Rules

"I'm troll judge, troll jury, and execu... troll!"

Tri-Collegiate Specific Rules:

• You cannot stream your game.

• If a player or account who/that is not registered and is playing, then it will be an automatic game loss for that team.

• "Coaches" will be considered as a spectator.

• Players must show their ID at check in.

• Teams who have not paid by March 26, 2015 will be disqualified.

• Roster changes will be allowed up to March 26, 2015.

• All players must be on site during the tournament.

Tournament Rules:

Pausing:

Teams are granted 5 minutes of pause time for technical problems only. These include:

• An unintentional disconnection.

• A hardware or software malfunction.

• Physical interference with the player.

The pausing team cannot resume play until they get clearance from an official and all players are ready at their stations.

If a player pauses or unpauses a game without permission outside of their allotted pause time, or does not resume the game within their allotted pause time, they will be subject to penalties according to the tournament rules.

Unlike the LCS, players are allowed to discuss gameplay or strategy with their teammates during a pause.

Additionally, referees may pause at their discretion.

Behavior:

Summoner's Code:

All tournament participants, including players, referees, and the tournament organizers must read and adhere to the Summoner's Code, inside and outside the game.

Players in clear violation of the Summoner's Code during a tournament can incur penalties.

Team Identification:

Players are encouraged to represent their team in an appropriate manner. Team representation includes, but is not limited to, team name, jerseys, emblems, banners, etc.

The referee of the tournament has final authority over inappropriate team identification. Inappropriate team identification might include:

• References to any non-over-the-counter drug, tobacco product, brand name or other objectionable material (at the discretion of the referees).

• Material related to any illegal activities in the state of Wisconsin or on a federal level.

• Anything defamatory, obscene, profane, vulgar, repulsive, offensive or otherwise nasty that describes/depicts any internal bodily functions, symptomatic results of internal conditions or refers to things a reasonable person might consider socially unacceptable.

• Advertisements for pornographic websites or products.

• Anything containing a trademark, copyrighted material or some other element of intellectual property that is used without the owner's consent or might subject the tournament organizers and affiliates to claims of infringment, misappropriation, or other forms of unfair competition.

• Something that disparages an opposing team or player or any other person, entity or product.

• Impersonating Riot employees.

Infractions and penalties

Tournament violations generally fall into two categories: honest mistakes on the part of a player or team, and intentional violations aimed at securing advantage. While the first category is usually covered by a tournament infraction, intentional cheating is a much more serious matter.

Penalties can apply to the team as a whole, or to an individual within a team. Consequences can also apply to either a single match or persist for the duration of the tournament.

Teams cannot waive penalties assigned to their opponents. Rules are rules, and they need to be enforced regardless of how confident or charitable the opposition may feel.

Penalties include the following:

• Warning: an official, recorded notice to the player or the team for a minor tournament infraction. It is important to record warnings to ensure further infractions get assigned appropriately escalating penalties.

• Ban loss: this penalty removes the offending team’s ability to ban one champion during the draft phase of the next round.

• Side selection loss: this penalty automatically passes the decision for draft order and side of the map to the opposing team.

• Game loss: severe infractions may force a team to take an automatic loss in a current or upcoming game.

• Match loss: even more severe infractions might force a team to forfeit their current match.

• Disqualification: the most egregious infractions might warrant disqualification from the tournament. In most cases, the disqualification applies to the entire team. A team disqualified from a tournament forfeits any prizes they have not already received, unless the disqualification was the result of a series of escalating penalties throughout the tournament. A team disqualified due to escalating penalties will still receive prizes based on their final standing.

• In certain cases, the referee has the option to disqualify a single player on the team instead of the entire team. The referee has this option only when he can determine that a player’s infraction did not affect the opposing team and the player committed the infraction without the involvement of the rest of the team. This typically happens when the player commits the Unsporting Conduct – Severe infraction. In this situation, the team may continue in the tournament if they have an available substitute player. If the team does not have a substitute player, the team may not continue in the tournament and must drop.

Tournament Violation – Tardiness

A team is ready if they are present in the game lobby with 5 legal players and are ready to begin the draft phase of the first game. If a team is not ready at the designated time there is a grace period for the team to become ready. The grace period will incorporate a tiered penalty system. Penalties will be administered as they are applicable to the situation.

Grace Period Penalty System

• If a team is 10 minutes late they will be assigned a loss for the first game of the match.
• If a team is 15 minutes late they will be assigned a loss for the second game of the match.
• If a team is 20 minutes late they will be assigned a loss for the third game of the match.

Games in a Series

Teams are granted 5 minutes between games in a series. Teams must be ready at the end of these 5 minutes.

Tournament Violation - Outside Assistance

Outside assistance occurs when a team communicates with spectators, opposing teams or anyone else during a game and, at a referee’s determination, inadvertently gains an advantage over their current opponent.

This infraction assumes the offending player was not deliberately trying to cheat. Intentionally looking for any unfair advantage during the match is covered under Unsporting Conduct – Cheating.

The penalty for outside assistance is a warning.

Tournament Violation – Failure to Follow Tournament Announcements

Every player has the responsibility to follow official tournament instructions and announcements. If officials have to repeat themselves over the course of running a tournament, it can cause delays and unwarranted disputes over the rules.

The penalty for failing to follow official tournament announcements is a first pick loss.

