High School Information

Note: Some major changes will be presented and discussed in an all-GM meeting that will be scheduled a few weeks before the start of the Winter season. We will send out invites to this meeting once school has started back up. We are excited to see you there! 

Google Calendar: ND Esports 

Game Titles: For the Varsity Winter Season 

  • Chess (1v1 – Chess.com)  
  • Fortnite Zero Build Battle Royale (Duos)  
  • League of Legends (5v5)  
  • Mario Kart 8 (2v2)  
  • Minecraft Bedwars Java Edition (4v4)  
  • Rocket League (3v3)  
  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate (1v1)  
  • VALORANT (5v5)  

Note: A season may be canceled due to low registrations if it has less than five registered teams. 

Game Days and Times:   

  • Monday  
  • 5 PM CT Minecraft 4v4  
  • 6 PM CT Super Smash Bros Ultimate 1v1  
  • Tuesday   
  • 5 PM CT VALORANT 5v5  
  • 6 PM CT Chess 1v1  
  • Wednesday  
  • 5 PM CT League of Legends 5v5  
  • 6 PM CT Fortnite Duos  
  • Thursday  
  • 5 PM CT Rocket League 3v3  
  • 6 PM CT Mario Kart 2v2  

 Important Dates:  

  • Registration Period: October 21st – November 20th. Teams need to be created and signed up for their respective seasons by this date. 
  • Preseason Dates: December 2nd – December 13th 
  • Regular Season Dates: January 13th – February 28th 
  • Playoffs/Divisionals: March 3rd  – 7th   
  • State Tournament Dates and Location: March 28th – 29th at the University of North Dakota 

Title Rulesets

General Rules

The spirit of Fenworks is to always play if you can, and never take a forfeit win unless you absolutely must. Although not a rule, this is a standard we hope all our teams and players try to live up to! 

1. Default Game Times
The regular season will consist of one game per week as outlined below.

The default weekly game time for games are as follows for North Dakota 

Monday 

  • 5 PM CT Minecraft 4v4 
  • 6 PM CT Super Smash Bros Ultimate 1v1 

Tuesday  

  • 5 PM CT VALORANT 5v5 
  • 6 PM CT Chess 1v1 

Wednesday 

  • 5 PM CT League of Legends 5v5 
  • 6 PM CT Fortnite Duos 

Thursday 

  • 5 PM CT Rocket League 3v3 
  • 6 PM CT Mario Kart 2v2

2. Season Structure:
Please see the “League Structures: Open/Varsity/JV/Club” section below for all season structure information.

2.1 Regular Season League formats 

  • Swiss / Queue System Swiss 
  • Round Robin / Double Round Robin 

Formats are determined each season based on registrations, and we send that information to all coaches before the start of the regular season. 

What is a Swiss: This is a format where teams always play against another team with the same record (e.g. a 2-0 team will play against another 2-0 team). Schedules for Swiss leagues are released weekly on the day after your title’s default game time. Our queue system leagues also follow the Swiss format. Learn more about our queue system HERE 

What is a Round Robin: All teams in a group play against each other one time. In a double round robin all teams play each other twice. Full season schedules for a round robin are released at the start of the season. 

2.2 Preseason 
Preseason matches will function like a regular season match, in that players will still need to check-in and connect with their opponent on the Fenworks Platform and report their scores. Results of preseason matches do NOT count towards your regular season record and do not affect qualification for the state finals. Teams that miss both of their scheduled preseason matches will be dropped from the league unless there is prior communication with Fenworks staff and permission is given to miss the matches. 

3. Playoffs and Finals 
Playoffs will be executed as a single or double elimination playoff tournament with seeding based on regular season or divisional playoff results, with a match for third-place. Playoff rules will be outlined in specific game rules posted on the Fenworks rulebook. Teams making playoffs will be as such for the following games, unless there are less than the specified amount of teams participating in the league for that game. If there are less than the following number of teams, the tournament will be played with all participating teams with first round byes for the top seeds. Players and teams in our Club and JV leagues do not qualify for the Fenworks State Finals. 

