By Shannon Lukens.
UPDATE from CHSAA at 7:43 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5. Hayden, Meeker, and Moffat County do not have ESports Teams with CHSAA. Soroco High School competed with a Rocket League Team in the spring of 2023. In the spring, there were 119 schools participating in Colorado, which included over 338 teams and nearly 1,300 students. Last year was the first year that ESports was a sanctioned activity by CHSAA. It was a pilot program for the two years before that.
Steamboat Springs High School now has an ESports Team. It’s Electronic Sports, like video gaming, and it is sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Dani Booth is the head coach of the Sailors Esports team, which has five members on it.
“So this is our inaugural season. We’re stoked. We’re looking for more members. We’re looking to grow the program. The students are really energetic and excited about competing and showing off their skills.”
Cody Powers is the assistant coach.
“We’re balancing out video games and being healthy. It’s not just video games. We’re doing a lot of exercises too to stay limber and work out a little bit.”
Students can play at home, or at a group gathering. The competitions can be livestreamed so they’re competing virtually against other schools in Colorado. The students work together on strategy, teamwork, and communication.
Abraham Candelaria is a freshman on the team.
“It’s cool. I just play with some of my friends and communicate with others.”
Then there is Bryce Kennish who is also a student on the Esports team.
“The thing that I like best about Esports is that it’s very accessible. I like that I can do this and I can also have time for pursuing drama, and I don’t need to move to other locations or go on long bus rides to get where I need to be and it really connects with something I have been doing since I was young.”
Bryce is a junior at Steamboat Springs High School.
CHSAA crowns state champions in League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart. Pre-season starts Sept. 12, and the first regulation game for the Sailors Esports Team is Sept. 26.
