High School Esports returns in 2021.
Greetings from your friends at Scion Esports. We hope life is slowly but surely getting back to normal for you all, as it is for us. With Coronavirus plus TWO hurricanes, we’ve all taken a beating this year, Scion Esports included. There’s light at the end of the tunnel though. Things are moving in the right direction all over SWLA.
It’s great to see kids back in school. As soon as we started to see the lights come on in the classrooms, High School Esports was the first thing we thought about. We know many of your students were thinking the same thing, at least we hope they were!
Since we know you are all wondering, we wanted to reach out and touch base and let ya’ll know what is coming over the horizon soon. FAQ format seems the best way to disseminate information as quickly and concisely as possible, so here it comes:
Are Scion Esports and Louisiana High School Esports coming back?
ABSOLUTELY.
How soon will we have another High School Esports season?
The simple answer is: We’ll be ready by January 1st. So best case scenario is when the students and teachers come back from Christmas break, the season will get rolling pretty quick. That depends on the school system agreeing that it is safe and productive for esports activities to resume, and on having enough commitment from member schools to supply a large enough player base for a competitive scene.
How did Hurricane Laura (and/or Delta) affect Scion Esports?
We had quite a bit of equipment damaged or destroyed, but the silver lining in this hurricane is that we had good insurance coverage on most of it, and are currently in the process of rebuilding our gaming and broadcast infrastructure even better than before.
How did the hurricane affect LCB Boys’ Gym? Will we still be able to have esports events there?
The LCB Gym fared as well as any, and it (and the auditorium) should be back in decent enough shape to host Louisiana High School Esports again as soon as the school district and teams are ready to roll.
Will we be able to have High School Esports even if COVID is still an issue in January?
YES. Just as teachers and coaches are committed to finding a way for their programs to continue, so are we. We will work with the Calcasieu Parish School Board and ensure that we find a safe and fun way to continue producing esports events.
Will participation from home in esports be allowed along with virtual school attendance?
We will follow the school board’s guidance on in-person via virtual participation. Our view has always been that esports is no different than any other sport. If the school board allows virtual students to participate in traditional sports at their school, we are open to finding a way to accommodate virtual players.
What games will be included in the next season of High School Esports?
We don’t know yet. That depends on you. We need you to start getting input from your students on what titles will bring the most interest. Most any game that has a Teen or lower ESRB rating can be considered. Although there is a huge Smash Bros. Scene and we will always feature a Smash title in some context, we really want to focus on team games in the upcoming season. Vote in the poll below to help us decide which games to feature!
What hardware will be available to play the games on? Do ya’ll have any of the next-gen consoles?
We are in the process of upgrading our main set of gaming PCs and monitors to accommodate 120+ frame rates on First Person Shooter titles, and we still have multiple gaming PC sets that can accommodate other games like League of Legends, Rocket League, etc. We also have a fleet of Nintendo Switches and are ready to invest in Xbox Series S/X hardware as soon as the release date of the next Halo title is announced. With most games going cross-platform and allowing controller use even on PC, we do not have plans to invest in PS5 hardware at this time, but if there is a super compelling exclusive title that would draw a large amount of participation, it’s certainly not out of the question.
My school is just finding out about this, how to do we get involved?
We always love signing up new schools. Contact us at esports@lakecharlestoyota.com and we’ll get you all the information you need to get your school started.
I have other questions about esports, how can I find out more?
Visit us on the web at scionesports.com/highschool, your answer might already be there. If it’s not, contact us at esports@lakecharlestoyota.com and we’ll get you moving in the right direction!