A Look into UHart Esports on National Video Games Day
Today (Sept. 12) is National Video Games Day. To recognize the day, the Office of Marketing and Communication spoke with the official Esports team at the University of Hartford. Esports competitions are rapidly gaining in popularity around the globe, and UHart’s own team shows no signs of slowing down. The following questions were answered by team representatives.
What is Esports?
Esports is the world of organized, competitive video games. Students who share interest in competitive video gaming play on teams in competition against other teams in collegiate leagues and tournaments. There is a bit of a stigma against video games and competitive gaming in modern culture, so Esports is doing its best to show the benefits of this world. While the culture hasn’t quite shifted completely, gaming is much more mainstream, which helps us move forward a bit.
How long has the Esports team been around?
Our program has been around since Fall 2020. The program began when the school sent out a survey asking if people were interested in various games and administrative roles. We formed ourselves into teams and the school provided a space for practice with awesome computer setups, so we’ve been motivated to compete ever since.
What do you do at your club meetings?
Unlike typical clubs, we don’t hold large-scale meetings very often. We have multiple teams that compete separately in different game titles, such as Rocket League, Valorant, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and more. Each team has their own schedules and practice regimens, but practices will typically include scrimmage matches against other teams, running drills, discussing game plans, and reviewing video footage of old matches. Historically we’ve held team building and coaching activities outside of meetings.
What happens at competitions?
The majority of competitions happen remotely, where we compete weekly against teams from other schools and programs within various leagues, such as NACE, the National Association of Collegiate Esports. During these matches, teams meet in-game and compete, usually best of 3 or best of 5 depending on match length. Often these games will be streamed on platforms such as Twitch so that viewers can spectate, either by the teams themselves or the tournament organizers.
While the majority of competition is remote, we occasionally have the opportunity to compete in person during LAN (local access network) events. This past Spring, our Rocket League team had the opportunity to compete in Atlanta, GA at the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup championship.
What do you want other people to know about Esports?
Esports offers an opportunity for students to pursue their passion for gaming in a positive competitive environment. It’s a great way for people, especially students, to reap the benefits of high-level competition which otherwise they might not have access to on an individual level. It gives students the opportunity to learn skills such as team building, communication, critical thinking, dedication, and much more. Thousands of schools around the country have founded Esports programs, which only proves how impactful and exciting this new format of competition can be.
Learn more about Esports at UHart
Featuring photos courtesy of Myles Scott Photography