About the Federation
Organisation
Learn more about the people behind the SESF
Our mission
The Swiss Esports Federation's (SESF) primary mission is to promote esports in all regions of Switzerland.
SESF as a Network
The SESF connects the community: guiding aspiring professional players, connecting cross-canton tournament organisers, and encouraging communication between the different stakeholders to foster growth.
The SESF is a non-profit organisation whose 46 ordinary members and 194 community members are cantonal federations, event organisers, esports teams, veterans brands and companies supporting the field, and passionate fans of esports. We also are one of the founding members of the International Esports Federation (IESF) based in Korea.
SESF as a Mediator for the Industry
The SESF plays an important role as a mediator between all stakeholders within the esports industry in Switzerland: gamers, game developers, esports teams, events organisers, sponsors, investors, media-streamers, governing institutions, sports organisations, and the general public . Our vision is to protect the interest of all parties and ensure fair play, fair treatment, and a positive environment. The SESF regularly organises public meetings with all stakeholders to revise the rules and regulations, which currently serve as a guidance for new organisers and players.
The Swiss Esports Federation also takes care of creating and maintaining an open communication network with other stakeholders of the video games industry in Switzerland. Through this network, we support these stakeholders to promote Swiss Made video games.
SESF as an Educator
The federation has the task of educating the public on what esports specifically is, as well as highlighting the difference between playing casual video games and competitive play.
SESF as a Legitimiser
Finally, one of the most important roles of the SESF is to obtain institutional recognition in Switzerland by establishing esports as a sport through federal governing bodies and having it recognised as an important socio-cultural phenomenon by the offices for culture, education, and youth protection.
SESF as a Regulatory Body
The SESF advocates transparency and non-discrimination and encourages fair play to protect the interests of everyone who enjoys esports. We notably act upon this by running a self-created and self-administrated neutral refereeing system, ensuring the protection of all players. We also propose solutions to tournament organisers to mitigate their risks and standardise their administrative practices. Within the scope of this system, we collaborate with the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), an international non-profit organisation that provides a framework for questions of ethics, corruption and doping in esports competitions. ESIC helps us to develop our system inside and outside our borders, while ensuring we comply with the strictest international standards.
Our Definition of Esports
Esports, also known as electronic sports, describes individuals or teams using strategy and skill to compete against each other on video games.
Esports demands to surpass oneself through improving one’s performance - mainly skill, strategies, and team coordination - while accepting the rules of the game as well as respecting the rules of conduct.
Esports can be played intensively or professionally; we then refer to the players as “pro-gamers” or esports professionals.
Our Core Values
The SESF is a community-driven, non-for-profit organisation which has been created by esport fans, for esports fans.
The SESF is a reliable, honest and fair organisation which actively fights bad practices in esports such as corruption, doping, and cheating.
We care about providing all gamers with an equal amount of opportunities according to their respective abilities, activities and identity.
We want to help our members meet their needs without compromising their future activities or negatively impact the scene.
We are a preconception-free organisation that will always offer its help in resolving any conflict, without bias.
Key Topics & Stances
At the SESF, we wish to educate aspiring players and teams on how to practice their sport properly. Through the exchange of know-how, the goal is to create training material and share it through our network.
In the perception of the general public, players are often considered as being desocialised. However, gaming creates strong bonds between players. It creates friendships. Therefore, it is not surprising that many teams also try to meet in person as often as possible.
Furthermore, we believe that by regulating esports in a federal governing body, such as the SESF, we are creating an environment in which anyone involved in Swiss esports can develop and thrive for a long period of time.
Giving players the opportunity not having to practice in the solitude of their homes but engaged in the environment of a local association. An organisation through which they can engage in both online and offline competitions with other esports fans.
Unlike other sports, each esports discipline is the result of a creation. Each competitive video game has code, graphics, music, and scripts, which are the intellectual property of either the developers or the rightful owner (publisher). Most publishers have not yet established definitive regulations on the use of their game at different levels of competitions: in a school, a village, a town, or a canton, or for a small content creator. Our Federation thanks and is delighted by the opportunity for its members to compete in high quality games. We wish to build healthy relationships with video game rights holders, to carry together the values of esports and to respond together to the societal challenges.
Most player have made their first steps in gaming at a young age.. We love gaming, and we understand everyone who feels equally passionate about the topic. However, gaming should not ever get in the way of education. Education, today more than ever, is the most valuable good anyone can acquire. As the federation of esports in Switzerland, we see it as our duty to make players and teams aware of this. We want to encourage players to pay attention to their education and the teams to pay attention to their players’ education.
Initially, video games were unisex. During the massive video games growth in the 80s-90s, the targeted public became mostly young male. This imbalance is one of the reasons why the environment in the gaming world tends to be so sexist. Whilst we recognise the activism in sexism, as well as the collective awareness about sexism and homophobia, there is still a lot to do to match our goals and values. We are looking to create an atmosphere of understanding and tolerance between all gamers. We condemn any act of bullying, insults, and threats of any kind. By recognising the equality of mental performances between genders, we refuse a gendered marginalisation in any esports competition.
In our events, we give the players a setting that fits their age. Setting up an esports programme for minors is part of our priorities. Disappointment due to in-game difficulties, increased when a competition aspect is present. This can cause players to become offensive or violent to other players. Therefore, esports events organised by SESF members have an explicit set of rules that prohibit offensive behaviour. SESF referees make sure that players comply with the rules. The SESF trains and appoints Swiss esports referees to promote good practices.
We encourage our members and players to adopt a healthy lifestyle and provide recommendations for them to follow to increase in game performances, and player satisfaction.
Disappointments caused by in-game difficulties and competitions can lead to aggressive misconducts from the players and their supporters. Learning to control emotions, remaining dignified even in defeat, and respecting everyone (opponents, commentators, referees, etc.) are our top priorities. SESF aimes to raise awareness among players on these topics by being a role model in its own competitions.