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COLUMBUS — The history of video games stretches back around 50 years and within that realm there has always been a drive by human players to be the best at what they do.
That level of competition will now stretch into high school sports in the state of Ohio as the Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced a partnership with the nonprofit organization Esports Ohio to support and promote its annual state tournament in May.
Esports Ohio was created by teachers to grow participation in electronic gaming competition as way of getting students involved in team-based scholastic activities.
There are currently 250 schools affiliated with Esports Ohio — which is the largest free statewide scholastic esports non-profit in the country. The organization has Leetonia, Wellsville and West Branch listed on its map of member institutions but many other area schools have already started or have begun to build esports programs.
“Participation in Esports is growing very rapidly and Esports Ohio has been a big part of making it an educational and competitive opportunity for students,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA executive director. “The opportunity for these students to be a part of a team and represent their school is very exciting. We are excited to work with an Ohio-based organization that is made up of teachers and school people.”
The Esports Ohio state tournament is scheduled for May 20 and 21 at the University of Akron. Akron currently has a robust esports program that includes 5,200 square feet of gaming space spread across three venues including an esports gaming arena on the first floor of Infocision Stadium.
The state championship trophies will be the same style as what the OHSAA uses for its 28 sanctioned sports.
“We are excited to partner with OHSAA, which will allow us to continue to provide more opportunities to students,” said Jacob Gebers, Technology Director for Napoleon Area Schools and president of the Esports Ohio Board of Directors. “Esports Ohio and the OHSAA both share a common goal to enrich interscholastic opportunities for students. At our core, similar to OHSAA, Esports Ohio believes that participation in extracurriculars helps enhance a student’s school experience and teaches lifelong lessons of accountability, hard work and teamwork. With this partnership we will be able to open more doors for more students to compete free of charge in our growing league.”
The Esports Ohio season begins in the fall and continues with a seven-week regular-season from the end of January to the middle of March. The regional tournament is May 6-7. The University of Mount Union’s esports facilities have been used to host the Northeast regional tournament in the past.
The regular season schedule includes Fortnite, Clash Royale and League of Legends competitions on Mondays, Overwatch and Chess on Tuesday, Rocket League and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate on Wednesday and Valorant and SMITE on Thursdays.
Esports Ohio also offers middle school competition which includes the games Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Clash Royale, Pokemon United, Rocket League, Brawlhalla, Chess, Knockout City, Minecraft: Bedwars, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and BrawlStars.
