PSEL Competition Rulebook

How to Read This Rulebook. It is intentionally written to be clear for coaches and players of all experience levels. Any attempt to circumvent this ruleset, the spirit of the rules, or general competitive integrity — even if not covered directly here — is addressed in Section 5: Player Conduct.

New to the platform? The Match Week Guide walks through one week from joining the queue to score report, and the FAQ answers the questions coaches ask most. For anything else, select Get Help at the bottom of the left navigation on the League Platform.

Introduction

This rulebook is the official and comprehensive set of rules, policies, and procedures governing all League play for the Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PSEL), for both the Fall and Spring seasons. It brings general competition rules, game-specific rules, and player conduct expectations together into a single authoritative document.

1. League Overview

1.1 League Operator

The Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PSEL) is an educator-led K–12 scholastic esports league serving schools across Pennsylvania, operated in partnership with USAEL & Rally Cry.

1.2 League Platform

The League is hosted on the official PSEL League Platform, powered by Rally Cry. All registration, scheduling, match communication, and score reporting happen on this platform. The flow is: register, join the queue, get matched, play, report.

1.3 League Schedule

PSEL's Fall season runs from September through December. A season has four phases — an optional Preseason, an 8-week Regular Season, Playoffs, and an in-person Championship. Each game title is played on a set day and time each week (see Section 4: Game Rules), and the full calendar is published before the season begins.

Fall Season Calendar

Late enrollment is available through the end of Regular Season Week 7; registration closes Sunday 11/8/26 at 11:59pm ET, as Regular Season Week 8 begins. All match times are Eastern Time.

Spring Season Calendar

The Spring calendar will be announced partway through the Fall season, and dates and details will be amended into this rulebook.

1.4 League Eligibility

The League is available to all Pennsylvania schools — public, private, charter, and homeschool cohorts — that meet the grade criteria for each game competition (see Section 4: Game Rules) and have completed the PSEL registration process. For team-based games, all players on a team must attend the same school or program unless PSEL leadership grants a multi-school exception.

The Middle School (MS) league is for grades 6–8; the High School (HS) league is for grades 9–12. Students in grades 6–8 may, at their coach's discretion, register in the HS league instead of the MS league — but not both.

1.4.1 Students Under 13

The League Platform requires players to be at least 13 years old to create an account. A coach may, with parent permission, use the Managed Member feature to roster younger students and manage their matches on the students' behalf.

1.5 Definition of Terms

2. League Format

2.1 Preseason (Optional)

Before the regular season, teams may play up to two weeks of optional preseason matches to test equipment, game connections, and the match-day flow. Preseason results are not recorded and do not affect standings.

A preseason match is the best way to confirm everything works before games count. All teams are strongly encouraged to participate, to work through technical issues and lower the chance of forfeits during the regular season.

Practice is not limited to the preseason. The Scrims tab on any competition page lets teams schedule practice matches against other registered teams all season; see the Scrim Finder Guide.

2.2 Regular Season

The regular season runs for eight weeks. Each week, teams play up to one match in each competition they have entered, paired against an opponent with a similar record and rating. Each title has a fixed default match day and time (see Section 4: Game Rules). Standings rank teams by rating. Every match result moves a team's rating, and a bye adds a win to the record without changing the rating. Teams with the same rating are ordered by the tiebreakers in Section 2.5: Tiebreakers.

2.3 Playoffs

After the regular season, qualifying teams enter a single-elimination playoffs bracket. Bracket size scales with the number of eligible teams in each competition, with a minimum of four teams.

Playoff Eligibility: a team that misses three or more regular-season weeks is not eligible for playoffs. A week counts as missed when the team does not play a match that week: it did not join the queue, its result is missing, or it forfeited. A bye is not a missed week. Ineligible teams may finish the regular season but will not be seeded into the bracket.

In-Person Advancement: online playoff rounds run over three weeks to determine which teams advance to the in-person Championship. For most titles the top two teams advance; for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the top four advance (see each title in Section 4).

2.4 Finals & In-Person Championship

The Championship is held in person (see the season calendar) and is contested by the teams that advance from Playoffs — the top two teams for most titles, and the top four for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Championship format for each title is finalized before the event (see Section 4: Game Rules).

2.5 Tiebreakers

If two or more teams have the same rating, they are ranked by the steps below, in order. Any teams still tied after a step move to the next step.

