eSports might be coming to RIIL
PCOA votes to take deeper look at potential growth
Could the day eventually come when the Rhode Island Interscholastic League sanctions a state tournament that determines a video game champion?
The potential is clearly there after several members of the Principals’ Committee on Athletics raised their hands when asked during Monday’s meeting if their school already features a video game club.
The committee unanimously voted to further explore the proposal after watching a short video produced by the company Play VS, which would be working hand-in-hand with states to encourage, monitor and organize video game challenges in schools. The response by the PCOA came as a complete surprise to RIIL Executive Director Tom Mezzanotte.
In response, the league is prepared to send out surveys to gauge the level of interest among all its member schools. Mezzanotte has already informed the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) that a deeper look will be taken into the increasingly popular world of eSports.
While there’s no denying the niche that eSports has carved out in today’s society, labeling video games as sports in the traditional context where athletes are physically exerting themselves to the point where there’s sweat being produced will lead to all sorts of claims and responses that boil down to one fundamental question.
“Is it a sport or an activity?” said Mezzanotte. “That’s the big issue.”
The Interscholastic League isn’t an activity association. They are a sports association, though as Mezzanotte noted, there are caveats.
“We encourage kids to not only participate in sports but activities whether it’s theater, debate, music, and electronic games,” he said.
“I’ll put it this way. It’s growing. This is part of that stem of science, math, technology, and engineering.”
Play VS was described by Mezzanotte as organized and a profitable business in the gaming field. He recently took a tour of the company’s Atlanta-based location and came away mightily impressed.
“These are bright kids who might not be athletic but have other interests,” said Mezzanotte. “What amazed me was the number of kids who enjoyed doing this. Not every kid plays sports or is a musician or on the debate team, but there are populations of kids within the schools who are interested in this and will pursue this in the future. Right now, it’s a growing career.”
There are three tiers of games under the Play VS umbrella: sports, multi-player battle, and fighting. Teams can be comprised of upwards to five players and download the corresponding games onto their personal computer.
“I love the idea of teamwork,” Mezzanotte told the PCOA. “The five people in the headsets … you’re working together.”
A number of colleges around the country are enticing those with a digital preference by offering scholarships. As Mezzanotte pointed out, “We don’t do something because there’s a scholarship attached. Our goal as educators is to help encourage kids to be part of the team and to grow intellectually and be part of your school.”
Play VS is prepared to extend a monetary carrot to each state’s athletic association in the event the eSports world becomes a definite. Mezzanotte said at Monday’s PCOA meeting that the $10,000 incentive would enable two RIIL member schools to purchase high-tech camera equipment that would be strategically placed outdoors and record every game and practice.
“It’s a big camera that you place on the field and it’ll stream anything 24/7. You set it and it does everything,” said Mezzanotte.
Along with filling out the survey, Mezzanotte said to the PCOA that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to gauge the interest of faculty members who would want to serve as the school’s eSports coach.
“It all comes down to the kids who want to do it, but who’s going to supervise and be responsible for making sure the kids are doing the right thing?” said Mezzanotte.