WINTER VARSITY & FALL CLUB 

  • Super Smash Brothers Ultimate: Top 32 Players 
  • Minecraft Bedwars: Top 16 Teams 
  • League of Legends: Top 8 Teams 
  • Fortnite Duos: TBD 
  • VALORANT: Top 8 Teams 
  • Chess: Top 16 Players 
  • Rocket League: Top 16 Teams 
  • Mario Kart 8: Top 16 Teams 

(*The number of teams/players entered are subject to change based on needs or considerations by the league admin) 

Titles that will be a pool play into single elimination tournament: 

  • Rocket League 
  • Minecraft 
  • Mario Kart 8 

Titles that will be a single elimination tournament: 

  • VALORANT 
  • League of Legends 

Titles that will be a double elimination tournament: 

  • Super Smash Brothers 
  • Chess 

Titles will have a custom format: 

  • Fortnite Duos 
     

 

3.1 Tiebreakers 
Teams/Players making the playoffs will be based on seeding, which considers standings score first, then average game/round differential, then head to head (if applicable), and difficulty of schedule. 

Standings Score will be calculated with the following values: 

  • Win by Play: 4 points 
  • Forfeit Win: 4 points (not counted in game differential) 
  • Bye Win: 4 points (not counted in game differential) 
  • Tie: 2 points 
  • Loss by Play: 1 points 
  • Loss by Forfeit: 0 points 

If there is a tie in both standing score and game differential, the teams have not played vs each other in the regular season, and one of the teams/players will not make playoffs and the other will (the tie is at the cutoff point), then a single tiebreaker match can be played at request of admin to see who makes it to the playoffs. 

4. Checking In and Reporting Scores 
A team should check in all participating players for that match on the Feworks Platform match page prior to starting their match. In the event that a team decides to play with a reduced player count, Fenworks still requires you to check in a full roster. In this scenario, a team should declare on the match chat which players are missing before checking them in. 

If both teams fail to check in to their match on the Fenworks platform at the default time, both will receive a forfeit loss for the match. If one team is checked in and the other is not after the check-in time has expired, the team present is expected to wait 15 minutes after the start time of their match for their opponent. Once 15 minutes have expired, the absent team will receive a forfeit loss automatically through the Fenworks platform. 

Scores will be reported using the Fenworks score reporting tool 

  • Both teams are responsible for reporting scores and saving replays/screenshots that prove their claim. 
  • All reported matches must have a screenshot attached for the Fenworks platform 
  • Procedures on how to report scores can be found in each title’s separate rules section 

All scores must be reported directly following the match or both teams will receive a loss 

5. Rescheduling Games 
Games are NOT allowed to be rescheduled EXCEPT in the following cases: 

  • School holidays 
  • Both teams agree to play in person (in the same room) 

If you need a game to be rescheduled for one of the stated reasons, contact an admin on the Fenworks Discord server or email us at esports@Fenworks.com and we will assist you. 

If teams need to reschedule their game to another time, then both coaches must agree upon a new time. Games may be rescheduled to another week but MUST be played before the Monday of the last week of the regular season. 

If a team/player drops out of Fenworks during the regular season, Fenworks reserves the right to reschedule remaining games in the league to reduce the number of forfeits that would have been caused by the dropout. 

5.1 School Holidays 
All leagues, including Varsity, can reschedule their matches the week of federal and state school holidays (i.e. Thanksgiving). Snow Days count as a school holiday.  

6. Home/Away 
The team shown on the left on the Fenworks match page is the home team and the team shown on the right is the away team for that match. This is not in effect for playoffs, where teams gain home advantage based on seeding.  Refer to game title specific rulesets for how home and away affect pick/ban processes.  

7. Player Eligibility A player is any participant who plays in an official match. All players must be currently enrolled in the school they are representing, must be 13 years of age or older, and must be 21 years old or younger. They also must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average to be eligible to play. Players who are homeschooled may participate for a school if they live within the defined district lines for the school district in question. Players in Middle School and 13 years or older are eligible to compete in FENWORKS. They may play for only one high school in the same school district as the middle school they attend. Players over the age of 21 are ineligible to play in the FENWORKS. 

A player can only be rostered to one team and play in one match per week per title. If they play in more than one match of the same title, those games will be null and their team will forfeit. Players can, however, play multiple titles in a season. For example, Student A can not compete or be rostered on two Rocket League teams, but can compete on one Rocket League team and one Minecraft team. 

There is not a restriction on the number of teams or players that can compete from each school. 

*Eligibility is subject to change at the League’s discretion, but must be communicated to all schools before any changes take effect. 

7.1 Open and Club Roster Changes and Substitutions 
Any changes to rosters must be done at least 72 hours before the roster’s next scheduled match. Players cannot be added to a roster if their next match is within the 72 hour time period. In this case, coaches must wait until after the roster’s next scheduled match to add another player to the roster. 

Substitutions are allowed as long as all players involved have been on the roster for 72 hours before the match. Substitutions can be made in between games in a series, but not during a game that is currently in play. 

7.2 Varsity and JV Substitution Rules 
Teams must maintain a full active roster for varsity during the entirety of the season with the minimum amount of players required per game. 

