The British Esports Association has announced the first details of its British Esports Championships, a tournament specifically for school and college students starting with a pilot next year and running across Project Cars 2, Overwatch, and League of Legends.
The four-part pilot will include students between the ages of 12 and 19 who are in schools, further education collegees, library hubs, and alternative provision. Weekly matches with then take place with pre-arranged fixtures, and times will be allowed for schools adn colleges to hold their own internal trials for teams.
These pilots will let British Esports see the best and most effective ways of encouraging young people in esports, and they'll be working with teachers, representatives from the Department of Education, academics, and more to monitor the pilot and understand the best practice. It will consist of four schools, four alternative provision schools, eight further educational colleges, and four other schools in Westminster.
After the pilot the national championships will begin in September and run a full academic year until July, with the grand finals hopefully taking place at Insomnia at the Birmingham NEC.
"The Association wants to educate parents, teachers, children, the media and government that esports is a positive activity with intrinsic benefits when played in moderation," the association says. "It develops teamwork, communication and leadership skills, improves confidence, decision making and reaction times, and can boost reading comprehension skills, cyber skills and improve dexterity and concentration."
Do you like the idea of a school-based competition like this?