League Rules

1.1 Players are expected to be respectful with each other.

1.2 In-game conduct issues will be handled by Infantry Staff, with no exceptions or additional accommodations made to facilitate league play.

1.3 Out of game conduct issues will be resolved at the discretion of league staff.

1.4 Players found causing action deemed to be detrimental to the competitive integrity of the League may, at the league's discretion, be removed from captaincy, have affected match results adjusted, banned for the remainder of a season, and/or banned for future seasons.

1.4.1 Actions deemed detrimental to the competitive integrity of the league include: consciously exploiting the league rule set to create an unfair advantage, third party tool usage that creates an unfair advantage, or any other action as identified by league administration.

1.4.2 Any live streaming of USL games must have, at a minimum, a 3-minute delay in the broadcast. The voice broadcast on the USL Discord is exempt from this rule for the listening experience only.

1.5 Players must respect the creative efforts of other players. Permission must be asked of USL media and content creators before players re-use the creative efforts of others.

2.1 Squads must have a minimum of seven players on their roster to register.

2.2 Roster maximum limits are flexible and will be set dependent on the active population.

2.3 Rosters as listed on USLzone.com are the sole official rosters.

2.4 To play in a match, a player must be on the squad's official roster.

2.5 A player may only play for one active and registered squad each week, whether as a rostered player or NT player.

2.5.1 If a player is found to be playing for more than one squad on any given week the player will be banned from playing for the rest of the season.

2.5.2 If a player uses the account of another player to misleadingly participate in a USL match, both the original account owner and the player trying to use that account will be banned for the season.

2.6 Players leaving or being removed from official rosters will undergo an eight day wait period before they can be considered part of an official roster again. During this period the player is considered an NT and all rules in section 6 apply.

2.6.1 Wait periods are tracked on USLzone.com and are displayed next players names when active.

2.7 During each season rosters will become locked.

2.7.1 When rosters are locked, no player can leave their currently joined squad.

2.7.2 Players that have not joined a squad will be allowed to join a squad while rosters are locked.

2.7.3 At the beginning of each new season, league administrators will announce the date at which point all rosters will be locked.

3.1 Scheduling is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

3.2 Only one match may be scheduled at a time, with a minimum of 45 minutes between each match start.

3.3 Matches are typically scheduled on Sundays, but can be scheduled for any day of the week.

3.3.1 On Sundays match times are available beginning at 7:15 PM EST/EDT and every 45 minutes thereafter.

3.3.2 On days other than Sunday matches can be scheduled at any time.

3.3.3 It is the responsibility of both captains wishing to schedule on a day other than Sunday to find a referee for the match.

3.3.4 Matches not on Sundays must be scheduled at least a week in advance and approved by a League Administrator

3.4 Captains must submit three times that their squad can play each week via the USLzone.com match scheduler.

3.5 Matches must be scheduled by Thursday at 11 PM EST/EDT for the current week of league play.

3.5.1 League Administrators will force schedule any match that is not scheduled before this deadline.

4.1 Playoffs will consist of the top four squads.

4.2 Playoffs will begin the week after the end of the regular season.

4.3 If two squads are tied for a playoff seed, the result of their head-to-head matches determines their ranking; if they went 1-1 seeding, determination will be decided based on an aggregate of kills in their head to head matches.

4.4 In the event of 3 squads tied for a playoff seed, the team with the highest rating will get the position.

5.1 Default team size is eight players, however captains may agree to any amount above seven.

5.2 A League official will create an official game arena and captains chat no less than 15 minutes prior to game start.

5.3 All communications between referees and captains must be within captains chat.

5.3.1 Initial roster lineups, including 3v3s and overtime are the only exception to this rule.

5.4 Captains or representing co-captains must be in the match arena and captains chat no less than 10 minutes prior to game start time.

5.5 The home team will be given side selection. Side selection must be submitted no less than 10 minutes prior to the start of the match.

5.5.1 In the playoffs the higher seed will have home advantage.

5.5.2 In the Championship match the winner of the 3v3's will have home advantage.

5.6 Captains are required to submit their game roster at least five minutes prior to the match start. Players on the game roster must be present in the match arena, squad joined, with their alias that matches the official roster.

5.7 Violations of 5.4 - 5.6 will result in one warning per squad per season. Subsequent violations will result in a penalty of a lost player slot for five minutes per violation.

5.8 At the scheduled start time referees will ask both squads if they are ready for the game to begin. If both squads have eight players in the match and no objection is raised by either captain the referee will start the match.

