Unsporting Conduct

Unsporting Conduct is any way in which a player can act or behave themselves such that it is disruptive to the tournament environment, risks compromising the integrity and competitive focus of the tournament, or risks compromising aspects of safety and enjoyment of the event. It is recognized that oftentimes, tournaments may give rise to tense situations through competition. However, this does not excuse the poor conduct of tournament participants to the detriment of other tournament participants and tournament or venue staff. All participants and staff should strive to be as respectful as possible to avoid engaging in unsporting conduct. The Head Judge is always the final authority on what constitutes unsporting conduct.

When bringing up violations of conduct, Judges should first examine the situation and focus on de-escalation, if possible. Then, violations of conduct can be discussed where the Judge should discuss the penalty with players, what part of their conduct was found unsporting, and how to correct it. Players are expected to be cooperative with Judges in this process and conform to the requests to change conduct. If there are any concerns regarding the ruling, players always have the opportunity to appeal it.