Skip to main content
The AEL is proudly supported by

2024 AEL High School Cup

The AEL High School Cup is your gateway to nationwide esports competition! Represent your school, showcase your gaming skills, and build lasting friendships in our structured, action-packed tournaments. Esports isn’t just about playing games – it develops teamwork, strategy, and communication skills.

Compete throughout the school year and showcase your talents in a variety of games and tournaments conducted during each term of the school year. The best team in each tournament will earn their school a trophy and the top three teams in each division are recognized with medals and merit certificates.

Registration form must be completed by a teacher

Register

Tournament Dates

Regos Close

Matches

Term 1

16th Feb

24th Feb – 23rd Mar

Term 2

26th Apr

4th May – 8th Jun

Term 3

9th Aug

17th Aug – 21st Sep

Term 4

25th Oct

2nd – 23rd Nov

Click for more details

Tournament Info

Team Size

3-5 (3 core + up to 2 subs)

Platform

PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch & PC

Schedule

Term 4

Game Day 1 (Swiss Ranking Cup): Saturday, 2nd November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 2: Saturday, 9th November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 3: Saturday, 16th November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 4: Saturday, 23rd November, 1pm AEDT

Format

Swiss Ranking Cup

Swiss: each round, teams will be paired up against a team with the same number of match wins, teams will continue to compete until a predetermined number of rounds are completed.

This will take place in a single day and the results will be used to sort teams into divisions.

League play

Round robin: teams will complete a match each against all other teams within their division.

This will take place over multiple game days and the results will be used to determine the seeding for the playoffs

Playoffs

Single elimination: the top teams (amount to be determined), within their respective divisions, will complete matches against each other, the loser of each match will be eliminated and the winner advances to the next round until only one team remains and is declared the winner

League Play and Playoffs scheduling will be provided at close of registrations. The League Play and Playoffs dates will occur during Game Days 2-4.

Discord

Discord is the primary place of communication with students for all tournament matters. We will have private channels for members of the school to utilise along with channels for each team (if you have multiple teams) to be used for tactics and team-related information.

All students must join the AEL discord server for their relevant game, the link to which will be emailed to your teacher upon completing the registration form.

Anyone attempting to join the server must be ‘verified’ against the information given to us by the registering teacher. Any unverified accounts attempting to join will not be able to see any channels or anyone else in the discord server.

Team Size

5-7 (5 core + up to 2 subs)

Platform

PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch & PC

Schedule

Term 4

Game Day 1 (Swiss Ranking Cup): Saturday, 2nd November, 1:30pm AEDT
Game Day 2: Saturday, 9th November, 1:30pm AEDT
Game Day 3: Saturday, 16th November, 1:30pm AEDT
Game Day 4: Saturday, 23rd November, 1:30pm AEDT

Format

Swiss Ranking Cup

Swiss: each round, teams will be paired up against a team with the same number of match wins, teams will continue to compete until a predetermined number of rounds are completed.

This will take place in a single day and the results will be used to sort teams into divisions.

League play

Round robin: teams will complete a match each against all other teams within their division.

This will take place over multiple game days and the results will be used to determine the seeding for the playoffs

Playoffs

Single elimination: the top teams (amount to be determined), within their respective divisions, will complete matches against each other, the loser of each match will be eliminated and the winner advances to the next round until only one team remains and is declared the winner

League Play and Playoffs scheduling will be provided at close of registrations. The League Play and Playoffs dates will occur during Game Days 2-4.

Discord

Discord is the primary place of communication with students for all tournament matters. We will have private channels for members of the school to utilise along with channels for each team (if you have multiple teams) to be used for tactics and team-related information.

All students must join the AEL discord server for their relevant game, the link to which will be emailed to your teacher upon completing the registration form.

Anyone attempting to join the server must be ‘verified’ against the information given to us by the registering teacher. Any unverified accounts attempting to join will not be able to see any channels or anyone else in the discord server.

Team Size

1 student

Platform

Nintendo Switch

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate & Nintendo Switch Online

Each student will require a Nintendo Switch, a copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (game) and a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Schedule

Term 4

Game Day 1 (Swiss Ranking Cup): Saturday, 2nd November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 2: Saturday, 9th November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 3: Saturday, 16th November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 4: Saturday, 23rd November, 1pm AEDT

Format

Students are split into groups to compete in cups, weekly. After a set amount of weekly cups, students will be split into playoff brackets.

Discord

Discord is the primary place of communication with students for all tournament matters. We will have private channels for members of the school to utilise along with channels for each team (if you have multiple teams) to be used for tactics and team-related information.

All students must join the AEL discord server for their relevant game, the link to which will be emailed to your teacher upon completing the registration form.

Anyone attempting to join the server must be ‘verified’ against the information given to us by the registering teacher. Any unverified accounts attempting to join will not be able to see any channels or anyone else in the discord server.

Team Size

1 student

Platform

PlayStation, Xbox & PC

Club

Each student will require a paid ‘Club’ subscription
More info here: https://www.trackmania.com/access

Schedule

Term 4

Game Day 1 (Swiss Ranking Cup): Saturday, 2nd November, 10:30am AEDT
Game Day 2: Saturday, 9th November, 10:30am AEDT
Game Day 3: Saturday, 16th November, 10:30am AEDT
Game Day 4: Saturday, 23rd November, 10:30am AEDT

Format

Format will be fully determined once registrations close.

