Privacy & POPIA Policy

1. Who We Are

Ascendis MMA & Fitness is the responsible party for the personal information described here.

• Address: 33 St Christopher Road, Germiston, 2007, Gauteng, South Africa
• Email: info@ascendismma.co.za
• Phone / WhatsApp: +27 76 932 0126
• Information Officer: available on request via the contact details above

2. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Contact details such as your name, phone number, WhatsApp number and email address
• Billing and payment information needed to process membership fees and session payments
• Discovery Vitality membership details where you use your Vitality benefit
• Health and medical information you choose to share so we can train you safely, along with emergency contact details
• For members under 18, the details of a parent or legal guardian
• Photographs or video taken during classes and events, used for marketing only where you have consented
• Basic website and device information collected when you visit this site

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

• Set up and manage your membership and class or session bookings
• Process payments and keep accurate financial records
• Deliver training safely and respond in an emergency
• Verify and process Discovery Vitality visits
• Communicate with you about your training, schedules and account
• Send marketing or promotional messages where you have agreed to receive them
• Meet our legal, tax and regulatory obligations

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal information where it is necessary to provide our services and perform our agreement with you, where we have a legal obligation, where we have a legitimate interest that does not override your rights, or where you have given consent. You may withdraw consent at any time, though this may affect our ability to provide certain services.

5. Special Personal Information

Health and medical information is treated as special personal information under POPIA. We only collect it with your consent and use it solely to keep your training safe and appropriate to your condition.

6. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only where needed, for example with:

• Discovery Vitality, to verify and process your wellness benefit
• Payment and banking providers, to process transactions
• Trusted service providers who help us run the business, under confidentiality obligations
• Authorities or regulators where the law requires it

7. Security & Retention

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your information against loss, unauthorised access or misuse. We keep personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described here or to meet legal and accounting requirements, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA

Subject to the Act, you have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you and request access to it
• Ask us to correct or update information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Ask us to delete information where we are no longer entitled to keep it
• Object to processing or withdraw your consent
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details above.

9. Cookies

This website may use basic cookies and similar technologies to help it function and to understand how visitors use the site. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

10. Children

We offer classes for children. Where a member is under 18, we require the consent of a parent or legal guardian before collecting or processing that child’s personal information.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page with its effective date.

12. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy question or request, contact us on WhatsApp at +27 76 932 0126 or email info@ascendismma.co.za.