Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis Municipal Schools have joined the ranks of a whole new class of sporting events — esports.
Despite its seeming recent arrival on the scene, esports have been around for some time.
The “e” stands for electronic, and esports are commonly described as competitive tournaments of video games. One of the first esports competitions is often traced back to the early 1970s at Stamford University, where students officially competed in a video game, Spacewar.
Esports have grown exponentially over the years, often driving significant improvements in technology manufacturing, such as advanced graphics cards and processors. Esports have become established events with millions of participants and observers, as popular internationally as traditional sports.
Not surprisingly, esports have also become part of organized activities in public education. The New Mexico Activities Association now has an official esports division with certain approved games for competition.
Esports call upon a whole new set of skills for students, demanding not only highly developed cognitive skills, but also enhanced motor skills. In addition, since students play on teams, there is a great need for effective collaboration, communication, and leadership skills.
The Clovis schools launched into the fray, holding tryouts this past fall shortly before the holidays. The program is part of our athletics department, with esports being headed up by co-coaches Andrew Tipton and Eric Wimbish, both veteran employees of the district.
Dropping in on one of the series of try-outs just before the Christmas break, it was a fascinating process. Housed at Clovis High School, in a special computer lab set up for the activity, it was intriguing to see students trickle in after school for the team try-outs.
Particularly interesting was seeing a wide cross-over between social echelons of students interested in trying out for the esports teams. From JROTC students, to “jocks” to “goths” to whatever other categories there are these days on high school campuses. Some seemed acquainted, but most were not.
As the coaches welcomed and briefed them, the students introduced themselves to one another and seamlessly intermingled in the most adult fashion, as if the social walls had fallen away as they proceeded with the tasks at hand. It was tremendously gratifying to see how smoothly all present settled in as they were randomly assigned to teams and began launching into talking, planning, strategizing, and playing the games.
Esports definitely shows promise as a new sport to benefit students; stay tuned for updates.
Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for Clovis Municipal Schools. She can be reached at:
