Portales e-sports proposal approved

PORTALES - High school students in Portales may soon be competing against others around the state in video games.

The Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a proposal to move forward with the formation of an e-sports team.

Athletic Director Mark Gallegos said there are about 40 schools taking part in the New Mexico Activities Association's inaugural e-sports season, which kicked off last month.

Gallegos said e-sports is being played in the spring, but it could be added to the fall sports season as well, with that determination to be made this summer.

J.D. Mead, school data coordinator for PMS, said e-sports would offer students who aren't as athletically inclined to develop the same team-building skills as students who participate in traditional sports.

"There are some kids that they don't excel at sports, they're not really artistic or anything like that, so this gives them an outlet and this is something they're already doing when they get home," Mead said. "This is really going to give them something to be excited about to move forward and it's going to build discipline, self esteem, being a team leader and a team player."

Superintendent Johnnie Cain said the e-sports team could result in some students increasing their academic efforts in order to ensure eligibility.

"The different demographic that we might be able to reach, some of those kiddos are sharp kids who may feel like there's no reason to be in school. Maybe this might give them a reason to start paying more attention to what they're doing academically so that they can be eligible to do something that they really like," Cain said.

Mead said students can play "League of Legends" or "Rocket League," with "Smite" likely to be added by the time a PHS team would be up and running. He said the NMAA has pledged not to allow games with violence or crude content for competition.

Gallegos said there would be a cost of $64 per student to pay for the licensing of the video games. He said other costs such as the purchasing of new computers to play the games, coaching stipends and potential operational costs such as travel to the state meet in Albuquerque will be determined now that the team has been approved by the board.

Gallegos said that while the closest school currently competing in e-sports is Robertson High School in Las Vegas, all competitions besides the state meet would be conducted remotely.

Board members Inez Rodriguez and Rod Savage were absent.

Also at Monday's meeting:

• Members of the PHS Business Professionals of America were recognized for winning the state community service award after collecting over 600 donations for the Hope Lodge in Lubbock, as well as individual district and state awards.

• Fernando Gomez was recognized for winning the district's Spanish spelling bee.

• The board selected noon on April 15 in the board room at the L.C. Cozzens Administrative Office to hold a special meeting to discuss and vote on the 2019-20 district budget.