Interregional Movement Policy: Official Rule

Riot·9/13/2014, 11:33:58 PM·2 votes·55,438 views

[UPDATE: 11/12/2014: The Policy has been updated to amend the grandfathering clause, which now includes players who played in the most recent Challenger Series Playoffs. See the update post for more information.] [UPDATE: 11/19/2014: The Policy has been updated to amend the "Losing Residency" clause, which now specifies 24 out of the last 36 months as opposed to just 24 months.] Last week, we gave you a preview of the new, global Interregional Movement Policy which will help balance local and foreign talent on professional and semi-professional teams. Today, we’re sharing the official rule for NA and EU LCS and Challenger Series. We’ll also share our the reasoning behind it along with a breakdown of each section of the policy. This rule will be reflected in the LCS 2015 ruleset, but is going into immediate effect now.
1.2 Regional Residency Requirement & Work Eligibility
a) Resident Defined. For purposes of this Rule 1.2, a player is deemed to be a "Resident" of a region if such player has legally resided and been primarily present in such region for no less than twenty-four months out of the thirty-six months immediately prior to such players' participation in the first game of the applicable tournament (i.e., a match in the World Championship Event, LCS, or Challenger Series). In defining a Resident, we sought to create a policy that defines Residents based on sustained and prolonged presence with a region, rather than citizenship or legal documentation. This policy makes sure that Residents not only have resided in the region whose league they wish to play in for a substantial period of time, it also gives every player the option of becoming a Resident for that league after a prolonged commitment. We used the language “primarily present” so that a reasonable amount of discretion can be used in allowing for vacations and other such temporary travel when considering eligibility. b) Certification of Residency. All players shall certify their residency upon participation in the World Championship Event, the NA and EU LCS, and the NA and EU Challenger Series by submitting an eligibility form, and providing proof of residency as defined in Rules 1.2(c) and (d). Each team is responsible for ensuring that its players meet the residency requirements in this Rule 1.2. It shall be a violation of these Rules, by both the team and the player, if a player (or his or her parent or guardian) provides false, misleading or incomplete information resulting in the misclassification of such player’s residency and region. A violation of this Rule 1.2 by a team or a player shall also be deemed a violation of Rule 10.2, and the disciplinary measures in Rules 10.5 and 10.6 shall apply. c) Proof of Residency. Any player over eighteen years of age may prove residency by the provision of documentary evidence sufficient to demonstrate actual residence in the region in which he or she wishes to play. Such documentary evidence may be in the form of one or more examples of:

i. Government Issued Documentation. A player may prove residency by providing copies of a driver’s license, voter registration form, vehicle registration, government benefits records, military or draft registration papers or other government-issued records or identification that demonstrate residency.

ii. Private Documentation. A player may prove residency by providing copies of school records, deeds, leases, homeowners association documents, utility bills (such as gas, water, electricity, cable, or telephone, provided that all show levels of use consistent with actual residency), bank records and statements, tax returns, insurance documents, medical records and employment records.

d) Residency of Minors. Players who are below eighteen years of age may prove residency by either:

i. School Records. A player may prove residency by providing proof of full-time attendance at school in the region, including by providing copies of report cards, enrollment documentation, or attendance records certified by school officials; or

ii. Parents’ Records. A player may prove residency by (i) providing documentary evidence of the parent-child relationship, such as a birth certificate that lists the names of parents, and (ii) proof that one parent lives in the region, which may be demonstrated by provision of documentary evidence sufficient to prove residency as specified in Rule 1.2(c), above.