1. Match Performance — number of match wins. A bye counts as a match win.

2. Head-to-Head Record — when two teams are tied and have played each other, the winner of that match ranks higher.

3. Game Score Differential — for titles that report in-game scores (Rocket League and Fortnite: Zone Wars), total score for minus total score against across every game played. Titles that report only a winner skip this step.

4. Match Points — points earned for match wins and ties over the season.

5. Strength of Schedule — the combined match wins of every opponent a team has played.

3. League Rules

3.1 Registration Process

To be eligible to play, every coach must:

1. Create an account on the PSEL League Platform.

2. Create a team, invite students, make sure every player has linked the game account the competition requires, and register for at least one competition. For team-based games, the entry's roster must meet that competition's minimum player requirement.

3. Follow the instructions for the weekly queue and match assignments.

Step-by-step help: the Coach Registration Guide covers creating your account and joining your school. The Team Creation Guide covers building a team and registering it for a competition. The Game Handles Guide covers linking game accounts, including entering handles for Managed Members.

3.2 Weekly Queue & Match Assignment

Each week, teams confirm they intend to play by joining the Queue during the queue window, which runs from Friday 12:00 AM ET to Monday 12:00 PM ET (the weekend before match week). The Queue is on the competition's Bracket tab: select the queue button at the top of that tab once for each entry.

When the window closes on Monday, teams in the queue are paired against opponents with a similar record and rating, and a team left without an opponent moves to the Late Queue (see Section 3.3). Match assignments are posted on the League Platform and sent to each coach's platform inbox. Each title has a default match day and time listed in Section 4: Game Rules.

A team that does not join the Queue is not assigned a match for that week. It can still play through the Late Queue (see Section 3.3). Where the button is and what happens next: Match Week Guide, Weekly Queue.

3.3 Late Queue (Backup for a Missed Queue)

If a team misses the Queue, it can still play. The Late Queue opens on the competition's Bracket tab 15 minutes before the title's default match time. Teams that join it are paired with each other and play at the default time.

The Late Queue also catches teams the Queue could not pair. When the Queue closes on Monday and a team is left without an opponent (an odd number of teams joined, or the teams left had already played each other), the League Platform moves that team into the Late Queue automatically and its queue band shows Held. A held team does not need to do anything else: when the Late Queue closes, held teams are paired first, with each other or with teams that joined late. Leaving the Late Queue gives up that place, and the team then gets neither a match nor a bye for the week.

3.4 Byes

A team the Queue could not pair is moved into the Late Queue (see Section 3.3); if the Late Queue closes and the team still has no opponent, it receives a bye for the week. To receive it, the team must remain in the Late Queue until it closes. A bye adds a win to the team's record without changing its rating, so it only changes a team's place in the standings when it is tied on rating (see Section 2.5: Tiebreakers, step 1). It does not count against playoff eligibility. League Officials may also assign byes when scheduling requires it.

3.5 School Closures, Snow Days & Holidays

If school is not in session on a scheduled match day due to a state-wide holiday or similar closure, that title's default match time and queue times both move to the following day at the same times.

If an individual school is not in session due to a snow day or similar closure, that school follows Section 3.6: Match Rescheduling to find a new match time. Coaches should communicate closures to League Officials as early as possible.

3.6 Match Rescheduling

Both coaches may agree to move a match. In the Reschedule section of the match page, select Propose New Times and offer up to three new times. The other team selects Review Times and accepts one, declines them all, or counters with times of its own. Once a time is accepted, the match moves and both teams are notified. An offer expires after 48 hours, or when its last offered time starts if that is sooner. A rescheduled match must still be played by the end of the day on Sunday of that week, and the Reschedule section only offers times that still leave both teams able to join one of the next week's queues. Once match check-in opens, the match can no longer be moved this way. In that case, or if the match has no Reschedule section, select Flag Admin, choose General Support, and enter the new time in the details. If the coaches cannot agree, the match stays at its original time. During playoffs, reschedules are limited to 24 hours. Matches at live events cannot be rescheduled.

3.7 Match Day Process

3.7.1 Check-In & Communication

Both teams should be present in Match Chat and ready by the default match time. A coach or approved team captain from each team must establish communication in Match Chat at the start of the match; if a captain does so, the coach is expected to be available on request.

If a team has not joined the lobby or replied in Match Chat 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, the opposing coach selects Flag Admin on the match page and chooses Opponent Unresponsive. A league admin reviews the report and records the forfeit. If that team asks for a grace period in Match Chat, the opposing coach waits up to 30 minutes before flagging. Teams do not report a score for a match that was not played.

