Why choose esports as a co-curricular?

There’s a persistent myth that video games are bad for schoolwork and detract from homework, studying and overall academic success in school. We at LPL are working towards changing that perception with our ANZ High School League!

The High School League (HSL) provides high school students with a fun, competitive, and rewarding esports experience which is very similar to traditional high school sports. We promote esports as a positive activity that opens up team building, leadership and self-improvement opportunities to a wider range of students outside the traditional field and court sports. We encourage schools to ensure that the motivating factor to be eligible to play is that a student applies themselves to their school work. Remaining eligible to play, and having fun with teammates, is paramount!

The key pillars of HSL:

• Teams must have a supervising teacher on-board
• Teams are encouraged to play from school as traditional sports teams would
• If schoolwork suffers within seasons, players may be suspended from the team until their grades improve to a satisfactory level
• Bad sportsmanship and online behaviour is not tolerated and will be disciplined by the league

Still not convinced? There's a lot of evidence that esports participation actually enhances students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills. This link was reinforced by a Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology study that found children who play online games are more successful academically. Here are some stats and quotes from our previous HSL participants explaining how controlled competitive esports can benefit a students’s well-being, learning, and motivation while also boosting school pride:

The Digital Australia Report 2018 found:

• 71% of parents surveyed believed video games could help teach students new skills
• 70% believed video games could help motivate students
• 86% believed video games had the potential to teach students general knowledge
• 83% believed video games had the potential to teach students digital knowledge
• Over 1/3rd of parents said they had used video games to gain workplace knowledge, and 30% to learn a new software or digital tool.

“For some students, HSL is the first time the student is actively pushing themselves to achieve a challenging goal. This self-motivation allows the development of important skills such as communication and teamwork” says Danny Chang, Teacher and HSL supervisor at Mt Roskill Grammar in Auckland.

“The success we have had has revolved around teamwork and communication,” added Vincent Lo, Captain of the Mt Albert Grammar HSL team. “We ensure that each and every one of us talk as much as we can during the match as communication in a team is the key to success."

HSL works in a very similar format to traditional inter-school sports. It provides students with the opportunity to represent their schools and region on a national level and to compete on a level playing field. The league consists of up to two 12-week seasons. Each team plays against other schools in a round-robin tournament. This leads into the Playoffs over 3 weeks, culminating in a Grand Final with the best 2 teams from each division competing.

The competition provides students with the ability to compete in male, female and mixed teams. Participation is not limited by geography, physical attributes or – in fact, Rangitoto High School’s 2018 Captain competed, and lead his team to victory, in the grand final from a hospital bed!

For more information about HSL - or if you have any questions or queries about High School Esports - please feel free to contact us.