Parent's Guide to RSEQ School Sport Elementary and High School 2026-27

The 2026-27 rules list these school provincial events:

• Division 1: basketball, football, hockey, volleyball (football is an intersectoral event, shared with other RSEQ sectors).
• Division 2: basketball, football, hockey, volleyball.
• Division 3: indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, badminton, basketball, cheerleading (intersectoral), cross-country, flag football, futsal, swimming, volleyball.
• Division 4: no provincial championships; the offer is set by each regional association.

The RSEQ also notes that offers of service vary with demand. Each school decides which sports it offers.

Sources: Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 3.2 and 3.3.2; RSEQ FAQ.

Age categories are set by date of birth for the season and are defined in each sport's specific regulations. For the 2026-27 Division 3 basketball provincial championship:

• Bantam: born October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2014
• Midget: born October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012
• Juvenile: born July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011

The general rules also define groups by birth date for the 2026-27 season: J6 is born July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009; J5 is July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010; J4 is July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011. In football the end date is October 1 to meet safety regulations. Offers of service (age categories, sports, levels of play) can vary with demand. A student-athlete playing in a higher age category or level ("surclassement") must stay within the established limits.

Sources: D3 Basketball Specific Regulations 2026-27, article 2; Governing Rules 2026-27, glossary and article 3.2.

A student-athlete is eligible for RSEQ school activities if all of these apply:

• they have not obtained their high school diploma;
• they are a full-time student at the elementary or secondary school where they are registered, under that school's or school board's full-time attendance criteria;
• they represent the school they attend when the activity takes place; and
• they respect the sport-specific and league regulations.

Challenges: an objection to a player's eligibility must be made in writing to the league commissioner or championship coordinator. In the regular season it is verified within 2 business days of receiving the letter; at a provincial championship, playoff series or elimination tournament, within 30 minutes of the end of the game. Challenges cost $50, refunded if the challenge is valid. A school found to have registered an ineligible participant is sanctioned under Appendix 3 of the rules (forfeits). Once the regular season ends, no objections can be filed for regular-season situations that would need a retroactive action.

Source: Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 7.1 and 7.4.

Yes, in some cases. A student-athlete who attends an alternate school, vocational training centre or adult education centre may play for their high school of origin if all of these apply:

• they have not obtained their high school diploma;
• they represent the last high school they attended (the school named on their last report card, whatever alternate program they are in);
• they are a full-time student at the school where they are registered, under that school's or school board's full-time attendance criteria;
• they respect the sport-specific and league regulations; and
• the alternate school, vocational centre or adult education centre cannot offer the activity.

The sector commission can also grant a derogation on a student's eligibility for a specific year on a case-by-case basis.

Source: Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 7.1.2 and 7.2.

The RSEQ treats a student as a transfer if they fail to meet any one of these three conditions:

1. They were on the school's list on the Ministry of Education's official attendance date of the previous year.
2. They attended the same school continuously throughout the previous school year.
3. They have attended the same school since the start of the current school year.

A student-athlete on a team roster who does not meet all three is counted in the number of transfers permitted for the following season. For D1 provincial leagues, the RSEQ says transfers are possible but only within each sport's specific regulations; for D2, D3 and D4 school leagues, transfers are handled by the regional association. For international students in the school sector, the RSEQ has no jurisdiction: the school decides whether to admit the student.

Sources: Governing Rules 2026-27, glossary (Transfer) and article 7.3; RSEQ FAQ (rseq.ca/lerseq/faq).

The choice of sports offered belongs to each school. Because of the "school entity" principle, a student-athlete cannot normally represent a school other than the one they attend, and any derogation needs RSEQ authorization.

Small schools can ask to merge with a host school, for team sports only (and doubles in badminton), between schools of the same level:

• Size limit: the applicant school must average 60 or fewer students of the same gender per secondary grade level (20 or fewer per elementary grade level). For example, a mixed school with five secondary levels must have 600 students or fewer.
• Deadlines: requests are due April 15 (RSEQ decides by April 30) or October 1 (decision by October 15), and must be renewed every year.
• Representation: a team made up only of students from one school may represent that school; a team mixing host and applicant students represents the host school.
• Penalty: a merger without RSEQ approval means a retroactive sanction on the games the team played.

Schools that do not offer all five secondary levels can, without permission, join a school that offers the levels they lack, as identified by their regional association.

Sources: RSEQ FAQ; Governing Rules 2026-27, article 5.

For school sport, a team does not need RSEQ authorization to take part in non-school ("civil") competitions. For competitions recognized by a school body elsewhere in Canada, the team must get authorization from the provincial RSEQ.

Whether a player who plays outside school, or professionally, can join the school team depends on the specific regulations for that sport, which can limit access.

For teams in provincial leagues (D1 and D2), priority in scheduling goes to RSEQ programming. The rules say constraints from other programs (exhibition games, other leagues, tournaments, trips) are not taken into account when the league schedule is prepared.

