fbpx
15 May, 2019 Extracurricular

More than just video games – St Michael’s introduces first House eSports competition

This term, St Michael’s is holding the inaugural Years 7-12 House eSports competition.

Held every Friday during senior lunch, the competition has been drawing large crowds who cheer the competitors on as they play the video games: Just Dance, FIFA and Mario Kart.

  • more-than-just-video-games-st-michaels-introduces-first-house-esports-competition
    Students compete in the video game Just Dance
  • more-than-just-video-games-st-michaels-introduces-first-house-esports-competition
    eSports Ambassador Alex speaking with participants

St Michael’s Director of Learning Technologies & ICT, Mr David Howard, has led the development of the weekly eSports competition, which is designed to be inclusive of all students, non-violent, and fun for both students and staff.

“The eSports has been created to broaden the School’s House sports offering and provide an opportunity for students from Years 7-12 to work together and contribute to their Houses,” said Mr Howard. “Studies have shown that playing video games that incorporate communication, strategy and quick thinking can have a positive impact on teenager’s academic results.”

“A recent study by RMIT University has been used as a basis for selecting the video games for the eSports, along with choosing games that reflect the School’s values and ethos,” said Mr Howard.

You can read the RMIT study here.

More than just video games – St Michael’s introduces first House eSports competition Year 11 students Charlotte and Alex, the School's eSports Ambassadors

Year 11 students Alex and Charlotte have taken on the roles of House eSports Ambassadors and have been integral to the successful launch of the competition.

“We thought eSports was a great idea because it was a way to get more girls involved in the gaming and computing world,” said Charlotte. “It’s also really good for students who might not be interested in activities such as sport and performing arts to have another way to become more involved with the School.”

Alex and Charlotte were unsure how the eSports competition would be received by their classmates and have been surprised and delighted to see lots of people turning up each week.

“It’s exciting to see how many people are interested in the eSports,” said Charlotte. ‘Each week there has been a big crowd and lots people cheering.”

Year 11 student Sean has taken on the role of adjudicator and point scorer, an important position which involves keeping track of eSports results and maintaining the ladder each week.

“I’m really enjoying being part of the eSports,” said Sean. “Something that a lot of people don’t realise is that eSports is played as a team and we always have two players who work together, you’re never playing as an individual.”

eSports is drawing interest from across the School and in the coming months, eSports will be introduced in the junior years.

We look forward to seeing the development of eSports at St Michael’s and watching our students further their skills and knowledge in gaming and technology.