North America Scholastic Esports Federation hosts live competition for qualifying teams from Northern and Southern California, Illinois, and New York to battle for title of scholastic champion

(Orange County, CA – January 16, 2020) – The North America Scholastic Esports Federation, NASEF, is excited to welcome four teams to Southern California for the North America Overwatch® High School Scholastic Live Event. On January 18, the number one team from each regional bracket in North America will come together to battle it out for the Championship title:

• Rocklin High School - Rocklin, CA
• Xavier High School - New York, NY
• Naperville North High School - Naperville, IL
• Portola High School - Irvine, CA

Blizzard's Overwatch® is a popular game that requires intense strategic planning from players, combined with on-the-fly adjustments based on the opponent and their moves in every match. This year, NASEF had over 100 teams of high school students competing. Four regional brackets participated in a six-week long season and two-week long playoffs. Clubs from many different regions learned, practiced, improved, developed cohesive teams, and played – despite significant adversity – with the final four earning their way to this finals event.

In addition to the exciting gameplay, NASEF’s scholastic esports program weaves career and life education through all aspects of the clubs and teams, engaging students in meaningful roles such as marketing, event planning, data analytics, and more. Winners of “Beyond the Game™” challenges in these areas will be announced next month; submissions are due by January 31.

In NASEF, each student in every active Club receives free support and access to workshops ranging from developing specific game skills to building teams with strong collaboration; from managing stress levels in a game or in life, to understanding career possibilities like game design, web development, data analysis, or marketing.

“What a thrill for high school students to be competing for a national title in the up-and-coming world of esports,” said Mark Deppe, commissioner of NASEF. “There are so many opportunities for every kid in NASEF, from participating in national tournaments to meeting industry professionals to get guidance for their futures. This is an awesome environment for students to grow and learn!”

About the North America Scholastic Esports Federation 

The North America Scholastic Esports Federation is working to ensure that ALL students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be society’s game changers: educated, productive, and empathetic individuals. NASEF is on a mission to provide opportunities for ALL students to use esports as a platform to acquire critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. The Federation’s core values are intertwined through all aspects of education and play: learning, opportunity, community, diversity, and respect.

Under the Samueli Foundation’s leadership, the Federation is led by partners from the Orange County Department of Education, OC STEM Initiative, Connected Camps, Connected Learning Lab, UCI Esports, UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and the UCI Bren School of Information & Computer Science. 

Learn more at the NASEF website. Members of the press can find videos, infographics, and leadership profiles in the online press room. Join online conversations on Twitter @NASEFgg for esports updates and @NASEFedu for our education news, on Facebook and Instagram, and see matches streamed live on our Twitch channel. 

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