Update: In a turn of events the IeSF has reversed its regulation on gender restrictions in response to all the feedback received on the issue.
“ IeSF shall have two event categories: “Open for All” events and events that are reserved for women. The events which were initially set aside as the male division will now be open to all genders, and the events which were initially set as the female division will remain as they were.”
Full details on the policy can be found Here
Original Story: It has recently been clarified that the “International e-Sports Federation’s (IeSF) 6th e-Sports World Championship” taking place this November will “be open only to male players.”
While they will be hosting a separate women’s only league, they have only added to the issue of videogame segregation by denying the female league the option of competing with the same games as the men’s league.
- “Male Competition: Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, Ultra Street Fighter IV
- Female Competition: Starcraft 2, Tekken Tag Tournament 2” – (Facebook Event Page)
When asked their reasoning on the matter, they stated that everything is “In accordance with the International e-Sports Federation’s (IeSF) tournament regulations since the main tournament event is open to male players only. This is to avoid possible conflicts (e.g. a female player eliminating a male player during RO8) among other things.”
Their main goal behind all of this is apparently to get e-Sports recognized as a “true sport”, in which case allowing women into their qualifier would risk that the winner wouldn’t be eligible to enter the IeSF’s World Championship final.
While we all understand the reasons for separating men and women when it comes to physical sports, in this day and age, is there any real basis for a segregation when the medium is purely digital?
leSF have since stated that they have been reviewing and taking into consideration all comments they have received.
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