The ESSC promotes sportsmanship above all else. The goal is for players to have fun, regardless of whether they win or lose. Those who choose to play with the ESSC are required to bring good sporting behavior to the games and to promote and abide by the ESSC sportsmanship policy and values of “fun-first, winning-second.”
General Guidelines
- Players must have control over their emotions and actions at all times.
- Player should treat opponents, ESSC office and field staff and facility staff with fairness, courtesy and respect.
- Verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated.
- Players should not retaliate or react in a negative way to any situation or player regardless of the circumstance. Retaliation will be subject to the same consequences as instigation.
- When required, feedback should be provided in a constructive way.
- Teams should be open to receiving feedback from the Coordinator and/or opponent.
- All facilities must be treated with respect - this includes, but is not limited to: wearing appropriate footwear, not consuming alcohol on facility property, not littering, not using unauthorized equipment, not urinating in undesignated areas, not entering a facility before the permit time begins and leaving the facility by the end of the permit time.
The ESSC will not tolerate players who do not follow these sportsmanship guidelines. Violation of these guidelines could result in suspension or ejection from the league.
Zero Tolerance Policy
ESSC Staff (including Games/Event/Beach Volleyball Coordinators) reserve the right to remove players immediately from a facility and/or league, tournament, or event if they are involved with any of the following acts toward a coordinator, facility staff, player, or spectator:
- Using racial, ethnic, homophobic, fatphobic, gendered, transphobic, sexist, sexual, disability or other slurs
- Swearing directly at another person
- Intentionally pushing, shoving, or making physical contact with another person
- Instigating and/or retaliating in an altercation
- Displaying disrespectful or threatening behavior
If a player is ejected due to unsportsmanlike play, they must vacate the facility immediately, inclusive of the parking lot.
SSC Inclusion, Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism Policy
The Sport and Social Club (SSC) recognizes that racism, discrimination, harassment, bullying, and violence is harmful to our community, not only for the group(s) targeted, but for all SSC participants. The SSC is committed to creating and maintaining a safe sport environment which is free of discrimination and harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, can contribute fully and have equal opportunities. All SSC participants are expected to uphold these values and actively maintain a sport environment that fosters respect, is anti-discriminatory, and actively anti-racist. Please click here to read our full SSC Inclusion, Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism Policy (last updated July 20, 2021).
If you want to learn how you can bring inclusion to the playing field, click here for our tips and tricks.
Sportsmanship Ratings
The sportsmanship rating system was implemented when the ESSC first started to ensure that all players maintain a fun and sportsmanlike attitude. Ratings are handed out by the opposition and the Games Coordinator (when applicable) at the end of each game in most ESSC sports.
| Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|
| (+1) | The team was a lot of fun and made a genuine attempt to call their fouls. |
| (0) | The team was average in both Spirit and Accountability, or; The team was strong in one area but weak in the other area. |
| (-1) | The team was not fun to play against and did not follow the rules or call their own fouls. |
‘Accountability’ Rating
This rating is based solely on how the opposing team took responsibility for calling their own fouls. A team that does well on Accountability either: committed few or no fouls so it was not an issue, or committed some fouls but made a genuine attempt to call them.
‘Spirit of the Game’ Rating
This part of the rating is based solely on how Fun the opposing team was. A high rating would be for a team that: appeared to put fun first and winning second and/or encouraged themselves or their opponent in a positive way.
Sportsmanship in the Standings
The following explains how sportsmanship ratings are factored into the overall standings (this does not apply to sports where no sportsmanship rating is reported).
Recreational Divisions: Spirit points are added to a team’s points earned from wins and ties, factoring in to a team’s total points.
Recreational Plus / Intermediate / Competitive Divisions: Spirit points are not added to a team’s points earned from wins and ties, and do not factor in to a team’s total points. However, Spirit Points are used as the 1st tiebreaker in the standings.
PLS - Points Lost due to Sportsmanship ratings: There is a column in the standings called PLS that can negatively affect a team’s total points. A team will be given a PLS and have a point subtracted from their total in the following situations:
- Indoor sports - when a team receives two -1’s in a game from the Games Coordinator or opponent.
- Outdoor sports – when a team receives two -1 ratings from opponents over the course of a single season.
