Adelaide Crows will create an e-sports competition for high schools around the country

WHY the Adelaide Crows has expanded the esports branch of its business to high schools around the country.

Northern Adelaide Senior College students Brandon Mann, 17, Clarissa Miller, 17, Bailey Runholm, 20, Robert Kohn, 18 and Aaron Cox, 19, will take part in the Crows' esport league for high shools. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

ADELAIDE has plunged deeper into the world of gaming with the Crows winning the bid to run a nationwide League of Legends e-sports league for high schools.

More than 50 schools from South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria will take part in the High School Esports League under the Crows’ leadership.

Another organising body will look after NSW and Queensland.

The initiative increases the club’s involvement in e-sports after previously acquiring professional franchise Legacy, which has a full-time League of Legends team in the Oceanic Pro League.

Schools that will take part include Adelaide High School, Clare High School, Nazareth College, Brighton Secondary School and Christies Beach High School.

State and regional winners will advance to the Australia and New Zealand championship in September.

High schools taking part will play a weekly game against each other after school with a teacher supervising the players.

Crows chief operating officer Nigel Smart said it was a logical move in the growth area of gaming and would help the club engage with a new audience.

“The kids are going to play anyway,” Smart said. “To have it as an organised competition is similar to netball and football — you play for a team, there’s scoring and points.

“Connecting Australian high schools to the expanding global exports ecosystem is something we felt was really important.

“Esports has undergone extraordinary growth in recent years and is hugely popular with kids and young adults,

“It’s great to be able to connect students around Australia to such a large-scale championship where they can engage in something that is a passion point for them, and in a competitive but supportive school-based team environment.

“We think that will be really exciting for them.”

“In gaming, players have to apply skills such as problem solving, analytical thinking, teamwork and comprehension,” Smart said.

“Skills that the students learn in the game will be transferable into everyday life.”

Northern Adelaide Senior College teacher Toby Fogarty, who will look after his school’s team, said the competition would bring benefits similar to traditional sports.

“It will get them (the players) out of their bedrooms and let them represent their schools,” Fogarty said. “They’ll get to experience crowd support and learn about being a team member, how to work together and leadership.”

Registrations for schools to enter the HSEL are open until May 23 on www.hseleague.gg.