The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has just revealed a partnership with high school esports league PlayVS to start rolling out esports competitions in high schools across the USA.
PlayVS is a gaming provider that'll work directly with the NFHS and its network to introduce esports to high schools, and all this will start in autumn across at least 15 states. State championship games will be a part of this, following regular seasons of competition, and these finals will even feature a live audience and will be streamed on the NFHS Network.
"As schools look to provide participation opportunities for high school students, esports is a great option on two fronts," Mark Koski, CEO of the NFHS Network, said. "First, esports may involve students who haven't been involved in a sport or activity in the past. Second, the costs to implement esports are minimal compared to starting a traditional sport, which can be extensive with equipment and facilities."
"We're excited to partner with the NFHS and NFHS Network to introduce esports in high schools nationwide," said Delane Parnell, CEO and founder of PlayVS. "This partnership combined with our technology and publisher relationships will help us create the first scalable competition for high school students. Esports is about more than just playing games - it can be used to help students grow their STEM interests and develop valuable life skills; and since there are more high school gamers than athletes, it's about time we foster this pastime in an educational setting."
This comes hot off the heels of Overwatch League team San Francisco Shock revealing a partnership with University of California, Berkeley, to promote esports on their campus, so it seems like we're seeing more and more efforts to promote competitive gaming in both schools and colleges.
For more on the partnership, visit the official announcement. Do you want to see more schools and colleges promote esports?