BRITISH ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

BRITISH ESPORTS

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Playing at home:

Guide for players’ parents/guardians.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAMPIONSHIPS OVERVIEW

What are the championships?

What is esports?

Beneﬁts of esports

KEY INFO

Format

Game titles

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Parent’s responsibilities

Player’s responsibilities

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Game speciﬁcations

Pre-match check list

Reporting an issue

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Top tips

FAQs

CODE OF CONDUCT

NEXT STEPS

Education

Pearson Esports BTEC

FE & HE Colleges

University Leagues

Careers

Volunteering

GLOSSARY

FURTHER READING

CHAMPIONSHIPS OVERVIEW

Welcome to the British Esports Championships!

This guide is for all parents and guardians who have their son or daughter representing their

school

or college in our national esports competition against other students aged 12+ from across

the UK.

This pack will provide information on:

• Esports and its beneﬁts

• The British Esports Championships

• Responsibilities of the parent and the player

• Health and wellness

• Troubleshooting

• FAQs

• Esports terminology

• Further reading and informative links

WHAT ARE THE CHAMPIONSHIPS?

The British Esports Championships are a series of competitive video gaming competitions

run by the British Esports Association for students aged 12+ in schools and colleges across

the UK.

The Championships are open to all secondary schools, Further Education (FE) Colleges and

Alternative Provision (AP) schools in the UK and are PC-based.

They cover the following games:

• 5v5 League of Legends: multiplayer online battle arena game (PEGI 12 age rating)

• 6v6 Overwatch: a vibrant ﬁrst-person shooter (PEGI 12)

• 3v3 Rocket League: football with rocket-powered cars (PEGI 3)

Each week your son or daughter will be participating in set ﬁxtures to represent their school/

college. Matches take place by default at 4pm each Wednesday, unless rescheduled in ad-

vance by the staff team leader.

Matches will take approximately 1 hour to complete. If there are technical difﬁculties with

any members of the teams, then matches may last a little longer to account for pauses.

WHAT IS ESPORTS?

Esports (or electronic sports) is a term used to describe competitive video

gaming.

It’s different from standard video gaming in that esports is competitive

(human-vs-human) and usually has an engaging spectator element to it,

like traditional sports.

Esports tournaments usually consist of amateur or professional gamers

competing against one another for a cash prize. Think of esports as

competitive video gaming where skill and professionalism are celebrated.

The pro gamers who play at this level know the games inside out, much

like a professional footballer or athlete would in their respective ﬁelds.

Matches can take place online over the internet, or at a physical event via

a LAN (Local Area Network) connection, using consoles or PCs. Matches

can be viewed by spectators in person at a venue (usually for the grand

ﬁnals) or over the internet via streaming platforms such as Twitch, which

broadcast the games live online.

For more information on esports, see our ‘what is esports’ downloadable

guide and video overview:

Esports engages a wide demographic of

young people and is intrinsically a fun, team-

building activity that promotes leadership,

character development, communication

and social skills.

Esports has more than 400m viewers across

the world, and in the UK it’s the second most

popular sporting activity for boys to watch

on screen - behind only football.

It can improve conﬁdence, strategic

thinking, problem solving abilities, reading

comprehension and phonics skills and

can help with the development of digital

and cyber skills. Skills can be transferred

across into physical sports and schoolwork,

and esports offers a multitude of career

pathways.

It can also boost behaviour, concentration

and attendance levels in schools.

Last but not least, when played in

moderation, video games and esports can

be good for mental health - they’re fun to

play and can be a stress-reliever.

View our beneﬁts of esports PDF for more

information.

BENEFITS OF

ESPORTS

Students aged 12+ to participate in weekly matches throughout the

academic term.

The students participating in the esports team(s) pay nothing to participate.

The school or college covers any costs associated with the champs.

• The entry fee for the Champs is £25 + VAT per school for

the 2020/21, plus £5 per team, per season (+VAT)

Matches take place 4pm each Wednesday. Teams can reschedule in

advance, if required.

Fixtures last approximately an hour (this is subject to any technical issues

that may occur).

Students must be on time for matches and communicate any issues to their

team leaders asap.

