Community-centric competitive organisation and platform Generation Esports today announced that it will expand its High School Esports League (HSEL) brand into Australia and New Zealand.
As in North America, the ANZ edition of the High School Esports League (HSEL) will provide both competitive and academic opportunities to students at participating schools.
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Jason Kirby, President and COO of Generation Esports, told Esports Insider about the move: “We have the unique opportunity to meet the demand in ANZ with our scalable platform and leverage our relationships to act quickly. We’re starting small and investing in the region to continue creating more opportunities for schools to engage their students.”
The competitive structure will debut in the region this month with the HSELANZ Winter Major, a four-week varsity esports competition that includes games such as Fortnite, Valorant, Clash Royale, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The free event kicks off on August 24 and will earn winning teams free access to the following Summer Season.
Additionally, the Microsoft-sponsored HSEL Gaming Concepts curriculum will be offered in ANZ, providing learning experiences focused on social-emotional learning and digital citizenship. Generation Esports points to student GPA growth of 1.4 points as well as attendance rates of 95% and up from participating students in North America.
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“Just by exposing the region to a formal curriculum from the US has opened up a dialogue to work towards converting the curriculum to meet the region specific requirements,” Kirby explained to Esports Insider. “It will take time, but we plan to continue to invest.”
The High School Esports League launched the wider Generation Esports brand in April with plans to expand not only beyond North America, but also to serve other age groups and communities.
Esports Insider says: Video games were once broadly seen as an impediment to academic success, but competitions like the High School Esports League and its HSEL Gaming Concepts suggest that not only is there room for balanced activities, but that there are also benefits from participating in gaming programs. We’re looking forward to seeing its impact on the ANZ region.