HCEL 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 playing and reporting a match, 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 Hillsborough County Esports League, for both the Fall and Spring seasons of 2026-27. 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 Hillsborough County Esports League (HCEL) is a scholastic esports league for middle and high schools in Hillsborough County, Florida, operated by Hillsborough County Public Schools in partnership with USAEL & Rally Cry.

1.2 League Platform

The League is hosted on the official HCEL League Platform, powered by Rally Cry. All registration, scheduling, match communication, and score reporting happen on this platform, including pairings and results for live events.

1.3 League Schedule

The League runs two seasons. The Fall season runs from October to mid-December and the Spring season from January to mid-March. Three kinds of competition run across them:

• Group-Stage Titles: Rocket League in the Fall; Fortnite: Zone Wars and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the Spring. Each plays a seven-week group stage online on Tuesdays, then a live Championship Bracket.

• Live Tournaments: the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate circuit, with monthly events from October to February and a Championship in March, plus two single-day chess tournaments.

• Minecraft Build Challenge: one judged build each season.

Fall 2026 Calendar

Spring 2027 Calendar

Group-stage registration closes before the groups are drawn, and a late entry cannot join a group already in play. All dates and times are Eastern Time (ET).

1.4 League Eligibility

The League is open to schools in Hillsborough County, Florida, that have completed the HCEL registration process. Students in grades 6 through 12 are eligible, and middle and high school students compete together in one division per title. For team-based games, all players on a team must attend the same school unless HCEL leadership grants a multi-school exception.

A student may only participate in one competition per game title. The exception is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where a student may enter both Singles and Doubles.

1.4.1 Teams per School

A school may enter as many teams as it can field in each game title, provided every entry has its own full roster. A student may only be on one entry's roster per game title (Smash Singles and Doubles aside), but may compete in more than one title. League Officials place teams from the same school in different groups where possible.

1.4.2 Students Under 13

The League Platform requires players to be at least 13 years old to create an account. Younger students can still compete in one of two ways:

• Parent/Guardian-Managed Account: a parent or guardian creates and manages an account on the student's behalf.

• Coach-Managed Members: a coach may, with parent permission, use the Managed Member feature to enter and manage those players and their matches on the students' behalf.

1.5 Definition of Terms

2. League Format

2.1 Practice (Optional)

There is no preseason, but practice is available all season: the Scrims tab on any online competition page lets teams schedule practice matches against other registered teams; see the Scrim Finder Guide. The week of 10/12/26, before group play starts, is the best time to test equipment, game connections and the match-day flow.

2.2 Group Stage

Rocket League (Fall), Fortnite: Zone Wars and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Spring) open with a group stage. When registration closes, League Officials divide each competition's teams into groups of no more than eight, as evenly as possible. Three groups are expected for 17 to 24 teams.

Each group plays a single round robin: every team plays every other team in its group once, one match per week, on Tuesdays at 4:00pm ET, over seven weeks. In a group with an odd number of teams, each team has one bye week.

Group standings rank teams by match wins. When teams from different groups are compared, match-win percentage is used instead, because groups can differ in size. Teams with the same record are ordered by Section 2.7: Tiebreakers.

2.3 Championship Bracket

After the group stage, the top eight teams in each competition advance to a double-elimination Championship Bracket played live (see Section 3.13: Live Events). The top two teams in each group qualify first, and any remaining spots go to the next-best teams by match-win percentage across all groups. Group winners are seeded first, then runners-up, then the remaining qualifiers, and teams from the same group are kept apart in the first round where possible.

A team that loses a match drops to the Losers Bracket, and a second loss eliminates it. The Grand Final is played between the Winners Bracket and Losers Bracket champions. If the Losers Bracket team wins it, the bracket resets and one more match decides the title. Each title's championship format is listed in Section 4: Game Rules.

League Officials may use a smaller bracket when a title has fewer than twelve teams; coaches are told before Week 1.

Championship Eligibility: teams with missing results and/or forfeits in three or more group-stage matches are not eligible for the Championship Bracket. They may finish the group stage but will not be seeded into the bracket.

