The Overall High School Competition Rulebook can be viewed here.

These Official Rules (“Rules”) of the PlayVS High School Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2022-2023 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, Starters, and other members.

1.1.1 Unintentional Disconnection.

A player losing connection to the game due to problems or issues with the game client, platform, network, or PC.

1.1.2 Intentional Disconnection.

A player losing connection to the game due to player’s actions (i.e. quitting the game). Any actions of a player which lead to a disconnection shall be deemed intentional, regardless of the actual intent of the player.

1.1.3 Server Crash.

All players losing connection to a game due to an issue with a game server, PlayVS platform, or venue internet instability.

A game of record (“GOR”) refers to a game where all six players have loaded and which has progressed to a point of meaningful interaction between opposing teams. Once a game attains GOR status, the period ends in which incidental restarts may be permitted and a game will be considered as “official” from that point onward. After the establishment of GOR, game restarts will be allowed only under limited conditions. Examples of conditions which establish GOR:

1.2.1

Game timer reaches the end of the countdown and states “go”.

If a player intentionally disconnects without notifying a coach or League Official or pausing, a League Official is not required to enforce a stoppage. During any pause or stoppage, players may not leave the match area unless authorized by their coach. Coaches should communicate any disconnections or pauses inside PlayVS’s Match Lobby chat.

The decision of which condition(s) shall justify a game restart is solely at the discretion of League Officials.

1.4.1 Restarts After GOR.

The following are examples of situations in which a game may be restarted after GOR has been established.

1.4.1.1 If a game experiences a critical bug at any point during the match which significantly alters game stats or gameplay mechanics.

1.4.1.2 If a League Official determines that there are environmental conditions which are unfair (e.g. excessive noise, hostile weather, unacceptable safety risks).

1.4.2 Player Confirmation of Settings.

Players on each team should verify that they have finalized their intended game settings (including controls, and GUI settings) before GOR is established. Any error in verification is not grounds for a game restart after GOR is established.

1.5.1 Roster Size

Each team is required to maintain, at all times during the season, one coach, and at least three players in the starting lineup (“Starters”). It is recommended that a team also maintain players as Substitutes or Alternates ("Substitutes"). For the avoidance of doubt, Starters and Substitutes are subject to the same roster eligibility requirements. No individual may simultaneously hold two or more of the roles listed above.

The Starters are considered collectively as the “Starting Roster.” The Starting Roster, including any Substitutes that are competing, will be required to be on-site for every official game that the team participates in.

Substitutes are considered collectively as the “Bench.” Players on the Bench may be used for any match in which that team is competing within an assigned league. All eligible substitutes for a league will be displayed under the Bench area of the Manage Teams page. The players shown under the Bench area are the only players that can be used as subs for the selected team within that enrolled league. Any verified player can be enrolled as a substitute through the enrollment process by navigating to the enrollment page, selecting the team, and then switching to the Bench tab and selecting the players you would like to be enrolled into the Bench for the selected team. During the playoffs, substitutes must be locked in as part of the roster as part of the roster lock requirement one (1) week before playoff’s begin.

The Starting Roster will be displayed on www.playvs.com. The Starting Roster on the PlayVS website will be considered the most up to date roster that could be applied within a reasonable time. Roster eligibility is at the discretion of League Officials.

All players associated with a school are considered collectively as the "Complete Roster." The "Playoff Roster," Starting Roster plus the bench, must be locked in one (1) week prior to the playoffs.

A player is only allowed to compete for the school that they enrolled in. A player will not be allowed to compete for more than one school simultaneously and therefore cannot be listed on the roster of more than one school. To verify that these players are officially enrolled at their school, each player must be verified by the team's coach or another member of the faculty. For the avoidance of doubt, the verification of a player is an agreement to a summary of some key terms of the Rulebook needed by the league to verify eligibility and confirm agreement by player and team.

1.5.2 Qualifying Substitutes

All verified players enrolled on a team as part of the bench are eligible substitutes for any Rocket League team match throughout the regular season. They will be displayed under the "Bench" section of the team management page. In the event of an emergency, a team will be given up to 30 minutes to find an immediate substitute for a game. If a replacement cannot be found then the team will forfeit the game in which that player was competing. League Officials will determine if an event qualifies as an emergency. During playoffs, substitutes must be assigned to one team for the entirety of the playoffs phase.

1.5.3 Substitution Window

To correctly substitute a player, coaches must move them from the Substitute bench to an Active Player on the Roster in PlayVS before the start of the next game in a scheduled match. Substitutions made during a live game are not permitted. Once a player is confirmed to be substituted on the match dashboard in PlayVS by both coaches and teams, the match can continue to the next game with the substitution in place.

If changing players in the roster does not work, the substitution must be communicated on the PlayVS platform and in the in-app messaging, as well as getting confirmation of the substitution with the other team before the next game can begin.