KEY INFO

All titles run in our Championships are age appropriate. League of Legends

is PEGI 12+, Overwatch is 12+, and Rocket League is 3+. More on age

guides here.

GAME TITLES

If students are participating from home, they must remain in contact

with their team leader and rest of their team via online communication

at all times

Rulesets: League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League. We also have

the general rules which cover all tournaments.

All students must follow the code of conduct and rulesets.

COVID guidelines.

Championships handbook

We run 3 different titles in our Champs. If you want to know more about the

games we run in our Championships, here is a breakdown of each title:

For more information on the speciﬁc game titles, please head to their individual

store page.

FORMAT

For 2020/21 Champs we have listened to the feedback from previous years and

decided to make our Champs more competitive, and engaging, than ever with a

different format!

The Champs will move from individual seasons, to a year long tournament.

• From October through to December, this will be the qualifying period. Teams will

gain as many points as possible throughout this period. Each team’s ﬁnal standing

from the qualifying period will determine their division.

• From January through to March, all teams will be split into divisions. Divisions will

be split into Division 1 and Division 2. All teams will face similarly levelled opponents

and ﬁght for the top spots in their division*.

• At the end of each division, the top teams from both divisions will progress to the

elimination stage.

Winter

Qualiﬁers

Spring

Divisions

Elimination

stages & ﬁnals

The Champs year will culminate in the best teams from each division facing off in

playoffs and a live grand ﬁnal!

* New schools and colleges will still be able to join in the second wave of registrations (this includes returning school/

colleges entering more new teams), however they will be automatically placed in the lower division as they will have not

taken part in the qualiﬁers.

NOTE: In regards to COVID-19 and lockdown, the Champs will still go ahead as planned for the next academic year,

however if lockdown continues to affect schools and colleges severely, we will reassess the format and rules if required.

You can read more information surrounding our format changes on the British Esports

website here.

2020/21 Format changes video

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In response to the Covid-19 situation we have updated our guidelines and code of conduct to ensure as many young people

as possible are still able to participate in the Championships.

Our default position remains that we expect all Champs matches to take place in a supervised, classroom environment.

However, given the national situation around Covid, we want to ensure students can still participate and represent their

school or college in a national competition. Therefore, if playing from a classroom at school/college is not a legitimate

option given the ongoing situation, then the students are allowed to play from home.

With more students participating from home due to schools’ ongoing safety measures, we realise this brings esports into the

home now more than ever.

ROLES &

RESPONSIBILITIES

PLAYER’S RESPONSIBILITIESPARENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

The parent(s) or guardian(s) must:

• Ensure the player arrives on time to matches and is ready to play

• Support the player

• Understand which staff member is responsible for the esports team and have their

contact details

• Understand that these matches are competitive ﬁxtures for the player and whilst

these are being played, they cannot be stopped for other commitments, such as a

mealtimes (weekly matches usually last no longer than an hour)

• Encourage routine and healthy balanced lifestyle for the player

The player(s) must:

• Follow the code of conduct and ruleset

• Remember they are representing their school/college in ofﬁcial ﬁxtures

• Update the responsible staff member regularly

• Nominate a student captain who can assist in organising the team and making sure

matches are played on time

• Remember if they are playing from home, they will need the correct software and

hardware to participate in matches

• Ensure they also commit to their other responsibilities, such as homework

Read our full COVID guidelines for further information.

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS OVERWATCH ROCKET LEAGUE

Min Requirement Recommended Min Requirement Recommended Min Requirement Recommended

Processor 2 GHz (supporting SSE2 or

higher)

3 GHz Intel Core i3 / AMD

Phenom X3 8650 or eqv

Intel Core i5 / AMD

Phenom II X3 or better

2.4 GHz Dual Core 2.5 GHz Quad Core

Memory 1GB RAM (2GB RAM for

Windows Vista or newer)

2GB RAM (4GB for

Windows Vista and newer)