  • Players on a varsity roster cannot participate in any junior varsity matches 
  • Players on an active junior varsity roster are allowed to substitute for official varsity matches 

To substitute a player from JV onto the Varsity team for a match, the captain and/or coach needs to notify their opponent through the Fenworks match chat. They must communicate which player from the Varsity roster will not be playing, as well as the name and account of the sub from the JV roster that is filling their spot. After your opponent has acknowledged they have seen your message, you will then check in your full Varsity roster on the Fenworks platform. This will include the player being subbed out (who is absent), and once checked in simply add the JV player to the game lobby in place of the absent Varsity player. 

8. Spectators 
Only the players from the two teams competing in the official Fenworks match are allowed in the game lobby. The one exception is if a spectator is joining to stream their team’s point of view (POV) for their official school stream and the opposition is made aware. The spectator must have an open mic for the entirety of the stream to prove they are not in contact with either team. 

Players competing in the match may stream their own POV. Stream malfunctions do not qualify as a reason for pausing a match. 

Any team caught breaking these rules are subject to penalties listed in section 11. 

9. Names 
A player’s name in-game must match the name that they have registered for that game on their Fenworks platform profile. All participants names or profiles are prohibited from including: 

  • Gang Affiliation 
  • Drugs (including alcohol and tobacco) 
  • Sexual Material 
  • Offensive Material 
  • Politically Charged Symbols/Images 
  • Homophobic or Racially Insensitive Material 

This includes our Discord community. 

10. Cheating 
Any manipulation of gameplay including, but not limited to, scripts, wallhacks, aimbot, 3rd party applications, sound changes, or having another person play on an official players account during match time will be considered cheating. Any team or player caught cheating will be subject to the items outlined in section 11. 

10.1 Harassment: 
Players and coaches are expected to abide by the Fenworks Code of Conduct at all times. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action as outlined in the following section. 

11. Disciplinary Action 
If Fenworks decides that a Player has violated any of the Rules, Fenworks may take the following disciplinary actions (as applicable): 

  • Verbal Warning 
  • Game and/or Match forfeiture 
  • Issuance Public warning (Verbal or written) to the Player 
  • Disqualification of the Player from participating in one or more Matches of the Tournament. 
  • Stoppage of the Player from participating in one or more future competitions hosted by Fenworks. 
  • Stoppage of the School from participating in one or more future competitions hosted by Fenworks. 

If a Player is suspended/banned by a Fenworks, they will be notified via email and/or discord. An appeal can be sent after 30 days of the initial penalty by the coach or program coordinator representing the Player. Please send all appeals via email to Esports@Fenworks.com  

12. Spirit of the Rules 
Finality of Decisions. All decisions regarding the interpretation of these rules, player eligibility, scheduling and staging of the Tournaments, and penalties for misconduct, lie solely with FENWORKS Officials, the decisions of which are final. 

Amendments. Fenworks may update, revise, change or modify these Rules at any time in order to ensure fair play and the integrity of the league. Each Player’s participation in FENWORKS after any update, revision, change or modification to these Rules will be deemed as acceptance by such Player of these Rules as updated, revised, changed or modified. 

League Structures

1. League Structure – Open

1.1 Teams 
Schools are allowed to field unlimited Open league teams. 

1.2 Divisions 
Open leagues will be sectioned into divisions of eight or more teams 

Divisions will be determined by the following considerations: 

  1. Region/Location

1.3 Season 
Open league seasons will be a two week preseason, followed by an eight-week regular season, and a LAN tournament for playoffs (State Finals). 

1.4 Format 
Open leagues use the following formats: 

  • Round Robin 
  • Double Round Robin 
  • Swiss 

1.5 State Finals Qualification 
Top teams from each open league division will advance to the state finals based on regular season results. See section 3 in “General Rules” for the amount of teams that make it for each league. 

2. League Structure – Varsity 

2.1 Teams 
Only one team per school will be allowed to compete in Varsity leagues. If FENWORKS does not run a junior varsity league for that title, then a school can field unlimited Varsity teams. 

2.2 Divisions 
Varsity leagues will be sectioned into divisions of eight or more teams 

Divisions will be determined by the following considerations: 

  1. Region/Location

2.3 Season 
The varsity season will be a two week preseason, followed by a seven-week round robin with an online divisional playoff tournament the 8th week, and ending in a LAN tournament (State Finals). Divisional and State Finals playoff dates and times will be announced each season on the FENWORKS Discord, Calendar, and other channels. 