Failure to follow tournament instructions directed at the team or a specific player is a separate infraction that falls under Unsporting Conduct – Major Infraction.

Unsporting Conduct

Unsporting conduct is disruptive to the tournament and may negatively affect the safety, competitiveness, enjoyment or integrity of a tournament.

Unsporting behavior is different from competitive behavior. A super competitive team may strictly enforce technicalities against opponents or act standoffish towards the competition. Especially competitive behavior is not automatically unsporting. The tournament referee has the final authority to determine if a player or team’s behavior crosses the line into unsporting using the infractions below as a guide.

You do not have to be enrolled in the tournament to receive unsporting conduct penalties.

There are two level of unsporting conduct infractions: minor and major. All unsporting conduct violations fall into these two categories unless they are specifically identified.

Unsporting Conduct - Minor

All players have the right to a safe and enjoyable tournament experience and a player or a team should be made aware they need to stop if their behavior infringes on those principles.

Minor unsporting conduct occurs when a player or a team does something disruptive to the tournament or its participants. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Excessive swearing or profanity.

• Demanding that an opponent receives a penalty, even after a ref makes it clear he has rendered his decision.

• Throwing trash on the floor or otherwise littering a venue.

• Obnoxiously loud and disruptive conduct by a spectator.

The penalty for a minor unsporting conduct infraction is a warning.

Unsporting Conduct-Major

This infraction falls into three specific categories and occurs when a player or a team does one of the following:

• Fails to follow official tournament instructions aimed at a specific team or player.

• Directly insults someone using hate speech that targets a specific group (race, religion, gender, disability, etc.).

• Aggressive or violent behavior during the course of the tournament that’s not directed at another person.

Tournament officials have a right to expect that their direct instructions are followed without having to issue warnings.

Instances of hate speech should be handled swiftly to ensure a safe, pleasant environment to all players and spectators.

Instances of aggressive or violent behavior, even if they are not directed at a specific individual, are disruptive and potentially dangerous. Take extra care when resolving these infractions to prevent things from escalating.

The penalty for major infractions is a game loss.

Unsporting Conduct - Severe

Severe unsporting conduct includes cases that are too outrageous to fall under unsporting conduct minor and major. Examples of severe unsporting conduct include, but aren’t limited to:

• Intentionally breaking tournament equipment issued by the organizer.

• Defacing the tournament venue.

The official penalty for severe infractions is a disqualification. In addition, it is appropriate for the tournament organizer to ask the offender to leave the tournament venue and inform the police in extreme situations.

Unsporting Conduct - Collusion

Collusion is conspiring or cooperating with opposing teams in a tournament in order to deceive or cheat others.

Players can’t intentionally determine the outcome of games or matches. That’s not in the spirit of competition, and doing so negatively affects the other tournament participants.

The penalty for collusion is disqualification for both teams.

Unsporting Conduct – Bribery and Wagering

Teams can not drop from the tournament or concede a game or match to receive some outside reward or incentive. Offering or accepting an incentive (bribe) to rig a match goes against the spirit of competition.

Players and tournament officials are also prohibited from wagering or betting on matches. For tournament organizer in particular this creates a clear conflict of interest, so do not do it.

The penalty for bribery and wagering is disqualification.

Unsporting Conduct – Aggressive Behavior

Aggressive behavior has no place in the tournament setting, particularly when it is directed at a specific individual. Needless to say, the safety of all tournament participants is of paramount importance.

Examples of this infraction include, but are not limited to:

• Threatening a tournament official.

• Threatening a spectator.

• Violence toward any tournament participant or spectator.

The penalty for any aggressive behavior is disqualification from the tournament. In addition, it is appropriate for the tournament organizer to ask the offender to leave the tournament venue and/or inform the police in extreme situations.

Unsporting Conduct - Theft

While players are responsible for keeping their own possessions safe during the tournament, there’s a certain expectation that other tournament participants will not steal their stuff. In addition, tournament organizers should have reasonable expectations that materials they provide are not subject to theft. Stealing is against the law pretty much everywhere: intentionally taking other people’s stuff will not be tolerated in a tournament setting.

The penalty for the theft is disqualification from the tournament. In addition, it is appropriate for the tournament organizer to ask the offender to leave the tournament venue and/or inform the police at their discretion.

Unsporting Conduct – Cheating

Players have a right to expect fair and balanced treatment during a tournament. Those players who knowingly do something against the rules to gain an advantage are cheating. Cheating doesn’t need to be successful to qualify as a violation. Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

• Ghosting, or any general attempt by a player to spectate his own match or get information from a person spectating the match.

• Any attempt to modify the League of Legends client, play on an unofficial client or play with software that grants extra information not normally provided by the game client, such as:

• UI overlays to improve last-hitting or indicate turret range.

• Anything that alters the in-game experience defined as between clicking the play button and the end of game summary screen.

Some third party software programs are not considered cheating. They include:

• Teamspeak, Ventrillo, Skype and other VOIP solutions.

• Keyboard/equipment drivers and software.

Impersonating another player’s summoner name or account sharing.

Attempts other advantage.

Exploiting or intentionally using any in-game bug to seek an advantage. Exploiting includes, but is not limited to, acts such as: glitches in buying items, glitches in neutral minion interactions, glitches in Champion ability performance, or any other game function that, in the sole determination of the referees.

The penalty for cheating is a disqualification from the tournament.