4GB RAM 6GB RAM 2GB RAM 4GB RAM

Storage 8GB Available Hard Disk

space

12GB 30GB 30GB 5GB 5GB

Graphics Shader version 2.0

capable video card

Nvidia GeForce 8800 /

AMD Radeonn HD 5670

or eqv

Nvidia GeForce GTX460

/ ATI Radeon HD4850 /

Intel HD 4400 or eqv

Nvidia GeForce GTX660 /

AMD Radeon HD7950 or

better

Nvidia GTX 260 / ATI

4850

Nvidia GTX 660 / ATI

7950

Operating System (OS) Windows 7, 8, 10, XP

(service pack 3 only),

vistaly), Vista

Windows XP SP3, Vista Windows 7,8,10, 64 bit

(latest service pack)

Windows 7,8,10, 64 bit

(latest service pack)

Windows 7 or newer Windows 7 or newer

Resolution 920x1200 1920x1080 1024x768 1920x1080 1920x10800

Sound DirectX v9.0c or better DirectX v9.0c or better DirectX Version 9.0c DirectX

The next few pages will detail all of the technical speciﬁcations

required to take part in the Champs, including PC components

and networking.

SYSTEMS

PC SPECIFICATIONS

Each of the three titles has its own technical requirements that need to be

met in order for the game to run. The game may not run well, or will run

at low quality, on a machine that only meets the minimum requirements.

GAME SPECS

If a player is participating from home they will need to ensure that they have the correct kit to play each week. As our Champs is primarily PC based, they will

need to have a PC/laptop that can run the game which they are playing. Please see below for the minimum and recommended requirements for PC speciﬁca-

tion. If they are playing in the Rocket League tournament, they are able to use consoles (instead of PC if needed) due to the game being cross-platform.

Most issues in-game will most likely be from (but not limited to)

the following:

• Internet-based problems

• Human error

• Game servers and updates

All of these can nearly always be ﬁxed!

PRE MATCH CHECKLIST

Check the internet. Is the connection stable? Are there any other devices that are

potentially using a lot of the connection? If possible, use a wired ethernet connection

at all times to reduce risk of lag and connectivity issues

Are there any updates to the game? Many games will have patches and updates to

ﬁx any bugs and to release new content. Ahead of match time, make sure to log on a

bit earlier to allow time to download any updates if required. This will allow the player

to not be late to start the match due to downloading updates.

Confirm match time. Do they know when the match is starting? Matches usually be-

gin at 4pm, however the team may have rescheduled in advance of the game. Make

sure your

Ensure the player checks-in with the staff team leader. The team leader will be or-

ganising and remotely supervising the matches. To help aid them in their supervision,

it is important that each player updates the team leader when they are ready.

Enter the team communication platform. In our COVID guidelines, we recommend

any team who has to participate from home should all join a communication platform

in order for the team (including the staff team leader) to remain in contact with each

other throughout the ﬁxtures. This communication platform could be whichever plat-

form is best and most secure for each school, e.g. Microsoft Teams.

Join the in-game lobby. Near the ﬁxture start time, we recommend that the teams set

up the lobby as soon as possible to enable matches to start on time without delay.

Usually the lobby is set up by the home team (team on the left of the ﬁxture page),

however this can be decided between the teams.

REPORTING AN ISSUE

If the player runs into any issues before, during, or after the

match, they must do the following:

Contact their staff team leader with details regarding the issue

Update the rest of the team regularly

If the player needs to pause, make sure to give the reasoning

straight away in-game to inform the opposition

Ask the team leader to contact an admin via Discord or through a

support ticket on the website

With COVID-19 forcing lockdown and online learning, we want to ensure students are still being

as healthy as possible in the current environment. Students need to be aware of how to balance

esports and traditional sport and exercise. This will help each player achieve a healthy balanced

lifestyle.

Here are some top tips you can promote to your players!

HEALTH &

WELLNESS

Create a balanced routine.

Practicing is good, but so are other

hobbies and commitments!

Encourage short breaks

Use the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20

minutes, take a 20-second break and

focus your eyes on something at least

20 feet away.

Establish healthy sleep habits and

routine

Encourage a healthy diet

Drink water to hydrate!

Have a comfortable gaming space

Posture checks!

Simple wrist, back and hand

exercises to help prevent repetitive

strain injury (RSI)

Promote physical activity, such as

walks before or after fixtures

Further reading on healthy routines

and esports:

• Wellbeing and performance

• Esports coach profile - Michael

Ellis

• How often should you practice

• Keeping t and healthy

• Mental health and esports

If you have concerns your child’s gaming is becoming unhealthy, please visit:

Game Quitters

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FAQS

Is there a cost for my son/daughter to participate?