5.8.1 Captains can agree to delay the start time by up to 10 minutes past game start time if a squad does not have eight players available.

5.8.2 If either captain declines the delay, the game will start at the scheduled time with the players available.

5.8.3 If after 10 minutes past game start time, a squad has not had eight players in the match, they will automatically forfeit.

5.9 Up to 24 hours before a match, if a captain presents a valid concern to league staff they may make a request that a match be held in a private arena. A League Administrator will make a decision to grant or deny the request.

5.9.1 If a private arena is granted, the match will then be played in an arena designated with a #.

5.9.2 Once the arena is made, only the starting line up from each squad, current Ref(s) and the League Admin(s) are permitted in the arena.

5.9.3 Players from each squad who are not in the starting line up are considered stand-by and must wait outside this arena, and may only enter if requested.

5.10 Squads that forfeit two matches during the regular season will be removed from the league for the remainder of the season.

6.1 Non-Team players are players that are not on any official roster or are currently under the waiver restriction.

6.2 Players who wish to NT must not be part of any other active squads under any alias.

    6.2.1. Any individual found trying to NT for a squad while on another squad's active official roster will receive a 2 match ban, increased for repeat offenders.

6.3 NT players can only be used if no other members of the squad are present. If a squad member becomes available mid-match, the NT will be subbed out for them at the first opportunity.

6.4 NT Players must be requested by squads that need them and can be denied by the opposing team captain.

6.5 NT players count towards the minimum players that a squad must show to play.

7.1 The squad who has the most kills at the end of the 30 minute timer wins.

7.1.1 If after 30 minutes there is a tie in kills there will be overtime.

7.1.2 If at any point during a match a team has no players in the game, whether by a player’s own actions, or rule violations, they will forfeit the match.

7.2 Overtime is 7v7 with marine being the only class allowed.

7.2.1 There are no substitutions for any reason in Overtime.

7.2.2 Players will be sent to spectator mode after 1 death.

7.2.3 A squad wins when the other team has no more players.

7.2.4 If the game continues past 15 minutes, location coordinates for each team will be given out every minute in the arena chat.

7.3 The winning Captain must name an MVP.

7.3.1 The MVP must be a player that played in the match.

7.4 Substitutions are unlimited, but will only be made outside of battle.

7.5 Players who exit the match for any reason may not re-enter the match for two minutes.

7.6 Players must exit their drop ship within 30 seconds of spawning and leave their base lines within 60 seconds of spawning.

7.6.1 The first violation per player will result in the player being sent to spectator mode and a kill awarded to the opposing team.

7.6.2 Second violations by the same player will result in the player being sent to spectator mode, a kill awarded, and a loss of that player slot for 5 minutes.

7.7 A squad may not use a vision bug that is not already widely known in the community (weed wall, terrain differences on KR, etc).

7.7.1 Any use of unknown vision bugs will result in a warning in captain’s chat from the ref.

7.7.2 If the warning is ignored, the exact location of players on the vision bug and where the bug is will be given to the opposing team.

7.8 In the event that the match referees did not see an offense, but another spectating staff member did see the offense, the Head Referee(s) or any League Administrator may take action on the offense.

8.1 There is a limit of two medics in a 9v9 or lower, and three medics in a 10v10 or higher.

8.2 There may only be 1 of each support class. Support classes are classes that are not Medic or Marine.

8.2.1 There can only be one Heavy Ripper or Ripper.

8.2.2 There can only be one Sniper or Ranger.

8.3 A player may only change class after death before they have left their drop ship. Class swaps at match start are allowed before teams leave the drop ship.

8.3.1 Players cannot swap multiple times to exploit map bugs. Example: A player swaps to Grenadier to shoot mortars and then swaps to another class before leaving the drop ship and base lines.

8.4 A violation of class restrictions will result in the offending player being sent to spectator mode and receiving the time out penalty from Rule 7.5.

8.4.1 A second violation will result in an offending player being sent to spectator mode and a loss of that player slot for five minutes.

8.4.2 A third violation will result in the offending team losing that player slot for the remainder of the match.

8.4.3 If the lead referee or league administrator determines a class restriction has negatively impacted the other team a corresponding amount of kills will be awarded to the opposing team.

9.1 Players cannot cross enemy base lines until they are voided and may never re-enter their own base lines aside from the scenario laid out in rule 9.3.