3.7.2 Lobby Creation

Both teams use Match Chat to agree on who hosts the lobby. If they can't agree, the host defaults to the team marked Home on the Match page (the left side). The host creates the lobby using the game-specific settings in Section 4: Game Rules.

3.7.3 Match Play

Once both teams are in the lobby, each confirms in Match Chat that the settings are correct and that they're ready. After both confirm, the host starts the match.

3.7.4 Score Reporting

When the match is complete, the winning team reports the result on the Match page with Report Scores (step by step: Match Week Guide, Report the Score). For Rocket League and Fortnite: Zone Wars, enter each team's in-game score for every game (goals or rounds), not just the winner; those scores feed the Game Score Differential tiebreaker in Section 2.5. The other team then has 24 hours to accept or dispute the result; a report that is not answered within 24 hours is accepted automatically. If there is a dispute, use Flag Admin on the Match page to request a League Official before leaving.

3.7.5 Forfeits

All forfeits are final unless subject to PSEL discretion. A forfeit may be applied for a no-show, an inability to field enough players, a conduct ruling, ineligible players, missing results, or lack of communication. A match won by forfeit is recorded at the minimum score needed to win (for example, 2–0 for a best-of-three). A bye records no score, so it adds nothing to the Game Score Differential tiebreaker in Section 2.5. A team that cannot play may forfeit its own match on the Match page with Forfeit Match (coach or Team Captain) instead of no-showing.

3.8 Substitutions

In team-based games, substitutions are allowed between games (or maps/sets) as long as the opposing team is notified and the substitute is on the entry's roster. Once a Game of Record is established, no substitutions may be made until that game is complete.

3.9 Stoppage of Play

General pause and disconnect handling is below. Because each game handles pauses differently, always defer to the title-specific rules in Section 4: Game Rules.

3.9.1 Player Disconnections

If a player disconnects in a game that supports pausing, the match may be paused per that title's rules. Players should keep screenshots as proof of when a disconnect happened. Both teams must confirm readiness in Match Chat before play resumes.

3.9.2 Voluntary / Directed Pauses

Pausing without permission is treated as unfair play and may draw a penalty. League Officials may direct a pause at any time. Pauses expected to last longer than 10 minutes should be approved by a League Official.

3.10 Spectating

Team members not actively playing (a coach or substitute) may spectate unless the other team requests otherwise. For streams or broadcasts, both coaches must agree in Match Chat before the match and honor any request to remove spectators between games. Some titles do not allow in-game spectators due to latency (noted in Section 4).

3.11 Active Coaching

Coaching is permitted before a match and between games, sets, or maps. Once a game is live (at or after the Game of Record), coaches and non-participating team members may not direct players or communicate strategy until that game ends. Coaches may always assist with technical issues, pauses, and communication with League Officials. Any title-specific coaching limits are noted in Section 4.

3.12 Coach Responsibilities

Coaches are the primary point of contact for their team and are responsible for their players' readiness, conduct, and results reporting throughout the season: rostering eligible players (per Section 1.4), joining the Queue each week, being present in Match Chat at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start, coordinating lobbies, substitutions and pauses with the opposing coach, coaching only between games (per Section 3.11: Active Coaching), and making sure results are reported and verified within the 24-hour review window.

The full pre-match, match-day and post-match checklist is in the Match Week Guide, Coach Responsibilities. Before the season, the IT & Networking Guide covers network, firewall and anti-cheat requirements, and the Game Handles Guide covers linking game accounts.

3.13 Network Connection

A wired Ethernet connection is strongly recommended for every title. It matters most for Nintendo Switch titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where one player's wireless connection causes lag for everyone in the lobby.

If a team's connection causes lag that makes a match unplayable, the opposing coach should report it with Flag Admin. League Officials may place that team on hold, with no match assignments, until it can play on a wired connection that does not disrupt the match for both teams. Setup help for wired Switch play is in the IT & Networking Guide.

4. Game Rules

Each title below lists its match format, platform, team size, lobby settings, Game of Record and tiebreaker in one table, followed by pick/ban, disconnection handling, and title-specific rules. All match times are Eastern Time.

Rules Overview

Championship formats for the four head-to-head titles are still to be determined and will be finalized before the in-person event. Unified Mario Kart is an asynchronous time trials title with no playoff bracket; see Section 4.5.

