E-Sports at NVC

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About E-Sports

The Benefits of E-Sports

Being on an esports team brings a number of immediate and long-term benefits. Some are similar to the benefits gained through participating in other sports and clubs; others are unique to the expanding world of esports.

These benefits include:

Gaining skills.

Like many student clubs and sports, esports helps students learn valuable skills that will serve them well throughout their life. Among the skills developed through esports are strategic thinking, teamwork, collaboration, goal setting, preparation, and managing success and failure – not to mention quick reflexes. Additional skills include those related to traveling to competitions and time management.

Expanded career opportunities.

In addition to developing important skills that can help students succeed in just about anything they do, esports itself is a fast-growing industry that offers many job opportunities beyond being a pro player. These include careers related to production, programming, streaming, management of esports teams, game development, graphic design, marketing, video production, and even STEM fields.

Social engagement & social skills development.

Gaming is often a solitary activity and students who enjoy gaming are often those who are less involved in school activities. Competitive esports provides a way for like-minded students to meet in person on a regular basis, in pursuit of common goals – providing a sense of belonging for those who might otherwise opt out of school activities. As a scheduled activity, esports clubs provide the opportunity to form friendships, gain respect from fellow students and gain increased self-esteem.

Better choices, healthier behaviors.

Not surprisingly, students who participate in traditional sports tend to smoke less and eat in a healthier way, as well as spend more time doing homework. Students involved in any before- or after- school activity also tend to score much higher on measures of healthy behaviors and social connection, as well as lower for unhealthy behaviors – which means that members of your esports team will probably do more homework and less drinking, drugs and other harmful behaviors.

Scholarships for E-Sports

The number of colleges offering E-Sports scholarships is growing rapidly. In 2014, Robert Morris University was the first to offer an esports scholarship. Today, large schools like the University of Utah and the University of California-Irvine offer scholarships and have high profile esports programs modeled after traditional collegiate sports teams – with post-game meals, team jerseys, and other perks. In general, colleges with varsity esports teams tend to have the most money to allocate toward esports scholarships. The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) currently has 151-member schools with varsity esports programs.

Competitive video gaming has quickly risen to the ranks of “real sports” in many of the ways that count. These include big-name sponsors, competitive pro leagues, college competitions and, in 2017, more global viewers than the 2016 NFL regular season. As of 2021, the Esports market is valued at over $1 billion dollars.

E-sports is also big business, making money from investments, branding, advertising, and media deals. The number of college scholarships and careers related to esports is also growing quickly. Because of this, many high school teachers, and administrators are thinking about how to start an esports team at their school.

Overview of E-Sports