Sources: RSEQ FAQ (rseq.ca/lerseq/faq); Governing Rules 2026-27, article 10.

Each school hires its own coaches and does any checks it requires on its personnel; the RSEQ does not hire school coaches. The delegation leader or head coach must be at least 18 years old whatever the age category, and a student-athlete on the team cannot be registered as a member of the personnel. A chaperone of a bantam team (or younger) must be at least 16 at the start of the league or championship, and for midget and juvenile teams chaperones must be at least 18. Referees and officials cannot also act as a coach or team manager.

Sources: Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 8.1 to 8.3 and 16.1; RSEQ FAQ (rseq.ca/lerseq/faq).

Who runs what: D1 provincial championships are run by the RSEQ with the host committee; D2 by the identified "point de gestion" (the body managing that league); D3 by the host RSEQ regional association with the RSEQ. Each regional association handles its D3 team selection process for provincial championships, and a D3 team must represent its home regional association at any provincial event. D4 has no provincial championships.

RSEQ's school championships page adds that, to reach a provincial championship, teams must first have won their regional championship, and that regional championships are organized by the regional associations.

Example, 2026-27 D3 basketball provincial championship (Basketball Québec's official game rules apply, with RSEQ regulations taking precedence):

• 16 teams in a single-elimination tournament with a consolation round; each team plays a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 games.
• Games are 4 x 8 minute timed quarters for boys and girls; overtime is 3 stop-time minutes.
• A team that is not in uniform and ready within 15 minutes of the scheduled start forfeits, with no appeal.
• A team needs at least 8 uniformed, active players (bantam) or 7 (midget and juvenile) to start a championship game, with a maximum of 15 players per team.
• A student-athlete who has played in a Division 1 or Division 2 provincial league may take part in the D3 provincial championship up to three times, and is not admissible after that.

Sources: Governing Rules 2026-27 articles 3.1 to 3.3; D3 Basketball Specific Regulations 2026-27.

• Photo ID: apart from Mosquito and Bantam student-athletes, who may show proof of identity without a photo, every team member (student-athletes, coaches and chaperones) must show valid photo ID, such as a Medicare card, student card, driver's licence, passport or the school's student portal. Anyone who does not show ID cannot take part. Everyone also goes through the accreditation session.
• Lodging: in sports where it is not marked optional (basketball, badminton, cross-country, futsal, swimming, volleyball and outdoor track and field are mandatory), lodging arranged by the organizing committee is mandatory for student-athletes, who pay the fees in full. A responsible adult recognized by the school or regional association must stay with the student-athletes and supervise the team throughout the championship.
• Meals: meal service is mandatory for all student-athletes and at least one coach or chaperone. Participants with allergies or special nutritional needs can be exempted if their regional association files a derogation request by the deadline.
• Curfew: a participant who disrupts others' sleep or breaks curfew may be excluded from the event.
• Spectator admission per day: free for 12 and under, a maximum of $5 for 17 and under, and a maximum of $10 for 18 and over.

Source: RSEQ High School and Elementary Sector Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 3.3, 12, 16.3 to 16.5.

Ejection: a student-athlete or coaching/support staff member found guilty of an offence can be ejected and given other sanctions after the referee's written report is reviewed by the league commissioner or the championship's RSEQ representative. Anyone ejected from a game is automatically suspended for the next game, and the suspension cannot be served in a game declared a forfeit (unless the sport's own rules say otherwise). At a Division 3 provincial championship, a repeat offender in a team sport is excluded from the event and the case goes to the school discipline committee.

Protest: a protest challenges the application of a rule or a player's eligibility, never a referee's judgement. No protest is accepted after a referee's judgement call or after the game has finished. Before play resumes, the coach or delegation head must tell the official the game is being played under protest, and the exact time of the irregularity and the rule sections breached go on the game sheet. For a regular-season provincial league game, the protest must be in before 4:00 pm on the next business day. A lost protest costs $200 in a provincial league and $100 at a D3 provincial championship. The decision of the commissioner or protest committee is final.

Source: RSEQ High School and Elementary Sector Governing Rules 2026-27, articles 13 and 15.

All members, including support staff, coaches and student-athletes, must follow the RSEQ Code of Conduct (Appendix 1 of the RSEQ Organizational Policy). A student-athlete, coach or support staff member who fails to meet it can be sanctioned under that policy.

The RSEQ also defines poaching (maraudage): a targeted approach by a school staff member to a student-athlete and/or their parents with the aim of recruiting them to their team or sports program when the student already belongs to a team at another school. The 2026-27 rules state that this practice violates the RSEQ Code of Ethics. Recruitment in general (a school promoting its sports program to attract new student-athletes) is defined separately from poaching.

Source: RSEQ High School and Elementary Sector Governing Rules 2026-27, article 1 and glossary.