The next sports revolution
St. Clair College’s gaming lab is pictured Dec. 4, 2018.
On a first glance, they appear like regular computers, but St. Clair College’s gaming lab is far from ordinary.
Thanks to Shaun Byrne, coordinator of e-sports administration and entrepreneurship at St. Clair College, Windsor is home to Canada’s first e-sports related program.
According to Byrne, the first thing people think of when they talk about e-sports is always playing video games.
“However, few people know about e-sports,” Byrne said.
Byrne said that what exists in the traditional sport industry is similar to jobs in the e-sports industry, such as coaches, managers, broadcasters and reporters. There will be a wide range of job opportunities within the e-sports industry, he added.
Daniel Banner has been coaching a Super Smash Bro. team and stream producer in Saints Gaming for five years.
“This is a brand new industry and I’m taking this program to be ready to try something different that I haven’t done before,” Banner said.
In Saints Gaming, there are approximately 42 official members and 32 of them are players within seven different game groups. There are more than 370 members on social media and the number is growing every year.
There were more than 500 people who participated in the college gaming event last year. Local high schools are also considering launching their own e-sports teams, according to Byrne.
“This is a perfect time to bring them on board,” Byrne said.
Tommy Quy has played Saints Gaming for six months and he said South Korea is treating e-sports seriously and they are ahead than other countries because they started this trend in the 90s.
In Canada, there are grand gaming events called EJX at Toronto and Pax at Montreal every year.
“It is becoming a culture in Canada,” Quy said.
Like traditional sports industry, e-sports students will learn practical business and entrepreneurial skills while developing a comprehensive knowledge of organized, multiplayer video game competitions.
The e-sports program prepares students to work in the interactive business of e-sports.
“This industry is still in a very early stage, with only a few universities or colleges who have programs related to e-sports,” Byrne said.
Canadian first e-sports education program in Windsor.
— GlenFu MC (@NewsGlens) January 28, 2019
Shaun Byrne, coordinator of e-sports administration and entrepreneurship, tells us more. pic.twitter.com/xaq7U4iqd8
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