Esports League HSEL Extends Reach to High Schools in AU and NZ
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/27/20
An
esports league company is spreading its high school footprint outside
of North America. Generation
Esports (GenE)
has taken its High
School Esports League (HSEL)
to Australia and New Zealand.
The
new HSELANZ
will engage students through organized competitions and provide
academic opportunities. HSELANZ kicked off this week with an esports
tournament, featuring high schoolers playing against peers in four
online games: Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Valorant and
Clash Royale. The tournament is free, and winning teams gain free
entry to the summer season. However, league participation does have a
fee, starting at AU$120/NZ$129 per student for an annual pass.
HSEL
uses "Gaming
Concepts,"
an esports-based curriculum developed by two educators at Maize
Unified School District 266,
a Kansas school district. The content, created by Complete
High School Maize
Principal Kristy Custer and Social Studies Teacher Michael Russell,
covers learning standards in areas such as careers in gaming,
maintaining healthy practices, self-management and interpersonal
communications, as well as an overview of esports gaming and complete
lesson plans. According to GenE, the same curriculum will be used by
HSELANZ.
"What
we bring to Australia and New Zealand is a proven educational program
that embraces students' passion for video games and shapes it into an
understanding of the esports industry," said Hugo Diegues,
representative of GenE in Australia and New Zealand, in a press
release. "Our aim is not to encourage students to leave the
classroom but to entice them to enhance their academic learning with
the addition of a gaming class that may be utilized by those wishing
to pursue a career in the industry."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.