2.4 Smash Ultimate Circuit

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate runs as two season-long circuits, Singles and Doubles. Five monthly live events run from October to February, and a Circuit Championship follows in March. A student may enter both circuits. Every event runs one double-elimination bracket for each circuit, and entrants earn circuit points by their final placement:

Every entrant who plays at least one set earns points, so every event attended counts toward qualification.

Points from all five events add up to a circuit total, shown in the circuit standings on the League Platform. The top 16 entrants in each circuit are invited to the Circuit Championship, a 16-entrant double-elimination bracket seeded by circuit total. If an invited entrant cannot attend, the next entrant in the standings takes the spot.

Ties for a Championship spot or seed are broken by best single-event placement, then the number of events attended, then sets won against each other at circuit events, then a coin toss by League Officials.

Seeding at each monthly event follows the circuit standings; League Officials seed Event 1. Doubles points belong to the pair, and both partners must attend the same school. A pair that changes a partner is a new entry and starts from zero points.

2.5 Chess Tournaments

Two single-day chess tournaments are played in person on physical boards, one in November and one in May. Pairings, results and standings run on the League Platform. Each tournament is a five-round Swiss: players are paired each round against opponents with the same or a similar score and do not meet the same opponent twice where possible. The full rules are in Section 4.4: Chess.

2.6 Minecraft Build Challenge

Each season has one build prompt that runs for the whole season: one in the Fall and a new one in the Spring. Students build in Minecraft Education and submit screenshots, and judges score each build against the rubric in Section 4.5.

2.7 Tiebreakers

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

1. Head-to-Head Record: when two teams are tied, the winner of their match ranks higher. When three or more are tied, their records in matches against each other decide the order.

2. Game Differential: games won minus games lost across every group-stage match.

3. Coin Toss: League Officials break any remaining tie by coin toss.

Smash, chess and Minecraft use the tiebreakers in their own sections.

3. League Rules

3.1 Registration Process

To be eligible to play, every coach must:

1. Create an account on the HCEL 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 group schedule and match assignments in Section 3.2.

Registration deadlines differ by competition:

• Rocket League, Fortnite and Mario Kart: registration closes at 11:59pm ET on the Sunday before group-stage Week 1 (see Section 1.3).

• Smash and Chess: register each entry on the League Platform by 11:59pm ET on the Wednesday before each event. Walk-up entries are not accepted.

• Minecraft: register any time before that season's submission deadline.

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 Group Schedule & Match Assignment

When registration closes, League Officials publish each group and its full schedule on the competition's Bracket tab. Every group-stage match is assigned in advance to its week at the default time, Tuesday 4:00pm ET, and appears on the League Platform and in each coach's platform inbox. There is no weekly check-in: every team plays its scheduled match each week.

3.3 Byes

In a group with an odd number of teams, one team sits out each week, so every team in that group has one bye over the group stage. A group-stage bye counts as neither a win nor a loss, and it does not count against Championship eligibility. In a chess tournament with an odd number of players, one player receives a bye each round, which counts as a win (see Section 4.4).

3.4 School Closures & Holidays

If school is not in session on a Tuesday due to a district-wide holiday or closure, including a storm closure, that week's matches move to Wednesday at the same time.

If an individual school is not in session due to a local closure, that school follows Section 3.5: Match Rescheduling to find a new match time. Coaches should tell League Officials about closures as early as possible. League Officials announce any change to a live event directly to registered coaches.

3.5 Match Rescheduling

Coaches may move a group-stage match to any time they both agree on, without asking League Officials. Agree on the new time in Match Chat and play the match by the end of the day on Sunday of that week. If the coaches cannot agree, the match is played at the default time. If a moved match is not played by that Sunday, League Officials rule on the result, which can include a forfeit for the team responsible. Matches at live events cannot be rescheduled.

3.6 Match Day Process

3.6.1 Check-In & Communication

Both teams should be present in Match Chat and ready by the match time: the default time, or the time agreed under Section 3.5. 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 match 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.

3.6.2 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 listed on the left side of the Match page (the "Home" team). The host creates the lobby using the game-specific settings in Section 4: Game Rules.

