BOND HOMES IN ON ARMCHAIR SPORTS FANS
A GOLD Coast university has ditched the books for video games with a major investment in highperformance eSports.
Bond University will unveil a new state-of-the-art video-game facility during its annual open day on Saturday.
Located in the heart of the university, the hub has been equipped with 12 highperformance gaming machines, a training and coaching facility for analysis and strategy and the ability to stream to Bond’s 500-seat theatre for an audience.
Vice chancellor and president Professor Tim Brailsford said the innovation was about being ahead of the curve.
“eSports has taken the world by storm. Who would have thought that in less than a decade we would now have professional competitions, global audiences, global leagues, and games and activities of all types, all the way from simulation around physical sport through to high-level strategic thinking games?” Prof Brailsford said.
“I am very pleased with what we are doing here and as we have progressed from the physical to the virtual this is very much consistent with the ideology of Bond University, which is why we must always be highly engaged in the fourth industrial revolution and the digital era.”
Bond’s director of eSports James Birt said the program was far from a bludge, and would instead be part of a whole experience similar to any other part of the elite sporting program.
“Initially it is about having the facility to enable the high-performance sporting aspect and the ability to train at an elite level,” Mr Brit said.
“The ultimate goal would be for this to be a hub for high school students to come in and train and be part of the Bond community, be able to use it as an experience and pipeline to show that exports and gaming is a pipeline into higher education.”
The university has already received inquiries from professional teams.