Achi news desk-
Six students from Maplehurst Middle School in Moncton, NB, will be competing against children from all over the country this Saturday and they can’t wait.
The Maplehurst Huskies held their first esports game last Friday defeating a school from Manitoba.
The win earned them an invitation to the Canadian National ESports Tournament, the first and only team from New Brunswick to do so.
Teacher and coach Mitchell MacDonald said e-sports was a new initiative at the school with a select few chosen to take part in competitive video games.
“Rather than just playing it in a social aspect, it’s more in a training and competitive atmosphere,” Mitchell said. “I think we’re the first school on the east coast to really implement any kind of e-sports.”
The students play Rocket League a combination of car racing and football.
The team with the most points in five minutes wins, but it’s more than a game for everyone involved.
“It’s not just hopping on and playing video games, it’s run like a football or basketball team where there’s a coach,” Mitchell said. “We have practice. We practice plays and it also shows the forward thinking of working as a team and working together.”
Sixth grade student Kostya Stromets said being on the team was a lot of fun.
“But it’s not just about playing video games. It’s about competition and teamwork. And for learning new skills. This is not just a game for us,” said Kostya.
There is even a student in a separate control room comcasting, or play-by-play for the games.
“It’s not really hard, I play the game at home,” said announcer Mason Louie, an eighth-grader. “It’s a lot of fun. Just to watch too. Players are very good these days.”
Victory for Grade 6 student Vladyslav Chystiakov.
“There’s a period where we can just come down here and play. After our lunch, we can come here for 15, 20 minutes and just practice,” said Vladyslav.
Grade six student Emeka Nwafor likes the idea of working with teammates the most.
“Being able to build team skills with other people and having fun with my friends, basically,” Nwafor said.
There is a sense of pride among the team in making it to the tournament, but the Huskies aren’t done yet.
“Very excited. Very excited,” Vladyslav said. “I can’t wait for it.”
MacDonald students will compete against 29 other teams from across Canada and the day-long event will be streamed live online.
