St. Clair launches new Esports program

Current and potential St. Clair College students interested in Esports will have a brand new program to sink their teeth into.

The new Esports and Entrepreneurship program will be launching January 2019. There will be 30 seats available so space is limited for the early start, although the September start will likely have 60 seats available. This is due to interest that has been shown from high school students, according to program director Shaun Byrne.

Byrne said the program was part of his vision coming into the college.

“I came in with a vision of bringing the varsity program, events and the facility, like our Nest,” said Byrne. “As well as a new classroom which will be opening up in January. That was the vision, bringing all of these pieces together and creating a destination for gamers and Esports.”

The “Nest” is the facility the varsity gaming team uses to practice and compete. It is located in the student centre wing of St. Clair College’s main campus. The Nest is two small square rooms with a window between them allowing players to communicate back and forth. The rooms are filled with chairs that are professionally designed for long hours of gaming.

The program curriculum includes both the performance and business side of Esports.

“The program is built on two foundations. First is Esports, the second is business,” said Byrne. “We will provide students with the foundation to build and go farther in this industry.”

The business side of it is much more than being good at video games. Twitch, a popular streaming site for gamers, is where gamers try to launch themselves as an internet personality. Building your online presence consumes much of your time. In order to be a successful streamer, your personality has to pull people in.

Gaming networks look for talent to either host, coach teams, help with designing or commentate events. This opens up another business path for gamers.

“One of the most common questions I get is where do I hire talent,” said Byrne. “The answer to that question currently is nowhere. Right now, you have to find someone who has learned down in the trenches like I did. It took me a long time, I struggled in my early years so in creating a program like this, we could get students up to speed quicker.”

The value of the Esports industry continues to rise at extreme rates.

“Esports receives full-time coverage by both ESPN and TSN and prize money is expected to pass $300 million in 2018,” said John Fairley, St. Clair’s vice president of communications and community relations.

The president of the Student Representative Council, Holly Nicholson, spoke at the press conference and program launch Nov. 14.

“As soon as we heard about the college’s interest in Esports, we jumped on board in a matter of seconds,” said Nicholson. “Not only did SRC support the project, but we partnered with administration to make the dream become a reality.”

Officials at St. Clair are happy and eager to expand on and dive deeper into the world of Esports.

“At the outset, it is safe to say that very few members of our senior administration team had any inkling of the phenomenal scope that Esports played in an individual and team fashion,” said St. Clair President, Patricia France. “After coming to terms with this, the college eagerly launched Canada’s first collegiate Esports team.”

Those who are interested in the program and want to learn more can email Shaun Byrne at [email protected]. Those interested can also attend the Open House on Sat, Nov. 17.