Generation Esports (GenE) recently announced the first tournament for its newly launched Middle School Esports League (MSEL). The MSEL Fall Major esports tournament officially begins with the start of the fall semester, with competition commencing on September 21, 2020.
The MSEL is following the same path blazed by the GenE High School Esports League (HSEL), which is North America’s largest high school competitive gaming organization. Like the HSEL, the MSEL has the goal of channeling student’s passion for video gaming into helping them and their schools receive better academic opportunities and benefits.
Registration for the MSEL Fall Major opens August 24, 2020 for students, teachers/advisors, and existing esports teams via the MSEL website. The eight-week-long North American competition will have esports teams contesting each other in six popular multiplayer online video games, including Minecraft, Rocket League, Fortnite, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Just Dance 2020, and Mario Kart 8 DX. Winning esports teams will earn gaming hardware such as Nintendo Switch consoles for their schools.
Schools interested in joining the MSEL can sign up and learn more on the MSEL website. Entry fees start at $20 USD per student per tournament, and the MSEL hosts free weekly Fortnite tournaments in order to introduce schools and students to the esports experience. Economically-priced annual packages that include additional benefits are available for burgeoning esports programs, and GenE offers financial assistance through STEM grants, its partnership with the Varsity Esports Foundation non-profit, and Fund My Team fundraising service partner.
Dr. Kristy Custer and Michael Russell from Complete High School Maize in Kansas are developing a brand new middle school esports-based curriculum that will launch in the near future. The new curriculum is being designed to use video games and esports to engage students in social-emotional learning (SEL) and digital citizenship. Custer and Russell, with backing from Microsoft, developed the HSEL Gaming Concepts curriculum that helped students reach a 95% or better in school attendance and helped improve their GPA by an average of 1.4 points.
Video games and organized esports in academic settings have proven they can impact students positively both in and out of the classrooms. Visit the MSEL and HSEL websites to learn more about their programs and to get them kicked off in your local schools. Learn more about Generation Esports by visiting its website, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Discord channels.
Source: Middle School Esports League
