Australian Football League (AFL) club Greater Western Sydney Giants has entered a community partnership with High School Esports League (HSEL).
The aim of the partnership is to engage student gamers in New South Wales, using HSEL’s tournament platform.
According to the announcement, the main objectives of the deal are to educate, promote, and raise awareness of both gaming and esports in high schools around the aforementioned area.
James Avery, Chief Operating Officer of GWS Giants discussed the partnership: “We’ve always prided ourselves on being a club like no other and this partnership reaffirms this. Esports has a highly engaged audience across NSW and we look forward to continuing to contribute to our wider community via the HSEL.”
The High School Esports League is an initiative that helps high schools to promote and integrate esports in their institutions. It includes a number of esports titles, such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, Fortnite, and Hearthstone.
Woody Wu, Commissioner of the High School Esports League commented: “This is a great opportunity to help the GIANTS enter into the world of esports and contribute to the continued growth of this industry. They will help us deliver our league and program to more students across New South Wales and allow us to help students learn important life skills through their passion.”
The GWS Giants are the third club from the AFL to have an involvement in the HSEL, following in the footsteps of the Adelaide Crows and Essendon Bombers.
In July, OpTic Gaming partnered with HSEL. As part of the deal, the North American organisation added $25,000 (£19,844.38) to the prize pool for the league. It also includes a ‘Powered By OpTic’ program that involves titles that OpTic Gaming competes in, like CS:GO, League of Legends, and Call of Duty.
Esports Insider says: The HSEL is already doing great things by helping to make esports a commonality in high schools, and bringing in clubs from traditional sports to help promote the industry is even better. Hopefully this won’t be the first and last time we see the GWS Giants get involved with esports as there are endless opportunities available.