Interregional Movement Policy: Official Rule
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[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.
- 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.
