FAQ about RCOE Esports

Why is RCOE involved in esports?

Esports is popular all over the world. This is creating entertainment, business, and employment opportunities that rival even the largest sports leagues.  From an educational perspective, esports offers an opportunity to students to find a connection to  their school that may not exist for some students through traditional clubs and programs. The research is clear: students who are  involved in extracurricular activities do better in school than students that are not. With at least 90% of young people playing video games either on personal devices, consoles or pc games, esports provides a connection to school that is accessible to the vast majority of students.  Research has also shown that as many as 70% of students involved in school esports activities, were not involved in any other school activities before their involvement esports.  In addition to this, the esports industry is replete with job opportunities for students as creatives, production managers, organizers, consultants, programmers, and broadcasting. We believe, the opportunities to safely engage students in school related esports activities for both entertainment and learning far outweigh the perceived detrimental effects of screen time and video game violence. 

What kind of games do students play in RCOE Esports  League?

While this will change over time, we have play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a very popular game with animated, unrealistic violence, a sort of modern king of the hill game where the object is to knock one's opponent off of various platforms.  We also have Rocket League, which is basically a soccer played with cars. Eventually, when schools are better prepared to participate, we can expand to PC games such as League of Legends and other platform games such as the Madden series, FIFA, or the NBA2K series. Fortnite and Valorant are options since they have unrealistic weapons and violence, but we don not play games with realistic, war-like violence with realistic weapons.  Our Arena is equipped with Nintendo Switches, PCs, and Xbox. 

Why can't we get parents to sign a waiver so that we can use other tournament hosting services?

Indeed, you can and our esports release form allows that. This league, however, is open to every middle and high school student in the county that meets our 2.0 GPA requirement or the school's club or esports team requirements, and it  is completely free to students. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff to efficiently verify each participant's eligibility. 

Why do you use Remind?

So far, we have found that Remind is the fastest and easiest way to communicate with students and for students to communicate with one another to arrange their matches. Remind is a trusted platform that is used in schools throughout California and the nation. The ease with which  tournament information can be safely shared only with intended persons makes Remind a good platform for our purposes.

How much does it cost to participate in RCOE Esports League?

Participation in RCOE Esports League is free to students and their schools. Of course, for in-person events there can be costs involved  for travel. Those cost, if any, must be borne by the school. 

Why do schools have to turn in a roster of their participants?

While this process is not fully in place today, the roster will expedite tournament registrations and help schools and parents to know what their students  are doing with RCOE Esports League. 

Can parents opt out of having student images posted on social media or streaming platforms?

No. Upon parent or guardian request, however, we will take down specific  photos or images within a reasonable time.