It is recommended that the average rank for a Varsity roster is Gold or higher. This is a suggestion but not a requirement. 

2.4 Format 
Varsity leagues use the following formats: 

  • Round Robin 
  • Double Round Robin

2.5 State Finals Qualification 
Top teams from varsity leagues make it to the state finals tournament based on divisional playoff results only. Regular season record affects divisional playoff seeding, but does not affect state finals qualification. See section 3 in “General Rules” for the amount of teams that make it for each league. 

3. League Structure – Junior Varsity 

3.1 Teams 
Schools are allowed to field unlimited Junior Varsity teams. 

3.2 Divisions 
There are no divisions in junior varsity. All teams compete in the same pool. 

3.3 Season 
Junior varsity league seasons will be a two week preseason, followed by an eight-week regular season. 

It is recommended that the average rank for a Junior Varsity roster is Silver or lower. This is a suggestion but not a requirement. 

3.4 Format 
Junior varsity leagues use the following formats: 

3.5 State Finals Qualification 
Junior Varsity teams are not eligible to compete in State Finals. JV seasons end after the last match of the regular season. 

4. League Structure – Club 

4.1 Teams 
Schools are allowed to field unlimited Club teams. 

4.2 Divisions 
There are no divisions in Club. All teams compete in the same pool. 

4.3 Season 
The Club season will be a one week preseason, followed by a five-week regular season with an online finals tournament during the 6th week. The Club Finals tournament dates and times will be announced each season on the FENWORKS Discord, Calendar, and other channels. 

4.4 Format 
Club leagues use the following formats: 

4.5 Club Finals Qualification 
The top teams from the club league make it to the Club Finals tournament. See section 3 in “General Rules” for the amount of teams that make it for each league. Club leagues do not include a LAN state finals tournament. 

Teams will advance to the Club Finals based on the tiebreakers in section 3.1 in General Rules with one additional point awarded to their win/loss differential for each match participated in during the regular season. 

For example: 

  • Team A: 4-4 record = +8 (net 0 with additional 8 points for matches played) 
  • Team B: 3-1 record = +6 (net +2 with additional 4 points for matches played) 
  • Team C: 3-4 record = +7 (net -1 with additional 8 points for matches played)

4.6 Prizing 
Club leagues will have prizing attributed to the league winners, but club leagues will not give medals or trophies. 

  • Special Discord role (Club Champion) that allows gif posts (must still follow FENWORKS Discord rules when posting gifs) 
  • $50 equivalency in in-game currency to the first place team 

Chess 1v1

Fortnite Duos (No Build)

League of Legends 5v5

Mario Kart 2v2

Minecraft Bedwars 4v4

Rocket League 3v3

SSBU 1v1

Disclaimer
Nintendo is not a sponsor of or affiliated with this tournament. Terms for participating in and viewing Community Tournaments using Nintendo Games can be found here.

1. Supported Platforms
All official matches will be played on the Nintendo Switch.

Note: Players are strongly encouraged to play all MNVL matches with an ethernet adapter or from the same room as their internet router if wifi is being used to ensure the best quality of matches.

2. Default Match Time & Match Format
The default match time is 6:00pm on Mondays.  

  • Regular Season: All regular season matches will follow a best-of-5 format.  
  • Playoffs and State: TBD based on team numbers. 

3. Players
All official matches will be 1 vs 1 (a one-player team vs another one-player team).  Substitutions are not allowed. If a player cannot play in the match, they will receive a forfeit.  

4. Lobby Setup and Process 
If the incorrect ruleset is used, the match must be restarted immediately. If previous games were under the wrong ruleset, they are void and must be replayed. It is up to both teams to review the settings and make sure they are correct. 

