Board Policies & Administrative Procedures

Background

Experiences beyond the classroom can play an important part in students' education. The Division recognizes and encourages purposeful, carefully planned extracurricular ESport educational opportunities that promote student learning and personal development and enhance the educational experience for students. ESports should be thought of and treated as other extracurricular sports. A key purpose of ESports is to teach teamwork, collaboration, leadership, and communication skills among participants. ESports is an inclusive environment where all students are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Definitions

ESports, or Electronic Sports refers to the organized and competitive practice of video gaming, where individuals or teams compete against each other in specific games, paralleling traditional sports in structure and competition.

Competitive ESports Teams - Competitive teams are available at the high school and junior high levels. Students try out for positions, adhere to the athletic code of conduct, participate in established leagues, attend scheduled practice times, pay a fee to participate, adhere to an expectation for growth and development and commit to positively representing their school and school division. High school and Junior high level.

Developmental ESports - Students participating in developmental ESports have the same expectations as competitive team members, except they do not participate in established leagues. Students are developing skills to eventually join competitive esports teams and may participate in practice matches within the school. 

Club ESports - Students may participate in club ESports to develop collaboration and communication skills in preparation for future ESports participation. Clubs are typically established within elementary or middle schools.

Procedures

1. A Division’s ESports committee will oversee ESports and will be comprised of;
   1. One member of the Central Office leadership team
   2. At least one member of the Technology department
   3. At least one coach or representative from a school with a Competitive ESports Team 
      1. Schools that have Developmental or Club ESports may participate
         
         
2. ESports teams are expected to follow all Division Administrative Procedures relating to extracurricular activities, specifically AP 261: Cocurricular and Extracurricular Activities & Travel within Alberta and AP262: Extra-Curricular Programs.
   1. Each school's principal shall ensure proper supervision at all team activities/functions.
   2. There must always be at least two (2) supervisors at all team activities/functions.
   3. Coaches should always avoid private one-on-one situations with team members and follow AP492: Adult Interaction with Students.
      
      
3. All games have to be approved by the ESport Committee
   1. Westwind supports the following games and ratings for ESports teams:
      1. Elementary or Junior High students may only play games rated “E”
      2. High School students may play games rated “T”
         
         
4. ESports coaches must ensure the following for student participation in ESports:
   1. Parents have signed parental consent forms
      1. Consent forms must clearly outline the games that will be played.
   2. Students have signed code of conduct forms 
   3. Students are in good standing at their school as outlined in their schools athletic code of conduct
   4. Students participate in required physical fitness and wellness elements of team practices; for example, wellness breaks during practices for walks, or scheduled team workouts.
      
      
5. Principals shall ensure a parent/coaches/athlete meeting is held at the beginning of each season for competitive teams to review expectations, including
   1. School Athletic Code of Conduct
   2. Schedule/travel plans for the season
      
      
6. Westwind supports the use of game-related online chat and communications function to better support team play and growth, i.e. Discord
   1. Schools may set up their own channel/server; however, admin access must be granted to the division Technology Department
   2. If schools use a game-related online chat and communication function, all communication must be recorded for gameplay review and for review in case of issues
   3. School code of conduct must outline specific rules for student use of game-related online chat and communications. For example, no smack talk, no inappropriate language, communication with other schools should only be welcomes and greetings; students only use the channel that has been set up for them
      
      
7. The Division will allow for student personal devices to be used for ESports (Nintendo Switch, X-Box, Playstation, etc). 
   1. Schools wishing to use personal devices need to contact the Westwind Technology Department and ensure the devices are hardwired to the network.
   2. Westwind takes no responsibility for damage to personal devices.
      
      
8. Schools must not install any software on Division-owned devices prior to approval by the committee. All software must be installed by the Technology Department.
   
   
9. ESports has substantial technology costs associated with the program. Schools must be mindful of these costs as they are developing fee structures for their teams and clubs
   1. Each Principal with Esports must create a technology replacement fund in their school-generated funds for ESports.
      1. All schools that collect ESport team or club fees must have their fees approved by the ESports Committee; which will determine what portion of fees should be saved for replacement or enhancement technology cost
      2. Players are responsible for providing their own headsets and microphones
         
         
10. Westwind encourages the recording of matches in order to:
    1. Review of gameplay for team improvement
    2. Create opportunities for student involvement through filming or commenting

Forms

• Code of Conduct Form

Reference

AESA Code of Conduct

Alberta ESports Association

Approved: August 21, 2023