability is excluded.
(4) Paragraphs 1 to 3 also apply to the personal liability of the Organiser’s board members, staff and volunteer helpers. Hosts are not volunteer helpers within the meaning of this paragraph.
(5) For the avoidance of doubt: The Organiser is not liable for damage caused by one participant to another participant or to a host, nor for the condition of private premises provided by a host, unless the Organiser is liable in this respect under paragraphs 1 and 2. On the way between the courses and in the private homes, the Organiser has neither the Hausrecht nor any actual means of control; it assumes no duty of care to keep these places safe (Verkehrssicherungspflicht). Its obligations arising from the organisation of the event and its liability under paragraphs 1 and 2 remain unaffected.
(6) The Organiser endeavours to ensure that the registration platform operates properly but does not guarantee uninterrupted availability.
(7) Claims for damages of the participant against the Organiser and the persons named in paragraph 4 become time-barred one year after the statutory limitation period begins. This does not apply to claims for injury to life, body or health, for intent or gross negligence, under the German Product Liability Act, under a guarantee or for fraudulent concealment of a defect.
§ 10 Cancellation and termination of the event
(1) If the Organiser cancels the event before it begins, it refunds the participation fee in full without undue delay. This does not depend on fault.
(2) If the event is terminated after it has begun, the Organiser refunds one quarter of the participation fee for each course not held and one quarter for the cancelled closing event.
(3) The event takes place whatever the weather. If weather conditions, an official order, a court decision or any other case of force majeure give reason to fear a danger to life, limb or health, the Organiser terminates the event. The obligation to refund under paragraphs 1 and 2 remains.
(4) Further claims for damages of the participants because of cancellation or termination exist only in accordance with § 9.
(5) If a single course is cancelled for a participant because the hosting team drops out and no team from the waiting list can take its place, the Organiser reimburses each person affected for the costs actually incurred on the day of the event for replacement food, but no more than EUR 10 for a cancelled starter or dessert and EUR 15 for a cancelled main course. This does not apply to the members of the team whose dropping out caused the course to be cancelled. Reimbursement requires an application by email to kontakt@laufgelage.de, sent within four weeks after the event and containing the following: the cancelled course, the receipt as an attachment showing that the expense was incurred on the day of the event, and the IBAN, BIC and full name of the account holder; an application made by other means in text form with the same information and evidence is also sufficient. If the application is incomplete, the Organiser points this out and grants a further period of one week. Once these periods have expired, reimbursement under this paragraph is excluded. The Organiser reimburses within four weeks of receiving the complete application, exclusively by bank transfer to the account stated; there is no cash payment. Statutory claims of the participant, in particular to a reduction of the participation fee, and claims under § 9 remain unaffected; the reimbursement is credited against them.
§ 11 Photographs and recordings
(1) The Organiser and third parties commissioned by it take overview and atmosphere photographs and recordings in the public event areas and at the closing event. The Organiser does not take any photographs or recordings in the hosts’ private homes. The Organiser uses recordings in which individuals appear only incidentally or as part of a group to report on the event and to promote future Laufgelage events; the legal basis is the Organiser’s legitimate interest in documenting and promoting its event.
(2) The Organiser publishes all other recordings in which individual participants can be recognised only with their separate consent. Consent is obtained in the registration form or on site, is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time, informally and with effect for the future, including on site to the Organiser or the person taking the photographs. Participation does not depend on consent.
(3) Participants may object to being photographed or recorded on site. The Organiser will then not publish any recording in which the objecting person can be recognised.
(4) Participants may take photographs for private purposes. The personal rights of others must be respected; in private premises, the host’s Hausrecht also applies. Publishing recordings of other participants requires their consent.
(5) Further details on the processing of personal data in connection with photographs and recordings are set out in the privacy policy.
§ 12 Data protection
(1) The Organiser processes personal data of the participants insofar as this is necessary to perform the contract; the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. This includes passing on the information listed in § 7(3) to the teams allocated in each case and sending emails with information about the booked event, for example on the procedure, the route and changes; these emails do not contain advertising. Participants should send data protection enquiries to datenschutz@laufgelage.de.
(2) Where the Organiser uses service providers that process personal data on its behalf and on its instructions, it concludes data processing agreements with them under Art. 28 GDPR.
(3) Processing that requires consent, namely the storage of information on allergies, intolerances and preferences and its transmission to cooking partners and hosts (§ 3(4)), the publication of identifying recordings (§ 11(2)) and, unless Section 7(3) of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) applies, information about future events (newsletter), takes place only on the basis of separately given consent that may be withdrawn at any time. Participation does not depend on such consent.
(4) To enforce a participation ban under § 8(4) to (6), the Organiser processes the email address and telephone number of the banned participant; the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. It deletes this information when the ban expires or is lifted.
(5) Details, in particular on purposes, recipients, storage periods and the rights of data subjects, are set out in the privacy policy at www.laufgelage.de/datenschutz. The privacy policy is not part of these terms.
§ 13 Involvement of third parties, consumer dispute resolution
(1) The Organiser is entitled to commission third parties to provide parts of the service. Its responsibility for performing the contract remains unaffected; it is liable for the fault of its vicarious agents under Section 278 BGB within the limits of § 9.
(2) The Organiser is neither willing nor obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
§ 14 Applicable law, place of jurisdiction
(1) German law applies. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state in which the participant has their habitual residence remain unaffected.
(2) If the participant is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Erlangen.
(3) Otherwise, the statutory places of jurisdiction apply. If, after the contract has been concluded, the participant moves their domicile or habitual residence outside the territory in which the German Code of Civil Procedure applies, or if their domicile is unknown at the time the action is brought, the place of jurisdiction is the Organiser’s registered office.
§ 15 Final provisions
(1) If any provision of these terms is or becomes invalid, the remaining provisions remain valid. The invalid provision is replaced by the statutory provisions.
(2) Amendments and additions to the contract must be made in text form. Individual agreements between the Organiser and the participant take precedence over these terms.
(3) These terms have been drawn up in German and translated into English. In the event of any discrepancy between the two versions, the German version prevails.