3.6.3 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.

3.6.4 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 round wins), not just the winner. 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. Results at live events are recorded by League Officials (see Section 3.13).

3.6.5 Forfeits

All forfeits are final unless subject to HCEL 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, 3–0 for a best-of-five).

3.7 Substitutions

In team-based games, substitutions are allowed between games (or 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. Solo titles and Smash Doubles carry no substitutes.

3.8 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.

3.8.1 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.

3.8.2 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.

3.9 Spectating

Team members not actively playing (a coach or substitute) may spectate online matches 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). At live events, spectators follow the venue's rules and stay clear of active stations and boards.

3.10 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. Chess has no coaching during a game at all (see Section 4.4).

3.11 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), registering before each deadline, being present in Match Chat at least 15 minutes before the match time, coordinating lobbies, substitutions and pauses with the opposing coach, coaching only between games (per Section 3.10: Active Coaching), making sure results are reported and verified within the 24-hour review window, and supervising their students at live events.

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.

3.12 Network Connection

A wired Ethernet connection is strongly recommended for every online title. It matters most for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch, 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.

3.13 Live Events

Smash events, chess tournaments, and the Rocket League, Fortnite and Mario Kart Championships are played in person.

• Registration: every entrant must be registered on the League Platform by the deadline in Section 3.1.

• Arrival and Check-In: check in at the tournament desk by the check-in time published for the event. Entrants who have not checked in when brackets or pairings are set are removed from the event.

• Supervision: students attend with their school's coach or an approved school chaperone, who stays for the whole event.

• Equipment: players bring their own equipment, including controllers, consoles, and chess sets with clocks where possible. The host venue usually provides Smash setups, and schools are encouraged to bring a Switch, dock and monitor anyway so more matches can run at once. Label every item with the school's name.

• Called Matches: when a match is called, both sides report to the assigned station or board. An entrant who has not arrived 10 minutes after the call forfeits that match.

• Results: at the end of each match, both sides confirm the result at the tournament desk, and League Officials record it on the League Platform.

• Conduct: students follow the host venue's rules and their own school's code of conduct, in addition to Section 5: Player Conduct.

4. Game Rules

Each title below lists its format, platform, team size, settings, Game of Record and tiebreaker in one table, followed by selection rules, disconnection handling and title-specific rules. Titles are listed by season. All times are Eastern Time (ET).

Rules Overview

Every title is open to grades 6-12.

4.1 Rocket League

Default Match Time: Tuesday 4:00pm ET

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 Singles

Schedule: monthly live events (see Section 1.3 and Section 2.4).

Format & Settings

Pick / Ban & Selection

This is a 1v1 set. Each event's host publishes its stage list before the event; if none is published, the stage list below applies.

• Stage Striking, Game 1 (Starter stages only): the higher seed strikes 1, the lower seed strikes 2, the higher seed strikes 1, and the remaining stage is played.

• Stage Striking, Game 2 Onward (Starter + Counterpick): the winner of the previous game strikes 2, then the loser picks from the rest, and may not pick a stage they have already won on in that set.

• Character Selection: Game 1 is a blind pick, so neither player sees the other's character before choosing. From Game 2 on, once the stage is chosen, the player who won the previous game picks their character first, and the loser picks second.

Omega and Battlefield stage variations are not allowed. DLC stages can only be picked if the console in use has them.

Setup Problems

If a console, screen or venue-supplied controller fails during a game, stop play and call a League Official. The game resumes with the same fighters, stage and stock count (damage % is not reset), as close as possible to the moment it stopped. A player's own controller disconnecting does not stop the game.

Additional Rules

• Controllers: players may bring their own controller (Pro Controller, Joy-Con, or GameCube controller with an adapter). Wireless controllers must be turned off when not in play, and a player whose controller interrupts another match may lose a game.

• Mii Fighters: must use default costumes and a Guest Mii; the player must announce their move set (a 4-digit code, e.g. 1213) to the opponent before the game.

4.3 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Doubles

Schedule: monthly live events, alongside Singles (see Section 2.4).