No - the school pays for the esports team(s) to take part in the Champs. The individual does not pay, it is the

school’s responsibility. The entry fee for the British Esports Championships is £25 per school for the year of

2020/21, plus £5 per team, per season (+ VAT). This is paid for by the school / college, not the individual.

Do I have to supervise my child whilst they are playing?

No - the staff team leader will be supervising in the classroom or remotely. You are more than welcome to cheer

them on, however that may distract them!

Are the titles age appropriate?

Yes - the Champs is for students aged 12+. League of Legends is PEGI 12+, Overwatch is 12+, and Rocket

League is 3+. More on age guides.

Will we need to purchase the game?

Some institutions will provide generic accounts for students to use, others will suggest players using their

personal accounts if they own the game already. Some schools may require their players to purchase a game,

but we always recommend schools to pay for, and be responsible for, the licenses. All the titles are free apart

from Overwatch which is £16.99 to purchase.

Can I see how well their team is doing?

Yes - head to tournaments and then leaderboards in the drop down list. You will then be able to ﬁnd your team

in the list to see where they are! We will also have plays of the week which will highlight great clips from the

past week’s matches. View them on our Youtube channel.

Can I watch the matches to support their team?

Yes - we are streaming select matches every Wednesday on our Twitch Channel from 4pm BST. Your son/

daughter’s team may also be streaming via their school’s channel.

Will they be bullied?

For our Championships we enforce a strict zero tolerance policy for any toxic, discriminatory, or hurtful language

or behaviour of any kind. Our code of conduct and ruleset reﬂects how all student players and teams should

act in our Championships. If we are made aware of such negative behaviour, we will investigate immediately

and enforce ﬁnal warnings and/or bans from the Championships if required.

How can I encourage healthy behaviour?

We recommend regular breaks, physical activity and exercise, along with eating healthy and sleeping well - this

is all part of a healthy balanced lifestyle and can really boost a player’s performance in game. Doing simple

wrist, back and hand exercises can also prevent repetitive strain injury (RSI) which some pro players have known

to develop. See links in the ‘health and wellness’ section above.

Are the players safe online?

All games are played in a safe, secure, access-only platform. Only registered schools are able to login and use

it. Staff are present to supervise at all times (and if remote, they will supervise via online communication and

in-game as much as possible). We also have our team of staff and admins who enforce the code of conduct.

Our aim is to provide education about the do’s and don’ts online and how students can keep themselves safe,

including what is/isn’t appropriate behaviour.

Will they practice when they should be doing homework?

Matches for the Championships will take place on Wednesday afternoons (unless rescheduled) and last

approximately an hour. We do encourage students to practice with their teams, however we recommend this is

limited to certain routines and timings to allow for homework and other extracurricular activities throughout the

week. All members of the team should have regular breaks and ensure they are keeping on top of their regular

school routines. Some schools and staff team leaders use entering the Championships as a reward mechanism,

such as only those students who have good attendance and/or grades can play in the team.

What happens if my son/daughter is late to their match?

All students are required to arrive on time to their matches, however we do understand that some situations

can be inescapable, such as delayed public transport. If a player runs into any issues that mean they will be late,

they need to contact their staff team leader as soon as possible. The team leader then can notify our admins of

the situation so they can update the opposing team. Due to COVID we have extended our wait time to 30 mins

for a match to begin, however this is to be used for exceptions only, not to allow games to start deliberately

late.

More FAQs about the Champs

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CODE OF

CONDUCT

The British Esports Association takes the safety of players very seriously. As such, we have

implemented several measures to protect the wellbeing and identities of those who take part

in our tournaments.

Playing of matches

Only those rostered can play. Teams must play together from the same school/college. Teams

must be supervised by a member of staff (the ‘Leader’).

Due to current COVID-19 safety measures, we understand that many schools/colleges will

face certain restrictions in the new academic term such as increased online learning, social

distancing, and potentially the inability for students to partake in extracurricular activities after

school.