Each school should have equipment for their players in the following categories

2.2.1 Windows Computer/Laptop

2.2.2 Peripherals

For any teams playing on consoles, we recommend using at least 1 console per player.

3.1.1 Game

An instance of competition that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first: (a) completion of the final objective, (b) Team Surrender, or (c) Team Forfeit.

3.1.2 Match

A set of games that is played until one team wins a majority of the total games (e.g., winning two games out of three “best of three”) or the maximum number of games are completed (e.g., two games in a set of two). Each team will receive win or loss tallies in a league format or the winning team will advance to the next round in a tournament format.

3.1.3 Phase

A section of scheduled league play that comprises a season. There are three distinct phases: preseason, regular season, and playoffs. Each phase has its own format.

3.1.4 Season

Scheduled league play that will occur over an approximately three-month period of time. Each season will consist of three phases: (a) Preseason, (b) Regular Season, and (c) Playoffs, which will occur at the conclusion of the Regular Season and will lead into a championship.

3.2.1 Preseason

This phase consists of each team enrolled in the league competing in up to three official practice weeks. Results of this match will not be recorded however this match is required in order to properly test equipment and player game connections.

3.2.2 Preseason Format

Preseason matches between each team will be played in a Best-of-Five(BO5) format. Wins and losses from each match will not count towards the team’s regular season standings.

3.2.3 Regular Season

This phase consists of each team within a state or region, each playing a weekly match in a league format against opponents within their league. Ranking in the league will be determined by each team's win-loss ratio.

3.2.4 Regular Season Format

Regular season matches between each team will be played in a Best-of-Five(BO5) format. Wins and losses from each match will be added to each team’s regular season standings.

Rosters - Teams must have a roster of three(3) players ready to go at the start of the match. In between games, teams may substitute players to the starting roster. The substitution needs to be made on the PlayVS platform and confirmed with the other team before the next game can begin.

3.2.5 Regular Season Tiebreakers

The ranking of the teams will be determined by the standings of Wins and Losses. Tiebreakers are covered in Section 5.3 of the High School Competition Rulebook. More information about Tiebreakers can also be found here.

3.2.6 Playoffs

This phase consists of the top teams from each league and is limited to two Rocket League teams per qualifying school. These teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament until only two (2) teams remain.

Playoffs matches between each team will be played in a Best-of-Seven(BO7) format. Winners of each match will advance to the next portion of the bracket. Teams in the playoffs will compete in a single elimination bracket until a League Champion is crowned.

Rosters - Teams must have a roster of three (3) players ready to go at the start of the match. In between games, teams may substitute players to the starting roster. The substitution needs to be made on the PlayVS platform and confirmed with the other team before the next game can begin. Rosters with starters and substitutes must be submitted and locked one week prior to playoffs.

3.2.7 Finals

This match consists of the top two teams from each league as decided by Playoffs. The Finals will be a single Best-of-Seven (BO7) match. The team to achieve four game wins will be awarded the match win and will be declared the League Champion. In the event that a single team reaches four game wins before the start of a fifth, sixth or seventh game, those games will not be played.

4.1.1 Equipment Testing

4.1.2 Timeliness of Match Start

It is expected that players will resolve any issues with the setup process within the allotted time and that match will begin at the scheduled time. Delays due to setup problems may be permitted, at the sole discretion of League Officials. All players competing must be in the game lobby to be considered “present”. Teams that are over thirty (30) minutes tardy will forfeit their match.

4.1.3 Acknowledgement of Pre-Match Testing

No fewer than five(5) minutes before the match is set to begin, players and coaches must acknowledge their setup is complete and they are ready to compete(Check-in process).

4.2.1 Game Lobby Creation

The home team coach will designate a captain who will be in charge of creating the lobby and setting up the match using the requirements found on the Rocket League Game Day Protocol. All match requirements found there should be considered a part of the Rocket League (High School) rulebook.

Protocol settings:

Game Mode: Soccar

Arena: DFH Stadium

Team Size: 3v3

Bot Difficulty: No Bots

Region: Recommended

Joinable By: Name/Password

Team Settings: (No Change)

Mutator Settings: (No Change)

4.3.1 Results

Results must be reported to PlayVS within 1 hours after a match has ended. The winning team’s coach is responsible for reporting results in their "Lobby" dashboard.

Instructions on how to report results can be found in the Manual Match Reporting Guide. In the event of an error, coaches must contact support@playvs.com.

4.3.2 Next Match

Players will be informed of their current standing in the competition, including their next scheduled match through the PlayVS client.

4.3.3 Results of Forfeiture

Matches won by forfeit will be reported by the minimum score it would take for one team to win the match (e.g. 2-0 for best-of-two and best-of-three matches). No other statistics will be recorded for forfeited matches.

Important: By default, rulebooks overrule game day protocols. Please reach out to support if you find conflicting information.

V 1.0 - 2022//2023

V1.1 - 1/20/23 - Added recommendation of one console per player (2.2.2)