High school esports athletes compete at WCDSB Rocket League championship

Students shine at esports championship CTV's Colton Wiens checks out the Waterloo Catholic District School Board's first-ever Rocket League Championship.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board hosted it’s first-ever Rocket League Championship on Wednesday.

The event, held at Conestoga College’s Waterloo campus, featured teams from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, St. Mary’s High School and St. David Catholic Secondary school.

Rocket League is a competitive video game that combines cars and soccer.

"This is more of a lifestyle than it is a game now," said Rehan Virk, a Grade 12 student and member of the St. Benedict Omega Team. "Sometimes I skip school to play Rocky League."

Ahead of the tournament, players and teachers practiced together when they could.

"I've never played Rocket League personally, but [the students] had the interest," Abel Chaves, a computer engineering teacher at St. Benedict, said. "I did try it out. I was quite a bit worse."

The school board said it wants to give students access to different activities that they’re passionate about. Adding, these teams also give students an opportunity to interact with all grades at their school.

"We know that there are lots of different avenues of success,” explained Whitney McKinley, the student achievement consultant of learning innovation at WCDSB. “There's not one particular pathway that our students can reach. When we look to providing all of our students with opportunities, esports is a great opportunity for us to see our students excel."

The day also included an information session with members of the Conestoga Esports team.

"The academic programs that are developing here at Conestoga [College], the career opportunities that are developing in kind of the public, private and general esports and gaming sector,” explained Zack Dodge, Conestoga’s supervisor of esports operations. “Helping a young aspiring Rocket League player, gaming enthusiast, really understand what their options are when looking at the sector of gaming and technology."

Professional gaming has grown quickly and there are numerous career options players can pursue. This years Rocket League Championship Series has a global prize pool of over $4.3 million.

"If I don't get into the University of Galway’s School of Medicine, I think this would definitely be a possibility," Virk said.

Participants got the full Conestoga College treatment. The championship was broadcasted live online and there was even commentators providing a play-by-play.

St. Mary’s Omega team was the eventual winner, going undefeated through the entire tournament.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board said Rocket League is a great opportunity for both teachers and students to learn together. They also want to expand the esports opportunities for students and will look at introducing other video games in the future. Next year they hope to have all of their secondary schools involved in the tournament.