At a time when some traditional sports aren含羞草研究社檛 being played due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is coming to B.C. secondary schools.

says it will begin the rollout of e-sports, or electronic sports, in high schools this fall, in partnership with Vancouver-based company .

Trial play launches with the team-based strategy game at BCSS member schools.

An initial 含羞草研究社渆xploratory trial competition含羞草研究社� among schools will take place on the GameSeta online platform. The games will be streamed live on Twitch for an online audience , according to a news release sent Monday (Oct. 23) by GameSeta.

含羞草研究社淲ith this partnership and our unique technology, Canada will have its first scalable high school esports solution that priorities Canadian student data and privacy protections,含羞草研究社� stated Rana Taj, GameSeta president and co-founder.

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E-sports is a 含羞草研究社済reat option含羞草研究社� for schools as they look to provide participation opportunites for high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Tawanda Masawi, GameSeta含羞草研究社檚 CEO and co-founder.

含羞草研究社淥ur value proposition continues to strengthen during COVID-19, which explains our oversubscribed waitlist from schools across provinces in Canada,含羞草研究社� he said in the news release.

, said the organization is 含羞草研究社渢hrilled含羞草研究社� to partner with a B.C.-based company in GameSeta, founded in 2019.

含羞草研究社淓sports is a new frontier for BCSS but credit to our Board of Directors who felt it was important to explore every option on how to engage students with their school,含羞草研究社� Abney said in the GameSeta news release. 含羞草研究社淭here is a mountain of evidence to suggest good things happen to youth when there is a sense of belonging, responsibility and community in their school. If we can bring that to students who wouldn含羞草研究社檛 normally participate in school sport, then that is a great thing for our member schools.含羞草研究社�

League of Legends, among the world含羞草研究社檚 most popular video games, was 含羞草研究社渢he preferred choice含羞草研究社� among BCSS membership, Abney said.

含羞草研究社淲e appreciate it含羞草研究社檚 a 5v5 team-based strategy game (that) will offer many of the same teaching and growth opportunities that any traditional team sport would.含羞草研究社�

Yearly, BC School Sports offers interscholastic competition in 19 different activities to more than 70,000 students in Grades 8 to 12.

Nearly 200 colleges in the U.S. and Canada are actively recruiting and offer scholarships for e-sports, the news release says. Also, 含羞草研究社渃ompanies within the esports industry are looking to hire those with experience across multiple aspects of gaming.含羞草研究社�

In a biography, GameSeta said it partners with school bodies and associations 含羞草研究社渢o deliver safe and inclusive esports competitions while also developing problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills in students.含羞草研究社�

For the e-sports trial, interested schools are asked to fill out and email it to bwhyte@bcschoolsports.ca by no later than noon on Nov. 4. The cost to participate in the trial invitational will be $29.99 per student.