Our default position remains that we expect all Champs matches to take place in a supervised,

classroom environment. However, given the national situation around Covid, if this is not

possible we want to ensure students can still participate and represent their school or college

in the Champs. Therefore, if playing from a classroom at school/college is not a legitimate

option given the ongoing situation, then we will be allowing students to play from home.

All students must still follow our code of conduct and the Leader must supervise to the best of

their ability, even if this is remotely. We will review our code of conduct regularly and update,

if necessary, regarding our policy on students playing from home.

Unsporting Behaviour

(

“ﬂaming”, “toxicity”, “bm”, “hacking”, “aimbotting”)

Any unsporting behaviour is a punishable offence and harms enjoyment of the game. When

dealing with unsportsmanlike conduct, it’s important that admins have proof of exactly what

happened.If an opposing player verbally abuses a member of your team or deliberately

behaves in an unsporting manner you must take screenshots and report directly to an admin.

Depending on the circumstance a player can be punished instantly or if the issue requires

more investigation, this will be done after the tournament.

Safeguarding

British Esports Championships considers the three areas of risk in online safety, as outlined by

the CODE OF CONDUCT and Department for Education.

Content

All esports titles in the British Esports Championships are age-appropriate for school and

college students. Rocket League is PEGI 3+; Overwatch and League of Legends are PEGI 12+.

Contact

Each ﬁxture in the British Esports Championships will be played via a closed community

platform. Only students registered by their school/college will be able to access the platform.

Each ﬁxture in the British Esports Championships will be played on school/college premises

and supervised by an adult member of staff (school/college ‘Leader’). Professional Tournament

Admins will be monitoring all online interactions and ﬁxtures.

Conduct

Every school/college will submit the names of each player representing their institution

as well as their in-game name (full names of players will not be shared by British Esports

Championships without permission). Therefore, in the event of misconduct during the British

Esports Championships, that player can be held responsible and penalties will be imposed.

Admins, and every school/college Leader are responsible for ensuring all rules are followed

and standards of fair play are maintained throughout.

Data

More information on data protection can be found in the T&Cs on the tournament website.

School/college Leaders can request to have data erased. You can also see British Esports’

Full, up-to-date rulesets are available on the tournament system.

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EDUCATION

PEARSON ESPORTS BTEC

The British Esports Association partnered with global learning company Pearson

to create the world’s ﬁrst qualiﬁcation of its kind for a career in esports. The new

BTEC qualiﬁcations in esports are skills-focused and are a major step forward

in supporting the creation of long-term careers in the growing esports industry

both in the UK and internationally. Students can study the course from September

2020.

FE & HE COURSES

There are also more education courses cropping up, for example several univer-

sities now offer courses in esports. You can see some of the UK colleges and uni-

versities running courses in esports here.

For younger people, we will always recommend prioritising education over em-

barking on an early career in esports. Many amateur players will play in their spare

time while studying. Some, once graduating, decide to pursue esports as a career,

but it’s always a good idea to focus on education ﬁrst.

UNIVERSITY LEAGUES

Within education there are many opportunities for students to get involved in

esports, especially in regards to clubs and societies. If they enjoyed taking part

in the British Esports Championships, there are also other tournaments such as

Digital Schoolhouse and in-house tournaments. At university, there are also many

esports and gaming clubs which foster talent through taking part in university

tournaments in the NUEL and NSE leagues.

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TURN YOUR PASSION INTO A PROFESSION

ESPORTS PANEL

ESPORTS CAREERS ADVICE WITH

HITMARKER

CAREERS

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to get

experience, make connections in

the industry, and to try out roles that

you want as a career. To get

volunteering experience the best

way is to contact some of the bigger

companies, such as ESL, GAME, or

Gﬁnity, who will be able to provide many opportunities.

Job sites such as Hitmarker, also provide a great overview of paid and

unpaid volunteering/jobs all across the country and worldwide. In the

current climate, remote job opportunities and volunteering are more

common and accessible.

Experience

Throughout gaining experience in

the industry it is essential to add

these opportunities to any CV!

For more creative roles, an additional

portfolio is invaluable to showcase

skills and previous work to impress.

Even if esports turns out to not

be the desired career path for your

son or daughter, the skills that they will learn can be transferable into

any industry.