Proving that a player has resided in a region for two out of the last three years can be a somewhat tricky process, so we’ve given categories of documentation that can help establish a player’s Resident status. This is ultimately a process that relies on making good judgment calls, but by permitting numerous categories of proof we can ensure that no player is left without options. We’ll be increasing the timeframe during which a team should submit its paperwork to register a roster change to make sure each change can be assessed within a reasonable period of time, and working with teams to collect paperwork that is acceptable for each circumstance. e) Starters. For purposes of Rule 1.2, as stated in Rule 3.2, a "Starter" is defined as one of the five players established in the Team's starting lineup for any given game. This part is fairly straightforward - we don’t want teams undermining the goal of this policy by keeping Residents on the bench while they play majority non-exempt non-Resident starting lineups. This rule ensures that the team actually playing is able to maintain a good balance of local and foreign talent. f) World Championship Event. The World Championship Event is intended to bring together the best teams from each region to compete, as representatives of their region, in a global competition. In order to foster this diverse global competition, nurture regional teams, excite local and global fans, increase participation from all regions, and ensure a fair and open championship, all teams competing in the World Championship Event must meet local residency requirements. At least 60% (three out of five) Starters on any competing team must be Residents or exempt non-Residents of the region they represent in the World Championship Event. This Rule shall ensure that the goals of the World Championship Event are achieved, without undue burden on players and teams, while promoting fair play and robust competition for all participants in this global competition. g) NA and EU LCS. The NA and EU LCS, including the NA and EU regular season and all matches leading up to the regional playoffs, are designed to identify the teams that will represent the NA and EU in the World Championship Event. In order to fulfill this mandate, all teams competing in the LCS and LCS-affiliated matches must meet the requirements in Rule 1.2(f) for teams participating in the World Championship Event, including the requirement that at least 60% (three out of five) Starters on each team be Residents of the region covered by the LCS in which they play. h) NA and EU Challenger Series. The NA and EU Challenger Series, including the NA and EU Challenger Series regular season and all matches leading up to the Promotion Tournament, are designed to identify the teams from the NA and EU that will be promoted to the NA and EU LCS and thereby have an opportunity to represent the NA and EU in the World Championship Event. In order to fulfill this mandate, all teams competing in the Challenger Series and Challenger Series-affiliated matches must meet the requirements in Rule 1.2(f) for teams participating in the World Championship Event, including the requirement that at least 60% (three out of five) Starters on each team be Residents of the region covered by the Challenger Series in which they play. This is the heart of the rule - having at least 3 players on every team be local to that region in some sense ensures that regional identity is preserved for a league. That principle should be reflected at every level of professional competition, from the Challenger Series all the way to representation at Worlds. Keep in mind that this specific version of the residency requirement is only going into the LCS ruleset, so it will only apply to LCS teams attending Worlds, not all Worlds-participating teams. i) Implementation of Rule Change; Grandfathering. Any player on the Active Roster of an LCS team or a CS team who participated in the most recent Promotion Tournament at the time of this policy change who would not satisfy the Resident definition in 1.2(a) will be considered an "exempt non-resident", which allows such a player to count towards the three Residents required pursuant to Rules 1.2(f), 1.2(g), and 1.2(h). Once an exempt non-resident has met the Residency requirement, that player will be considered a Resident. A player cannot simultaneously count as a Resident for one region and as an exempt non-Resident for another region. A player can choose to waive his exempt non-Resident status in favor of counting as a Resident for another region before December 31, 11:59 pm PST 2014. In the event that a team has two or more exempt non-Resident players as Starters, they will not be permitted to add any additional non-exempt non-Residents as Starters. This rule ensures that current LCS teams and CS teams who played in the Promotion Tournament do not have to change their rosters. In enacting the Interregional Movement Policy, it’s important to us that players already committed to playing in the region are not unduly harmed. At the same time, in the long term it’s important that changes to teams gradually move each team to a healthy balance of foreign and local talent, which is why we make the subtle distinction between Resident players and exempt non-Resident players. Allowing players to waive an exemption means that individuals who aren’t sure of the plans don’t get locked out of legitimate options. Players currently in NA can choose to waive their exemption if they would qualify as an EU resident, and vice-versa. We illustrated some examples of how exempt non-Resident status governs roster changes in our previous post on the subject - check that out here. j) Substitutes: All teams will be required to maintain at least one Resident player as a substitute at any given time. At no point in time will teams be permitted to make a substitution which is in violation of any provision of this Rule 1.2.: If for some reason a Starter is temporarily out of commission, we don’t want teams put in a position where they can’t field a roster in compliance with the Interregional Movement Policy. That’s why we’re requiring teams keep at least one Resident substitute on the roster as a failsafe. k) Losing Residency: For purposes of this Rule 1.2, a player who is considered a Resident for a region will no longer be deemed to be a "Resident" of that region if such player has been primarily present in another region for 24 out of the last 36 months. In the event that a player wants to take a break from competitive play, or has a short stint in another league that doesn’t work out, we want to make sure that they reserve the option of playing in the region where they were most recently a Resident. Giving the players the safety net of temporarily exploring options overseas without forfeiting Resident status is a priority for us, and that’s what this portion of the rule is meant to address. So, for example, an EU Resident player can join an NA team for a year, and if circumstances change and they want to go back to EU, they can do so without having lost their EU Resident status. l) Work Eligibility: Each player must submit proof that, at the time of any LCS-affiliated match the player wishes to participate in, he/she will be (a) a legal resident of a country in their region, and (b) work-eligible in the United States (for NA players) or Germany (for EU players). This is the same as the old residency rule: because portions of the Challenger Series and all of the LCS occur live and at a physical location, it’s important that players are present and eligible to work in the country where the event is being held. The Interregional Movement Policy is one that benefits the overall competitive ecosystem, and other regional leagues will be incorporating something similar to the NA and EU version of the Regional Residency Requirement & Work Eligibility and releasing their equivalents at their discretion. China (LPL & LSPL), Korea (OGN The Champions, Masters & NLB), and Southeast Asia/Taiwan (GPL & LNL) handling their regional residency requirements individually. The NA and EU requirement provides a robust framework that will not only preserve regional identity in the future, but permit a healthy amount of movement between regions that is to the benefit of esports as a whole.
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