I am not a gamer although I have tried. At first, the notion of school to school competitive gaming seemed strange. Things have certainly changed. But, I understand there are schools that fish for bass as a competitive activity, and of course there are chess, robotics, debate, and music competitions. North Dakota (the western part) had rodeo competitions.
The question about any school-related activity is what purpose does it serve. What purpose is there for football given all of the injuries that can result? Whatever reason comes to your mind, you can make the same argument for eSports. You learn life-long skills such as the value of teamwork, commitment, and winning or losing gracefully. Students find a way to connect with the school culture they may not find in the classroom or in traditional sports or art. Professional opportunities, scholarships, and career opportunities are there for the very best. Gaming can be a life-long recreational activity. The arguments used to justify any school activity seem to apply. I played the tuba probably because I am not pitch-perfect limiting my future as a trombonist and the band needed someone who would. This was not glamorous and there are featured notes rather than solos, but you are a necessary part of the group.
So, while not a participant, I am trying to understand new initiatives of this type. I recommend the eSports Playbook as a resource for any educator, school board member, or parent trying to understand the role eSports can play. The book does a nice job of addressing misconceptions about gaming (gaming leads to violence, screen time), identifying the skill set developed by gaming and the multiple roles students can take on related to an eSports team, coaching techniques, and sources for organizations promoting and supporting eSports. The one section of the book I admit I find pushing things a bit far promotes gaming across the curriculum. I see eSports as a meaningful extracurricular activity. You can probably take many academic or traditional extracurricular activities and expand the activity as the focus for broad topics of instruction, but that seems more a magnet school concept (e.g., schools for the arts, science) and not a practical direction for most schools.
If, like me, you are not involved as a gamer and you think eSports is some strange anomaly here is a little exercise I propose. Do a search for a past college you attended or maybe even a K12 school and see if they have an eSports program. I worked at the University of North Dakota and I retired only a few years ago. I had no idea there was an esports program.
University of North Dakota esports