4.1 Rocket League

Default Match Time: Monday 3:30pm ET (MS & HS)

Format & Settings

Disconnections

By default players cannot pause an in-progress game. Play continues through a disconnect, and the disconnected player may attempt to rejoin mid-game. If they cannot rejoin during the game, the team has 5 minutes before the next game to return the player to the lobby or replace them with a substitute; a substitute may not replace them mid-game. Otherwise the match proceeds to the next game with the players present. If a full team disconnects, they have 5 minutes to return or forfeit that game.

Additional Rules

• Controllers: players may use a controller or mouse & keyboard.

• Content Updates: any cars or items disabled by the publisher are not allowed; matches run on the current patch.

4.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — Team Solos

Default Match Time: Wednesday 3:30pm ET (MS & HS)

Format & Settings

Pick / Ban & Selection

Team Draft runs this section on the League Platform. Both teams ready up on the Match page (Ready Up opens 30 minutes before the match time), confirm a lineup of three players, then pick players, characters and stages turn by turn in the Team Draft panel and report each game there. Coaches, Team Captains and any Draft Captains a coach names act for the team, and the player in a set always acts for their own set. Lineups lock when Set 1 starts, so Section 3.8: Substitutions does not apply to this title. If both teams agree, Match Options can reset the current game or switch the match to manual reporting in Match Chat. Step by step: the Team Draft Guide.

• Set Players: Set 1 player choices are blind. From Set 2 on, the team that won the previous set names its player first and the other team counterpicks. Each of a team's three players plays one of Sets 1-3. Any lineup player may play Set 4; the Set 5 player must not have played Set 4.

• Game 1: both players pick characters blind. Then, from the Starter stages, Home strikes 1, Away strikes 2, and Home picks one of the two stages left.

• Game 2 Onward: the winner of the previous game picks their character first and the loser counterpicks. Then, from the Starter and Counterpick stages, the winner strikes 2 and the loser picks from the rest. The winner may also strike, for free, any stage the loser has already won on in that set; a free strike left unused keeps that stage pickable.

Omega and Battlefield stage variations are not allowed. DLC stages can only be picked if a team in the match owns them.

Disconnections

If a player disconnects, the lobby closes; the player must explain in Match Chat within 10 minutes or risk losing the set. If they return in time, recreate the game with the same fighters, stage, and stock count — damage % is not reset — and continue.

Additional Rules

• Mii Fighters: default costumes and a Guest Mii; the player enters the four-digit move set code (each digit 1, 2 or 3, for example 1231) when picking the Mii in Team Draft.

• Spectating: not available — Switch titles are excluded from in-game spectating due to latency.

4.3 Marvel Rivals

Default Match Time: Thursday 3:30pm ET (HS)

Format & Settings

Pick / Ban & Selection

Teams must follow the game-mode order below. If the wrong mode is selected, restart before GOR.

In the regular season (Bo3) play Games 1–3 only. Games 4–5 and the Game 6 tiebreaker apply in the Playoffs (Bo5).

Ban / Lock: once all 12 players are in the lobby, team leaders take turns banning and locking heroes (locking prevents a hero from being banned). Missed bans and picks are forfeited.

Disconnections

A disconnect allows a 5-minute pause. If GOR is established, the round continues unless both teams agree to restart; if not established, return to lobby, let the player rejoin, and restart the map. You may not fill a disconnected player's spot mid-game.

Additional Rules

• Costumes: in the regular season, characters must use default costumes and MVP animations; alternate costumes are prohibited (one warning per team, then penalties). Starting in playoffs, spectator customizations are disabled in the Tournament Room, so this rule is no longer enforced.

• Profile Privacy: competing players set Career Profile → Overview Visibility to Everyone so opponents can verify identity.

• No Ximming: using mouse & keyboard on console via a XIM device is strictly prohibited.

4.4 Fortnite: Zone Wars

Default Match Time: Tuesday 3:30pm ET (HS)

Format & Settings

Pick / Ban & Selection

• Loadout: both teams vote for BoxFight Loot. If a different loadout starts, return to lobby and recreate; a game finished with the wrong loadout still counts as a Game of Record.

• Server: teams pick the regional server with the lowest mutual ping; officials decide if they can't agree.

Disconnections

If a player disconnects mid-round, finish the round and screenshot the score. When the player reconnects, recreate the game and play until a team reaches 10 round wins. If there's no update in Match Chat within 10 minutes, contact League Officials.

Additional Rules

• Voice Chat: turn off in-game voice chat before pairing with opponents; coordinate through Match Chat.

• Spectating: in-island spectating isn't available; replays can be recorded via Settings → Game → Replays.

