Many of us grew up competing in traditional sports such as swimming, rugby and cricket in high school but recently, we have seen schools that are renowned for traditional sports embracing eSports.
Top South African sporting institutions that are both known for producing some of the country’s best professional athletes and dominating in traditional sports, recently found themselves competing in the top league eSports tournament – Telkom High School eSports League (HSEL).
Over the past few years, we have seen eSports grow from a hobby to a professionally recognised sport. Since the start of the global pandemic, there has been a massive increase in eSport participation. South Africa alone as seen a rise of 10 million active participants between the ages of 16-35.
With the rise in eSports and with the right infrastructure, more schools have an opportunity to offer the sport as an extracurricular activity and become leaders in the space if the country continues to see a rise in active participants.
The next step for schools is to bridge the gap of opportunity that eSports has and to normalise the sport in schooling facilities.
“The rise of eSports has taken the South African market by storm, especially in schools that are known to excel in more traditional sports. This past year, the High School eSports League saw the likes of Grey High School, St Benedict’s and Hoerskool Waterkloof compete in the Telkom VS Gaming tournament. They are excelling in various sporting activities as well as setting the tempo for the future of gaming in South African schools,” says Johann von Backström, Senior Manager eSport at Telkom VS Gaming.
It may take some time before a school’s eSports team has as much recognition as its Rugby first team but with traditional powerhouses competing in more recognised top gaming leagues and setting the standard, schools should be taking a serious look into the space.
With editing by gsport
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