Holy Rosary High School students are making full use of the school’s new Innovation Lab while gaming their way into the future as they compete in the PlayVS Esports league. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
It’s an exciting time to be a gamer at Holy Rosary High School (HRHS) as the school’s new Esports team faces playoff competition for the very first time.
Esports, or electronic sports, is defined as competitive organized gaming with an agreed-upon set of rules overseen by a single governing organization.
The 37-member HRHS Raiders Esports team is a part of the PlayVS League and competes against other students from across North America on various titles, including League of Legends, Super Smash Bros, Rocket League, Splatoon 3, Mario Cart 8 Deluxe, Hearthstone, Madden 23 and NBA 2K23.
“At Holy Rosary we have a new program, which runs out of the Innovation Lab, and is centred around Esports, which is this neat opportunity for kids to come in and do things they love, which in the 21st Century, is video games,” said Esports coach and HRHS teacher Carter Orieux.
“The exciting thing about Holy Rosary is it seems we’re at the forefront of it, at least in this region of Canada. I have not heard of too many programs close to here that are doing this sort of thing. I’m originally from Saskatoon and this doesn’t exist there.”
Raiders Esports practises have been running every day except Fridays as students prepare for playoffs.
“Playoffs start over the break, and since the league is based out of the States, not many of them have the week off,” said Orieux.
“We’re going to be playing remotely, which was a little bit of a huddle, but we got around that.
“The interesting thing about playoffs is, there are thousands of dollars on the line if our teams win or are the runners up.”
As some may know, Esports isn’t just for high school students, and with growing interest and players, Esports as a whole is expected to value $1.63B this year.
“For students, I know there’s a lot of scholarship opportunities, and it’s not uncommon for students to be recruited by universities to play for them in different games,” said Orieux. “I know out of Lethbridge they’ve had a few players get scholarships out of the States, full ride, to play.
“There’s a lot of opportunities, and I think the opportunities are on the rise in Canada.”
As far as educational opportunities, Orieux explained how in every game that’s played, there’s strategy involved.
“There are metacognitive skills you will develop by playing video games. It’s the same as any other skill, you are developing your brain in some sort of way … just because it’s in front of a screen, doesn’t mean you’re not thinking or developing skills, it just might be a little more passive than your typical sport,” he said.
For Grade 11 student and Super Smash Bros Ultimate aficionado Michael Payne, Esports opportunities in high school isn’t a new idea.
“I went to the school about a year ago before we had (the Innovation Lab) built asking if we were going to start a league because I’d seen it online a lot,” said Payne.
“They told me in a year’s time they were actually going to build this place. I asked if I could join and they said, ‘Yeah.’”
Payne explained competition has been a lot of fun thus far, noting the Raiders have yet to play a team from Canada.
“Competition has been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve played really well over the last few weeks but there’s been ups and downs, of course.”
Of the Raiders’ 37-member team, 75 per cent advanced to playoff action, something everyone involved is proud of.
“We have a total of eight teams,” said Orieux. “Some of those teams are composed of a different amount of players, some teams have five kids, some have three, some are composed of just one.”
