Unsporting conduct is disruptive behavior that may affect the safety, competitiveness, enjoyment, or integrity of a tournament in a significantly negative fashion.

Unsporting behavior is not the same as a lack of sporting behavior. There is a wide middle ground of “competitive” behavior that is certainly neither “nice” nor “sporting” but still doesn’t qualify as “unsporting.” Failing to converse or reply to pleasantries in chat is never Unsporting Conduct. The Head Judge is the final arbiter on what constitutes unsporting conduct.

Judges should inform the player how their conduct is disruptive. The player is expected to correct the situation and behavior immediately. However, while making sure that the player understands the severity of their actions is important, judges should focus first on calming a situation, and deal with infractions and penalties afterwards.