Format & Settings

Pick / Ban & Selection

Stage striking follows Section 4.2, with each pair striking as one side, and uses the same stage list when the host publishes none.

• Character Selection: Game 1 is a blind pick for all four players. From Game 2 on, once the stage is chosen, the pair that won the previous game picks its characters first, and the other pair picks second.

• Team Colors: the higher seed chooses its team color first.

Setup Problems

Same as Section 4.2.

Additional Rules

• Partners: a pair plays together for the whole event. A pair that changes a partner registers as a new entry and starts from zero circuit points.

• Controllers and Mii Fighters: same as Section 4.2.

4.4 Chess

Schedule: one live tournament in November and one in May (see Section 1.3 and Section 2.5).

Format & Settings

Colors

Colors are drawn at the board before each game: one player hides a pawn of each color, and the other picks a hand.

Standings

Players are ranked by points: one point for a win, half a point for a draw, and none for a loss. Players with the same number of points are ordered by strength of schedule (the combined points of every opponent a player faced), then by the result between them if they played each other, then by coin toss.

Additional Rules

• Touch-Move: a player who deliberately touches one of their pieces must move it, and one who touches an opponent's piece must capture it, as long as a legal move exists.

• Illegal Moves: handled under US Chess rules; the opponent receives 2 extra minutes.

• Clocks and Sets: players bring a tournament chess set and, if they have one, a digital clock that supports delay. League Officials assign a clock to any board without one.

• Recording Moves: not required at this time control.

• Electronic Devices: phones and other devices are put away during a game. Using an engine or outside help loses the game and may lead to removal from the event.

• No Coaching: coaches, teammates and spectators may not speak to a player or signal anything during a game, and stay clear of the playing area.

• Byes: with an odd number of players, one player receives a bye each round, and no player receives more than one. A bye counts as a win.

4.5 Minecraft Education Build Challenge

Schedule: one build per season, submitted online (see Section 1.3).

Format & Settings

Build Schedule

Submissions are due at 6:00pm ET on the final day of each round.

Build Submission

Each student submits one build per round. On the competition's Bracket tab, select Submit Score and paste a link to a shared folder holding up to 5 screenshots of the build, and optionally a walkthrough video of up to 3 minutes. Leave the Judge score field blank. Share the folder so anyone with the link can view it; a link judges cannot open scores 0. Judges may ask for the world file (.mcworld) to check a build.

Rubric

A panel of judges scores each submission against the rubric below after the round closes. Builds are ranked by rubric total, out of 100, and results are posted on the League Platform once judging is complete.

Additional Rules

• Original Work: the build must be made by the student during the round. Imported structures, schematics, world templates and downloaded builds are not allowed. Code Builder may be used for code the student wrote.

• Game Mode: Creative and Survival are both allowed.

• Content: builds, screenshots and videos must be school appropriate.

4.6 Fortnite: Zone Wars

Default Match Time: Tuesday 4:00pm ET

Format & Settings

Fortnite is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB. It is open to both levels, and coaches decide which of their students play it.

Pick / Ban & Selection

• Loadout: both teams vote for BoxFight Loot. If a different loadout starts, return to the 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 cannot 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 is 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 is not available; replays can be recorded under Settings, Game, Replays.

4.7 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Team Races

Default Match Time: Tuesday 4:00pm ET

Format & Settings

Track Selection

Every player must choose Random. If a player doesn't and their track is chosen, that team loses 15 points from the game (additive per violation). Submit screenshots to officials.

Disconnections

Keep a screenshot after every race (Switch capture button). If the host disconnects, the lobby is remade and teams finish the remaining races, then add the screenshot points to the new lobby's points. If a player disconnects, they rejoin at the start of the next track; points earned before the disconnect only count with screenshot proof.

Additional Rules

• Karts & Characters: players may change character/kart between races (press Y in the lobby) and may use smart steering and auto-accelerate.

• Glitching: using in-game glitches to gain an advantage results in a game loss and possible further penalty (screenshot or video proof required).

• DLC: Booster Course Pass tracks may appear if any player owns them; the DLC is recommended but not required.

• Spectating: not allowed online, due to latency.

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

HCEL 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