Age restrictions applied to games and esports titles should be taken very seriously

Every athlete at IESF's World Championships complies with age restrictions. Seen here, Jason Batzofin, Players' Commission Chairperson, taking the Players' Oath at a previous IESF World Championships.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) maintains that it is essential for all esports athletes to comply with the age restrictions as set by the Films and Publications Board (fpb). While many gamers  may feel that the age restrictions set are unrealistic or unnecessary, all should note that the age restrictions set, are set for a reason.

It is important that esports athletes look after both their physical and mental health. It is the mental health of gamers that age restrictions are there to protect.

Age restrictions are not new, and the reasons for placing age restrictions on films and games have not.

Because children learn quickly and often imitate what they see and hear around them, parents need to shelter their children from certain types of movies, music, games and book content which is deemed to be inappropriate.

Since parents are not able to monitor all such content, age restrictions exist to provide good parents with the tools to make an informed decision.

Age restrictions therefore exist to prevent children from viewing potentially harmful content.

It is true that parents do have the freedom to choose what their kids do and don’t watch, and many are aware of the influence of inappropriate content and the lasting effects of such. However, event organisers, schools, clubs, MGO's, and team owners have no such luxury as it is illegal to allow a child to participate in a game or esports title for which the child is under-aged.

Age restrictions should be taken very seriously and adhered to at all times.

International Esports Federation (IESF) too complies with age restrictions set, and due to the nature of IESF, uses, as its default, the highest age restriction so that no member national federation is compromised.

Thus for IESF's 11th World Championships to be held in Seoul from 11 to 15 December 2019, the following age restrictions apply:

Title	Age restriction
DotA 2	16
PES 2020	12
Tekken 7	16

Also read: 

• Age restrictions in esports are important.
• North-West University becomes the headline sponsor for MSSA's Online School League.
• 2020 Calendar of Events
• Why schools and universities should invest in esports.
• How does a school join up for MSSA's 9th Online Inter-School Provincial Championships?