Official Membership Process
Here is how you can join the Iowa High School Esports Association! If you have any questions along the way, please reach out to the Exec Team at any point. They are here to help!
Step 1: Identify one person at your school who will serve as the Designated Esports Coordinator (DEC). They act as your school’s official voice in the IAHSEA and coordinate all esports activities within your school (think the athletic director of esports). Expectations for the DEC at your school can be found in the Expectations of a DEC document. This person does not need to be the coach of the team, however, they will be the coordinator and vote in all things IAHSEA.
Step 2: Read the Expectations of a School. Make sure that your school is adhering to all of the requirements of a school and you have the processes in place to support your Designated Esports Coordinator, Coaches, and Students. As you design and think about your program be thinking about the following things:
How will you approach mature titles? Not play them at all or determine a path to participation?
How can you consider your student’s well-being and health? How will you monitor this?
What, if any, additional codes of conduct will you have for your student athletes?
Step 3: Get approval for your program from your school’s administrator. Create a document that explains how your school will adhere to the expectations documents and provide a competitive environment for students (we will call this document the Esports Agreement). You will need to upload this document, with both the DEC and Administrator’s signatures, to the application.
Step 4: Submit your application for membership. You will need the following items in your application:
Name of Designated Esports Coordinator and contact information
Name of Athletic/Activities Director and contact information
Previous Year BEDS Enrollment
Esports Agreement
Any social media or media content (including a program or school logo) you may want to provide to the IAHSEA
Step 5: Upon review of your application, the following things will be checked:
Applicant must be in good standing with the IAHSAA and IGHSAU
No previous application for membership or terminations of membership with the IAHSEA by any other person associated with the school within the last 365 days.
When approved, the DEC will then be invited to the IAHSEA Discord, the official notification and communication tool of the IAHSEA. When you join, you must format your name (first name) (last name) (school), so other DECs can find you.
Step 6: You are now in probationary status! This means that you are able to participate in one varsity title in your first season. You should now choose your first title, signups will be posted in the IAHSEA Discord:
Fall Season (schools must submit their applications for membership by August 1st to participate in the Fall season).
Smash Brothers: Ultimate (Crew Battles), played on a single Nintendo Switch and requires five team members.
Rainbow 6 Siege, played on PCs and requires five team members.
This is a Mature title and requires every student to have a signed permission form from their parent or guardian.
Because this is a licensed game, schools are encouraged to provide licenses for their students. Please refer to the rules for substitutions.
Smite, a cross-play title. Meaning, students can participate on PC/Xbox/PS4/Switch
Winter Season (schools must submit their applications for membership by November 1 or the previous Friday if that date falls on the weekend).
Overwatch 2, played on PCs and requires five team members.
Because this is a licensed game, schools are encouraged to provide licenses for their students. Please refer to the rules for substitutions.
Rocket League, a cross-play title. Meaning, students can participate on PC/Xbox/PS4/Switch
Requires three team members
Because this is a free to play game, students can use their own logins
Spring Season (schools must submit their applications for membership by February 1st or the previous Friday if that date falls on the weekend).
Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, played on a single Nintendo Switch and requires six team members
Valorant, played on PCs and requires five team members
League of Legends, played on PCs and requires five team members
In addition to these games during a season, we also have Mario Kart Time Trials that run throughout the year and will culminate at the Spring State Finals. Individual students can play this at any time throughout the year.
Step 7: Once you have chosen your first title, assemble your equipment and team. It is recommended that you assemble the team, at least, two months before the start of the first season. Students must adhere to the Expectations of a Student-Athlete. It is also recommended you have at least two more members than what your game requires as a minimum (example: OverWatch 2 has a minimum of five players so we would recommend having seven on your roster).
Each title has different equipment requirements. Please ensure that your technology is capable of smoothly running the title you have chosen.
A Technical Help Guide can be found within each game manual, should you need to reference it. The IAHSEA is doing our best to keep this as up to date as we can, however, the most up to date information can be best found on the developer website for each game.
Step 8: Before the season begins, find a team on IAHSEA Discord that is willing to run a scrimmage match with you, using the official rules. Practice both setting up a match and joining a match. This is to ensure a complete understanding of the rules, check for any technical difficulties, and ensure you can navigate the system.
Step 9: Around two weeks before the season starts, you will receive the schedule for the season. Go through the schedule and find all conflicts you might have with the published schedule. Contact the DEC of any teams where a conflict lives and change the scheduled match time. Once the season begins, you may not change any scheduled matches. If you are contacted by another DEC about a schedule change before the start of the season, you must work with them to reschedule the match to a time when both teams can compete. Matches are played in accordance to the following schedule:
Fall Season
Rainbow 6 Siege Varsity on Thursdays
Rainbow 6 Siege JV on Tuesdays
Smash Varsity Crews on Tuesdays
Smash JV Crews on Thursdays
Smite on Mondays
Winter Season
Overwatch Varsity on Tuesdays
Overwatch JV on Thursdays
Rocket League Varsity on Thursdays
Rocket League JV on Tuesdays
Spring Season
Mario Kart 8 DX Varsity on Tuesdays
Mario Kart 8 DX JV on Thursdays
League of Legends Varsity on Mondays
Valorant Varsity on Thursdays
Valorant JV on Tuesdays
Mario Kart 8: Deluxe Time Trials will be throughout the year.
Step 10: Successfully play through a season! Successful play means fully completing a season, with no forfeits, properly reporting and submitting all documentation, including wins/losses, rosters, and any other required documentation for that game, and no official violations of the Expectations documents.
Upon completion of a successful season, your school has now gained full membership status in the IAHSEA. You may now vote in all full membership votes, participate in all titles, and join a committee (should you choose)!
Welcome to the Iowa High School Esports Association!