Students are entered into a ‘time trial’ system every week. Students will all join the same competition server and race each other without collision. Players will be awarded points on each round (noted as each track). A track is played 5-10 times in each period.

Tracks will be announced via Discord each week.

Discord

Discord is the primary place of communication with students for all tournament matters. We will have private channels for members of the school to utilise along with channels for each team (if you have multiple teams) to be used for tactics and team-related information.

All students must join the AEL discord server for their relevant game, the link to which will be emailed to your teacher upon completing the registration form.

Anyone attempting to join the server must be ‘verified’ against the information given to us by the registering teacher. Any unverified accounts attempting to join will not be able to see any channels or anyone else in the discord server.

Team Size

students + substitutes

Platform

Windows, Chromebook & MacOS

Minecraft Education

Each student will require Minecraft Education

Schedule

Term 4

Game Day 1 (Swiss Ranking Cup): Saturday, 9th November, 10:30am AEDT
Game Day 2: Saturday, 16th November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 3: Saturday, 23rd November, 1pm AEDT
Game Day 4: Saturday, 30th November, 1pm AEDT

Format

As an introductory offering, Minecraft Capture the Flag will only allow one team per school in Term 3. A maximum of 8 teams will be allowed to compete in Minecraft CTF.

The format is subject to change based on number of teams registered.

Discord

Discord is the primary place of communication with students for all tournament matters. We will have private channels for members of the school to utilise along with channels for each team (if you have multiple teams) to be used for tactics and team-related information.

All students must join the AEL discord server for their relevant game, the link to which will be emailed to your teacher upon completing the registration form.

Anyone attempting to join the server must be ‘verified’ against the information given to us by the registering teacher. Any unverified accounts attempting to join will not be able to see any channels or anyone else in the discord server.

Pricing & Entry

Approximately $25 per student per term, in-depth pricing available on the Registration form.
Discounts given when registering for full year in advance.
Students must be enrolled at an Australian High School.
All members of a team must be from the same school.
Each student may be registered to only one team.
Each student may compete in only one game. (excl. Trackmania)
All teams & students must be registered and represented by a staff member employed at the same school, students cannot sign themselves up to play.

Register

Additional Questions

Can home schooled students compete?

To compete, Home Education students will be required to provide additional information to confirm their current education arrangements, such as providing documentation that shows that the parent/guardian is registered with their state government home education program, as well as age identifying documents for the student.

Home Education students may only compete in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Trackmania

Please contact us at [email protected] for more information!

Will students be competing from home or at school?

Students can compete at home with their own equipment or the school may require them to come into school to compete.

If competing on a computer please ensure it meets at least the minimum system requirements as listed under each game above.

If you wish to have your students compete from the school please work with your schools IT department to ensure students are able to connect to game servers within the school.

News

Congratulations to the Champions of Term 3 in the 2024 AEL High Schools Cup

| High School Cup, News | No Comments
The Australian Esports League (AEL) is thrilled to reveal the champions of the Term 3 AEL High Schools Esports Cup! This term brought intense competition across a variety of games,…

Australian Esports League Monthly Update – September 2024

| Events, High School Cup, Minecraft, News, Primary School Cup, University Cup | No Comments
Welcome to the September edition of the AEL newsletter! As we approach the final quarter of 2024, it’s been a busy and exciting month for the AEL, with incredible events…

2024 AEL High Schools Cup – Term 3 Division Announcement

| High School Cup, News | No Comments
Term 3 has officially begun for the 2024 AEL High Schools Cup! This past weekend saw teams in Rocket League and Overwatch 2 compete to decide their divisions. Students will…

Welcoming all schools to Series 2 of the 2024 AEL Schools Minecraft Challenge!

| High School Cup, Minecraft, Primary School Cup | No Comments
56 Schools Ignite Creativity and Innovation in Series 2 of the 2024 AEL Schools Minecraft Challenge The Australian Esports League (AEL) is excited to announce that 56 schools across the…

Welcome to Term 3 of the 2024 AEL High Schools Cup!

| High School Cup, News | No Comments
We're excited to announce the start of Term 3 for the 2024 AEL High Schools Cup, marking the third thrilling installment to this years national esports competition. Throughout the year…

Australian Esports League Makes a Spectacular Debut at Science Alive!

| Events, High School Cup, News | No Comments
The Australian Esports League (AEL) made a dynamic first appearance at Science Alive, bringingthe excitement of school esports tournaments to one of Australia's premier science andtechnology festivals. Held at the…

Contact us

Make sure to follow our network across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn!

Join the AEL discord and participate in our esports and gaming community!

The team at the Australian Esports League would love to hear from you

Whether you are wanting to run an esports event, are a teacher wanting more information of how to get your school involved or a parent wanting to learn more, we are here to help you in your Esports journey

For general enquiries, simply write to us at [email protected] and one of team will be in touch

For Primary, High School and Home-Schooling Esports, you can contact us at: [email protected]