9.2 Players crossing their own base lines will be sent to spectator mode immediately and will be sat out according to rule 7.5.

9.2.1 If a player violates the base line rules, the opposing team will be awarded a kill and the infringing player will face the penalties from Rule 7.5.

9.2.2 These penalties will apply to each individual player violating base lines.

9.2.3 The base line rule system has been in USL competitive play for ages. Captains and Co-Captains are responsible for ensuring their squad members are educated and adhere to the base line rules.

9.3 At 3 minutes left in the match, enemy base lines are voided and teams may cross enemy base lines as if they did not exist.

9.3.1 At the 3 minute base line voiding, teams still may never re-enter their base lines after leaving them aside from the scenario listed in 9.3.2.

9.3.2 If a team enters enemy base lines after they are voided, an arena message will be sent informing that an enemy team has crossed base lines and the opposing team will be allowed to pursue them, voiding rules 9.1 until the attacking team has left them.

9.3.2.1 Once the base line entering team has left enemy base lines, the opposing team will have 20 seconds to leave their home base lines or they will be spec’d, with punishment, according to rule 9.2.1 via the arena base line script system.

10.1 A squad cannot camp in one area for more than 60 seconds consecutively.

10.2 Teams will be notified when a team has been non-mobile at 30 seconds and 45 seconds.

10.2.1 If a squad does not move within the camp timer, their exact location will be revealed to the opposing team.

10.3 Camping is defined as when one or both squads either attempt to hide or take a defensive position in an effort to avoid battling their opposing squad. If squads are engaging in battle, there can be no camping penalty initiated.

10.4 Referees are provided with discretion in identifying a camp and communicating with captains in case of a script error.

11.1 Spectator information is any information obtained by a playing team through any means other than what the current players in the match are able to naturally observe through playing in the match.

11.1.1 Spectator information includes the opposing team's location, heading, or any other sensitive details that would normally be unavailable to the teams participating in a match.

11.1.2 If it's proven that a squad used spectator information, or that a squad didn't report unsolicited spectator information to USL Staff, the squad’s captain will be banned for the rest of the season.

11.1.3 Upon league review, violating captains may be prohibited from captaining a squad in future seasons.

11.2 Players cannot go to spectator mode while engaged in a battle.

11.2.1 Any player who goes to spectator mode while engaged in a battle, for any reason, will award the opposing team a kill.

11.2.2 If it is determined that the player went to spectator mode intentionally to avoid a death, the offending player will remain in spectator mode for the rest of the match and will receive a one match ban for the following week.

11.2.3 Repeat violations of 11.2.2. may result in a season ban.

12.1 Any player who appears to be persistently visually lagging to the ref staff will be removed from the match and the player's team will be asked to select a substitute.

12.1.1 If after being subbed back in the player is still visually lagging, they will be removed for the remainder of the match.

12.1.2 Visual lag includes being unable to see the player's weapon trails, their bullets originating very far from their weapons, or jumping erratically.

12.2 Any player who is taking an amount of damage significantly above the normal kill threshold without dying will be sent to spectator mode immediately.

12.2.1 A lagging player can be sent to spectator mode during battle if the Referee determines that their lag would offer an unfair advantage to the player's team.

12.2.2 If this occurs, kill(s) may be granted to the opposing team at the Referee’s discretion.

13.1 Match appeals may be submitted to the League Administrator for review if a referee error or other abnormality occurred in a match.

13.2 Upon receipt of the appeal, League Administration will determine whether the event(s) being appealed created an unfair advantage for one team or otherwise materially affected the end outcome of the match.

13.3 If 13.2 is determined to be true, the League Administration will designate staff member(s) who were not involved with the match to adjudicate the appeal.

13.3.1 Each involved staff member will cast a vote and articulate the reasoning for their vote.

13.3.2 If the appeal is approved, the match will be restarted and if possible, the score reset to the point where the offending error occurred.

13.4 A squad will have up to 36 hours after their match's scheduled start time to appeal a match.

13.4.1 A captain or co-captain may submit such an appeal in the captains forum and must provide a detailed explanation of how the event(s) being appealed meet the qualifications set out in rule 13.2.

13.4.2 Appeals will not be reviewed anywhere outside of the captains forum.

13.4.3 Captains must submit their appeals as soon as they become aware of the alleged issue.

13.4.4 If it is determined that a captain ought to have known of the issue immediately during or after the match and delayed raising it, the appeal may be denied on these grounds alone.