Florida high schools could soon sanction esports. Here's what to know about the sport
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is considering sanctioning esports, or competitive video games, as an official sport after it surveyed 425 schools and received responses.
According to the News Service of Florida, for a sport to be eligible for sanctioning, at least 20% of schools in at least two of its four regions must offer it.
Feedback from its survey showed that more than half (54.6%) of schools would be interested in offering esports to students if it became sanctioned. Overall, 26.4% of schools that responded to the survey already sponsor an esports team or club.
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According to FHSAA documents, esports has become one of the fastest-growing sanctioned high school sports in recent years. Twenty-one states have already become members of the National Federation of State High School Associations.
In the South, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi have already greenlit programs.
The discussion about sanctioning esports came out of a Monday meeting with the FHSAA Board of Directors in Gainesville. The organization is in its early stages, and the next step is to request official petitions from member schools announcing their intent to add esports programs.
Here’s what to know about esports in schools.
What is esports?
Esports, short for electronic sports, isn’t a new concept. According to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, it dates back to 1972, when home consoles came to market. The first nationwide tournament featured Space Invaders and drew in 10,000 participants. In the early ‘90s, fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat became commonplace, culminating with the explosive popularity of Starcraft 2, which brought in more than 50 million viewers.
At its core, esports simply refers to playing a video game competitively in tournament and league structures, similar to regular sports. Depending on the game, players will face off against each other in one-versus-one or team settings.
The most popular esports scenes feature games like League of Legends, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Fortnite, Overwatch and the fighting game community, which features popular games like various iterations of Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter and Tekken.
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How is esports handled in a school setting?
Esports mirrors typical sports within a school setting. According to the NFHS, students attend team meetings, practices and official matches. There is no travel since matches are played online.
Players compete from their schools and are supervised by their coaches during every match. Matches and practices are weekly, and there are state rankings, just like in regular sports.
School years are split into two seasons − fall and winter. Each season has its own playoff season.
Are there benefits to promoting esports in schools?
Participating in esports can have a lot of benefits, such as teaching and encouraging critical thinking skills, teamwork, communication, collaboration and creativity. A report from Pew Research showed that video games play an important role in establishing and cultivating friendships among teens.
The NFHS states that it can also help further character development, increase engagement and student achievement and the technology involved around esports promotes engagement in STEM skills.
Are there scholarship opportunities?
Like traditional sports, students who participate in esports can provide them with scholarship opportunities. The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) offers millions of dollars in scholarships.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Esports could be coming to Florida schools. What to know
