Did you know that eSports generated over $16 million in college scholarships in 2021 alone? Sandy Springs Education Force’s STEAM Legacy Grant helped Riverwood High School to establish an official Esports Team with the GHSA to reach and support students who are interested in competitive video gaming.
Teacher and sponsor, Ann Marie Carrier, explained in her end-of-grant report that the school was “able to officially offer this opportunity to students as a potential path to pay for college and enhance interest in digital technology career pursuits that often come as a result of participation in Esports.”
Students officially competed through the PlayVs organization, where they had the opportunity to play in a fall and/or spring season consisting of seven different games.
It’s not all about the games themselves! Carrier explains, “Students learned the important skills of teamwork, collaboration, communication, strategy and more from their time at practice twice a week and during each of the six weeks of competition time, nine weeks including playoffs. The coed team included 20 students who competed against other high school teams.”
Two teams made it to the state playoffs, League of Legends and Madden NFL, making it to 9th and 12th places, respectively. Esports will continue twice a year, with one season beginning in August and the other in January each year.
Students are having fun and connecting in many ways. One participant commented, “I like learning how to play online and how to stream video content. I think it’s pretty fascinating to see how the technology comes together so that we can play other teams from all over the state.” Another student said, “My favorite thing about Esports is being in a community with other people who enjoy the same things as I do and that I am able to play games with other people competitively.” Another student remarked, “Esports is inclusive of all students and provides a low-stress way for students to get involved with sports while still being able to practice by themselves at home instead of on a field.”
Sandy Springs Education Force appreciates STEAM Showcase sponsors for enabling us to support this and other technology opportunities for students.
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