  • 4.1 Lobby Settings Official matches must use the following settings The home team/higher seed will create the lobby (“Online” > “Smash” > “Battle Arenas” > “Create Arena”) and provide lobby ID and Password. When creating the lobby, make sure the name is easily recognizable and set a simple password to share with your opponent via Discord or match chat so they can join the arena. Additionally, you’ll need to share the Arena ID with your opponent so they can find and join your arena. This is found in the top right of your arena after you’ve created one. The following settings are to be used in official matches.  
  • Type: Host preference 
  • Visibility: Public 
  • Format: 1-on-1 
  • Rules:
    • Style: Stock 
    • Stock: 3 
    • Time Limit: 7 minutes 
    • FS Meter: Off 
    • Damage Handicap: Off 
    • Items: Off and None 
    • Stage Hazards: Off 
    • Launch Rate: 1.0x 
    • Pausing: Off 
    • Score Display: Off 
    • Show Damage: Yes 
    • Rotation: Host preference 
    • Max Players: 2 
    • Stage: Choice 
    • Spirits: Off 
    • Voice Chat: Off 
  • 4.2 Stage Selection 
    The stage selection process is as follows and is done throughout the match: Player 1 (P1) is the home team and Player 2 (P2) is the away team.
    1. Players will both announce their starting character before starting the stage selection process  
    2. P1 strikes a starter stage  
    3. P2 strikes a starter stage  
    4. P2 strikes a starter stage  
    5. P1 strikes a starter stage  
    6. The remaining starter stage is played on for Game 1  
    7. After Game 1, and for each following game in the match, the winner will strike three stages from the list of starter and counter pick stages  
    8. The losing player will select the next stage from those remaining  
  • 4.3 Starter Stages
    The following starter stages are permitted for use in official matches:
    • Battlefield  
    • Small Battlefield  
    • Town & City  
    • Pokémon Stadium 2  
    • Smashville  
  • 4.4 Counter-pick Stages
    The following counter-pick stages are permitted for use in official matches:
    • Kalos Pokémon League  
    • Final Destination  
    • Hollow Bastion  (DLC only – As long as one of the players has the DLC; the other player can still play on it) 

5. Restrictions

  • 5.1 DLC Fighters
    DLC Fighters are prohibited from being used in official matches for the first two weeks of their release. After the two-week restriction has passed, a DLC Fighter will be used in official matches.  
  • 5.2 MII Fighters
    Players must use a Guest Mii. If a player chooses to use a Mii Fighter, they must declare to their opponent the type and move set listed in the format “Type XXXX” (e.g., “Gunner 1321”). Any combination of moves may be used, but any Mii Fighters that a player may want to use during a match must be created before the match begins (up to a limit of three Mii Fighters), or else they will be prohibited from doing so. Using Mii Fighters that do not follow these rules may result in a player forfeiting the game in which the illegal Mii Fighter was used.  
  • 5.3 Amiibo
    All amiibo figures are prohibited from being used in official matches.  
  • 5.4 Stages
    Only the stages listed in sections 4.3 and 4.4 are allowed. All other stages are prohibited from being chosen in official matches. Using the Omega or Battlefield version of any legal stages is also prohibited.  

6. Self-Destruct Finishes, Sudden Death, and Tiebreakers

  • 6.1 Self-Destruct Finishes
    The results screen will determine the winner if the game ends due to a self-destructive move. 
  • 6.2 Sudden Death
    If time expires or if both players are knocked out at the same time, players WILL NOT play the in-game sudden death. To determine the winner, follow the instructions below.
    • The player with the most stocks is the game’s winner.  
    • If both players have the same number of stocks, the player with the lower percentage wins.  
    • If both players have the same number of stocks and the same percentage, players should follow the below tiebreaker game setup.
      • Players will play a tiebreaker game on the same stage with the same characters using the official match format with the following modifications:
        • Stock: 1  
        • Time: 3 minute 

7. Stoppage of Play and Player Disconnects
Stoppage of play is not permitted during a game.  

Players unplugging their controller at any time, accidentally or intentionally, will result in a forfeiture of the game and potentially the match. If a player’s controller malfunctions during a game, it is the player’s responsibility and will not force a game/match to restart.  

During a game, if players on the same team intentionally disconnect and bring the number of players under the minimum number, that team will forfeit the remainder of the game to the opposing team unless a stoppage of play has been communicated.  

  • 7.1 Game Reset
    If a player has internet connectivity issues that cause them to drop out of the game, the game will be reset only if 1) both players have all their starting stocks, 2) both players together have not combined more than 60% damage, and 3) have not passed a minute in-game. If these conditions are not met, the player will forfeit that game unless their opponent agrees to a redo.  

    If the game server is lagging (e.g., it takes much more than a second for an in-game second to pass, or the smash ball loading icon constantly appears), the game may be reset only if both players consent to the reset.

8. Outside Communication
Teams/players may communicate with a coach before and after each game in the match and during the character and stage selection process. All coaches and other spectators may not speak with that team/player while a game is actively being played. 

9. Tactical Pauses
Teams are allowed one tactical pause per match. It must occur between the games of the match. It cannot happen during gameplay. This pause may last up to 3 minutes per team. Pauses must be declared to the opposing team when they begin and when they end. 

10. Reporting Scores
Scores for Super Smash Bros should be reported as the stock score for each game in the match.  

  • Example:
    • Match 1: 1-0  
    • Match 2: 2-0  
    • Match 3: 0-1  
    • Match 4: 3-0  

VALORANT 5v5