If you are or have been a videogame player you have probably heard the magic phrase: « stop wasting time! ».Playing, until recently, has been considered socially a problem.
But if e-sports have demonstrated something, it is their professionalization capacity .For some years now, educational institutions from countries such as South Korea or China have incorporated videogame related programs in their offer Master's degrees and degrees, offering even scholarships for the most outstanding students .
STARTING FROM BELOW
A few years ago, the media echoed quite striking news: in Sweden three educational centers in Stockholm, Karlstad and Ovanåker were going to teach an e-sports subject .The basic fundamentals of Counter-Strike or DotA II, the lore of League of Legends, the features of the different positions within a formation, vocabulary, etc.All this complemented with punctual visits of e-sports stars who have achieved success outside their country.
The TV6 TV channel and the Aftonbladet newspaper gave a good account of this risky proposal, which did not count on everyone's support: Play during school hours? Agenda that involves homework practice League of Legends at home?
Of course, this was still a small-scale educational experiment, proof that, if you want, you can.
THE LEAGUE OF THE (SMALL) STARS
If tennis, basketball or football are present within the hierarchy of many universities, why wouldn't e-sports be? They share the passion of thousands of followers and are rooted in the competitive environment like any other sport .It is a growing industry, mostly made up of young people.
The price of some university careers in the US is so high that families pay credits for decades so that their children can study.The scholarship system for merits is the only solution for many elite athletes.And academies know it: they know that thousands of bidders dispute the few positions and the scholarships in dispute.
The University of California Irvine has a large project that has existed since 2010, and that promotes diversity, a healthy and balanced life.Robert Morris University, in Chicago, created its Eagles team from its best players at the faculty , or that of Pikeville, in Kentucky, is another example, by betting on scholarships of $ 18,000 for their best athletes.
AND IN EUROPE?
The European university education system has been influenced by the Anglo-Saxon, of that there is no doubt.Not only in the counterpart of offering multidisciplinary formations, but in the use of high performance centers.They have created one of the most successful models : Heroes of the Dorm, the national competition where almost 500 universities are dueling to get a scholarship of more than half a million dollars for the winners.
There are about 300 European universities involved in the EU Masters , the league that brings together more than 10,000 players, of which 6 clubs are classified for each country: the National University eSports League of the United Kingdom , the Student Gaming Network of France, the University eSports Series of Italy, the e-University League of Portugal, the OG Series University of Spain and the University Sports Germany of Germany.
In Spain we have a good baggage: in 2013, in the wake of the Dreamhack of Valencia, the eStar Academy was created, created by Encom Games as a high performance center.In Cataluna the Elite Gaming Center is located, which collaborates directly with the Campionats de Catalunya Universitaris.We have masters such as the eSports Project Management of the International University of Valencia or chairs such as the one launched by the UCAM (Catholic University San Antonio de Murcia) last year, that even founded its own club, Arkangels .
And the main universities in the country have their own teams: the URJC Knights of the Rey Juan Carlos University, the Blue Devils UAH of the University of Alcala, Wolves UC3M at the Carlos III Madrid University, the Falcons of Granada or the Spartans of the Polytechnic University of Barcelona .
A ROAD TO LAELITE of e-sports
Will there be complete e-sports careers in the future? The short answer is yes.Some private academies and universities have moved to this address, as in the case of Xilingol Vocational College.There is a substrate and a real interest.
But the real debate is another one, far from the credits, bonuses and special cards such as visa P-visas granted to certain athletes and artists who wish to work in the United States-. How do e-sports affect performance? academic?
It is well known that many players take the "easy" path: if you have an experience in e-sports, they will not step on a college again during the best years of their short sports career, to take it back later, in the best of the cases.This is due, in part, to the fact that the two disciplines are not well integrated.
In the UK it is easy to see a 10-year-old boy go out of class and spend a good part of the afternoon at the football academy, but this is not the case with e-sports.Instead, this sport is seen by all kinds of public: the big parties achieve the highest audience peaks and the big private networks compete to buy broadcasting rights .
It should be noted that a large part of university e-sports in the US is preceded by the support that ESPN and its different public channels have been offering for some years, by providing coverage in schedules of maximum audience.That is, it is necessary a normalization and extraordinary support for players to find the lowest possible barriers, and thus develop both their mandatory studies and that hobby that could end up becoming a professional trade.
It is not only about achieving an academic regime such as that of traditional athletes-registration, accommodation and transportation expenses-but also about designing a socially stable structure: round tables to discuss toxicity reports, programs for reintegration into the world academy for retired athletes, etc.Centers such as the WME-IMG Academy, where Andre Agassi or Maria Sharapova were formed , have been doing so for more than three decades.
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