4.5 Unified Mario Kart

Weekly Window: Monday 12:00pm ET to the following Monday 12:00pm ET (MS & HS)

Unified Mario Kart pairs a unified athlete with a partner athlete on a team of two. The unified athlete is a student who receives special education services within their school district. The partner athlete is any student enrolled in the same district who receives no additional services; they may also be on another esports team or take part in a school Buddy Program. The partner's goal is to support the unified athlete so that they have an enjoyable experience competing in Mario Kart.

Races are time trials completed asynchronously, one track per week. There are no head-to-head matches, so the weekly queue, Late Queue, rescheduling and match-day process in Section 3 do not apply to this title. Registration (Section 3.1), coach responsibilities (Section 3.12) and player conduct (Section 5) apply as written.

Format & Settings

Weekly Window

• Monday 12:00pm ET: the week opens on the competition's Bracket tab. Every team races that week's track from the Tracks table below.

• All week: both players may practice the track as often as they like. Ghosts may not be used in an official time.

• Submitting: the coach selects Submit Score for the entry, enters the unified athlete's time and the partner's time, and uploads a screenshot of the final time screens. A team may submit twice per week, and the faster combined time counts.

• The following Monday 12:00pm ET: the week closes at the moment the next week opens, and no further submissions for the closed week are accepted.

• Team time: the two players' times are added together. Ranking by the combined time gives the same order as ranking by the average.

Scoring

Teams that submit a time each week are ranked from fastest to slowest combined time and earn points for their placement. Season standings are the sum of each team's weekly points, and a week with no submission scores 0. Standings for the current week are provisional until it closes on the following Monday at 12:00pm ET.

Tracks

Every team races the same track each week. Week dates follow the Fall Season Calendar in Section 1.3.

Additional Rules

• Corrections: a submission can be edited for 10 minutes after it is posted. After that, contact PSEL through Get Help.

• Reschedules: because the competition is asynchronous, reschedules should not be necessary. Contact PSEL if there are extenuating circumstances.

• Roster Changes: the recorded times of players removed from further weeks of the season are wiped from the board and scores adjusted as needed to maintain the integrity of the standings.

• Playoffs & Championship: this title does not use the playoff bracket in Section 2.3. Any end-of-season or Championship activity for Unified Mario Kart will be announced by PSEL.

5. Player Conduct

5.1 Code of Conduct

Players must compete to the best of their ability at all times and follow the USAEL Code of Conduct:

• Respect: treat all players, organizers, and spectators with respect.

• Integrity: play honestly and follow the rules of the game.

• Graciousness: be humble in victory and courteous in defeat.

• Language: use appropriate, respectful language at all times.

• Anti-Bullying: zero tolerance for harassment, bullying, or discrimination of any kind.

• Feedback: keep feedback constructive; avoid toxic comments.

Any form of cheating or foul play by any team member will not be tolerated. All members are prohibited from influencing a match so its outcome is decided by anything other than the competitive merits of the teams.

5.2 Standards of Competition

Players may never cheat or seek an unfair advantage. Unfair play includes, but is not limited to:

• Exploiting bugs or glitches

• Collusion or match manipulation

• Hacking or third-party cheat software

• Ringing — playing under another person's identity, or fielding ineligible players

• Intentional disconnection

A team member found violating these standards will be issued a loss for that game and may face additional penalties at the discretion of League Officials, up to and including disqualification from the League.

5.3 Spirit of the Rules

These rules exist to ensure fair play, integrity, and a positive experience for everyone. They are not just a checklist — they embody the spirit of competition, sportsmanship, and respect. Participants are expected to follow both the letter and the intent of the rules. Exploiting loopholes, manipulating gameplay, or unsportsmanlike conduct is a violation of the spirit of the rules.

5.4 Organizer Discretion

Interpreting and enforcing these rules — including any situation not explicitly covered — is at the sole discretion of League Officials. They may act in the best interests of the competition, its participants, and fair play. These decisions are final and binding, cannot be appealed, and may include penalties up to and including disqualification from the League.

5.5 Player Responsibility

By participating, you acknowledge that League Officials have the authority to interpret the rules and take any action necessary to maintain the integrity and spirit of the competition.

6. Policies & Administration

6.1 Amendments

PSEL and any event partners reserve the right to update, revise, or modify these rules when appropriate. Major changes are recorded in the Change Log below, and it is every coach's and player's responsibility to review the current rulebook. The version shown at the top of this page always matches the most recent Change Log entry.

6.2 Change Log