Summer eSports Camp Offers Free Online Learning and Gaming Tournaments
Summer eSports Camp Offers Free Online Learning and Gaming Tournaments
Summer eSports Camp Offers Free Online Learning and Gaming Tournaments
By Derek Togerson
May 23, 2020
Summary
During the coronavirus pandemic, kids are probably going to be inside playing more video games.
"I think it's just a matter of figuring out and respecting what students are passionate about and not just shrugging if off saying they're just playing video games," says Ben Leskovansky, a coding instructor and gamer who understands just how big eSports have become and wants to use that popularity to focus kids in the right direction.
The way Ben and Destinations Career Academy, an online learning platform, is doing that is by offering a nationwide camp teaching coding and video game design, then an eSports tournament featuring Fortnite, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros.
To get to the fun game playing part in the afternoon session, the kids must go through the morning coding camp.
"It's a means to expose the kids to the world of eSports and coding and just kind of giving them a chance to see what it's like to learn online in an online school format," says Leskovansky.
"So, there's going to be a live instructor that the students will be able to interact with and the students are going to get the full experience of learning in an online school."
Another reason for the camp is eSports are growing by leaps and bounds.
Leskovansky sees a parallel between professional football and professional gaming.
"Not every kid out there is going to become a professionally paid competitor, NFL or eSports. But both are whole industries so if a kid is passionate about it they can find a job in the IT support side of things, sort of like an NFL statistician, or they could become a coach of an eSports team just like there are coaches in the NFL. Then there are also commentators on both sides. And then if you look at an eSports arena, that looks like a arena, the way it's packed when an event is happening. So, the infrastructure that goes into setting up the consoles, the screens, the whole tournament management is a career opportunity when it comes to eSports."
It could be a silver lining to what will otherwise likely be a fairly boring summer for many kids.
Reference
Togerson, D. (2020, May 23). Summer eSports Camp Offers Free Online Learning and Gaming Tournaments. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/summer-esports-camp-offers-free-online-learning-and-gaming-tournaments/2331585/