As shown in the video below from our panel on routes into the esports

industry, there is not just one certain way into esports - there are lots of

opportunities and experiences to discover!

For more advice, check out our esports careers advice hub here.

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IN-GAME NAMES

Also known as IGNs. These are the usernames

seen in-game for each player. Each player will be

associated with a particular in-game name.

ESPORTS

Competitive video-gaming. Always human-vs-

human.

BRITISH ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Also known as “Champs”. It is a competitive video

gaming competition for students aged 12+ in

schools and colleges across the UK.

PEGI

PEGI is the age rating system for game titles.

These age ratings help parents know what titles to

purchase that are age appropriate for their family.

View our esports age guide for more information.

DISCORD

A free text and voice communication platform. Many

gaming communities are housed on this platform.

Users can join voice chats and discuss certain topics

in different channels. For more information about

Discord, view our guide.

CLIENT

A downloadable application that houses a variety of

games which you can access. E.g. Steam is a client.

MOBA

Multiplayer online battle arena. This is a genre of

game.

FPS

First person shooter. Usually regarding a genre of

game. Also known as “shooter”.

PLATFORM

The device that a player is using, e.g. a console is

a platform. This is most commonly associated with

a console.

CHAMPION/HERO

A character within a gaming which has a variety

of different abilities and powers that can be used

throughout the game. These characters are most

prevalent in MOBAs (multiplayer online battle

arena). Each player will pick a certain hero or

champion from a wide selection in each game.

GAME

The application, programme, or .exe ﬁle, of a

game. For example, RocketLeague.exe is the game

Rocket League.

ADMINS

Also known as tournament admins, referees,

umpires. Admins will create ﬁxtures, calculate

results, make sure that players adhere to the Rules

and Code of Conduct, hand out penalties.

LEADER

A Leader is an adult member of staff that represents

an Institution. A Leader is responsible for supervising

online interactions between players, checking-in an

Institutions teams, reporting match results to the

tournament system. One Leader can be responsible

for multiple teams.

TEAM

A team is a group of players. A team represents its

Institution in the British Esports Championships.

CHECK-IN

The process of reporting a team’s arrival and

commitment to play in that week’s matches. Check-in

takes place the day before ﬁxtures on the tournament

website. Only a Leader can check a team in.

MAP

A map is the main area and environment where the

game takes place.

LOBBY

Lobbies are menu screens where players can set up

the upcoming game session, change their settings,

and talk to each other. In many games, players return

to the lobby at the end of each session. In some,

players joining a session that has already started

are placed in the lobby until the start of the next.

As lobbies consume very few resources they are

sometimes additionally used as a “holding pen” for

players while waiting for the next match. Opposing

teams must be invited to the lobby for the match to

proceed.

DISCONNECT

Also known as DC. Disconnect can refer to an

Internet shortage that removes a player from a game

or a player intentionally leaving a game.

CASTING

Commentating an esports match. Commentators are

known as casters. This is short for shoutcasters, the

original term used to refer to esports commentators

which has been shortened over time.

SEEDING

The process of preliminarily ranking teams in a

tournament bracket to ensure the most fair outcome.

Each team is a seed.

FLAMING

Displaying hostility in insulting messages, usually

towards another player.

TOXICITY

Unacceptable behaviour in game, such as abusive or

derogative behaviour and chat.

(also known as “Bad Manners”). This can be

intentionally obnoxious behaviour within esports in

order to frustrate or irritate the opponent, to gloat

and revel in their victory, or simply to drag the game

out and inconvenience the opponent as much as

possible.

HACKING

Also linked to in-game cheating. Hacking usually

applies to players who, through the use of a

computer bot or system, intentionally exploited

bugs and ignored the usual rules in order to achieve

superiority in-game. This is most commonly present

in multiplayer games and is combated by many

anti-cheat systems which aim to stop cheating and

hacking in-game.

AIMBOTTING

(sometimes called “auto-aim”). This is a type of

computer bot most commonly used in multiplayer

ﬁrst-person shooter games to provide varying levels

of automated target acquisition and calibration to

the player.

Still uncertain on particular esports

jargon? View our A-Z esports

terminology.

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