ASIDE from getting more active in social media this year with a new pool of student writers and broadcasters, the Cebu Schools and Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) will also take a revolutionary step, one not taken by even the Manila leagues.
It’s going to add esports in its calendar of events, the first time that a school-based league will offer esports. I know the Department of Education is considering a similar move for its Palarong Pambansa, but there are no concrete plans yet.
For Cesafi, the plan is to hold it in the second semester in February 2020. Esports will be included in its academic and cultural events, which I think is a bold move.
For now, the initial offering is NBA, a console-based game. Unlike esports in the Southeast Asian Games, which has Mobile Legends, that widely popular game that has kids and adults of all ages glued to their mobile.
The biggest concern, of course, is whether adding esports might lead to the student athletes grades getting affected, which is why Cesafi commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy wants additional safeguards. He is also set to meet with esports experts in Cebu to help with guidelines. The initial esports event is also limited only to college students.
But I think Cesafi’s academic requirements (of having student athletes pass at least 60 percent of their subjects the previous semester) would be a good start. Or, since this is an initial offering, requiring the initial batch of esports athletes in the Cesafi to have passed all of their subjects the previous semester would be more than enough.
I like this bold move by Cesafi because it shows the league is willing to embrace change. Let’s face it, gaming is one of the biggest pastimes among students and it’s already a big industry worldwide.
I don’t think this adds to the delinquency of the students but rather gives students who love gaming a competition organized by the league and follows stringent academic measures.
Will this be a hit among the students? I hope so, especially if you hold the competition in a venue accessible to the students with a big screen that shows the match. They do that for major competitions and I see no reason why Cesafi can’t do the same.
Also, putting up an esports competition opens another avenue for Cesafi to market itself and, of course, to gain new sponsors.
I know some traditionalists will balk at considering esports athletes as real athletes, but I think it’s time they get on with the program. With the SEA Games and Asian Games adding esports and the Olympics looking at adding the same for future editions, we don’t want to be left behind.
Like any other event, esports, or gaming if you want to call it, needs constant practice and training for one to excel, just like all your traditional sports.
Who knows, if this academic year’s initial offering of NBA proves successful, maybe the next year’s esports event will have more games.