Player CARE Charter

For societies

• It solves the handover problem. Committees change every year. The Charter gives you a welfare lead role, an escalation route and a handover pack that outlast any one committee.

• It protects your committee. Committee members are volunteers. The Charter makes clear what they are responsible for, and what they are not.

• It strengthens your case. An external award is useful evidence when you bid to your students' union or university for funding, space or support.

• It's real leadership experience. Leading an application is governance work you can describe at interview.

For professional teams

• Sponsor and partner confidence. Answer duty of care questions before they are asked.

• Recruitment and retention. Show players, and the parents of younger players, how you look after people.

• Evidence of your arrangements. A clear record of how your organisation supports its people.

For degree programmes

• Applicant recruitment. Show prospective students that your programme embeds accredited player care.

• Employability. Graduates leave with a recognised qualification relevant to working in esports.

• Duty of care to students. A simple, external way to show what you have in place.

For institutions

• Benchmarking. See how your arrangements compare, and what to do next.

• A structure for action. The criteria give your teams a clear framework to plan against.

• Strategy measures. A recognised award you can include in student experience, sport or wellbeing strategies.

For everyone

• Shape the standard. Founding members help write the criteria.

• Join a community of practice. Welfare leads across esports sharing what works.

• Change what's normal. Together, accredited organisations raise expectations across the industry.

Every application also helps Play Aid keep Player CARE training free for everyone, and continue championing player care across esports.

Societies set their rules and arrangements in October and November. The window opens straight after, so you apply while the work is fresh. With the Christmas break and January exams, the best times to submit are early December or late January.

The committee that does the work receives the award before it hands over. The award then covers the incoming committee's whole year, and they renew it in their own December–January window.

1. Apply

Choose the level you are aiming for and submit evidence against the six criteria. Use documents you already have. Where something new is needed, one page is enough. Most committees can complete an application in an afternoon.

2. Assessment

Applications are assessed by Play Aid's academic team against the published criteria. Bronze applications are verified; Silver and Gold are assessed in full. Nobody assesses an organisation they have trained, advised or are connected to.

3. Award

Awards are announced on 1 May and published on the register of award holders. You can use the Charter mark from 1 May to 30 April.

4. If you don't reach your level

Nobody is recorded as unsuccessful. If you meet a lower level than the one you applied for, you receive that award straight away. You'll get written feedback by 28 February naming exactly what is missing, and one chance to resubmit for the higher level between 1 and 21 March.

5. Renewal

Awards run for one year. Organisations holding a current award can renew at a lower fee in the next December–January window, confirming that arrangements are still in place and that last year's handover plan was carried out.

If an award lapses for a cycle, a new application is needed at the full fee.