Leading scholastic esports programs deliver free fun for youth, all summer long

KANSAS CITY, MO (May 25, 2021) — High School Esports League (HSEL) and the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) are offering a slate of free esports competitions and camps to youth throughout the summer. 

As the preeminent providers of K12 scholastic and competitive esports, the two organizations are making sure that kids will have fun and educational esports options whether they’re in school or on summer break. 

Free programs include a virtual summer camp put on by NASEF and CLG, a premier esports organization; several Summer Challenges tournaments offered by HSEL; and practice matches that teams can set up using NASEF’s Scrimfinder+ tool. 

Free from NASEF + CLG: Second Annual Junior CLG Virtual Camp

CLG, a premier esports organization, is once again bringing the fun summer camp and gaming experiences together—for free. The Junior CLG Virtual Camp is an amazing way to connect with kids’ interests in gaming and provide them with the opportunity to engage in creative projects, develop skills, learn healthy habits, and get a behind-the-scenes look at esports from CLG’s professional players, staff, and industry experts.

In collaboration with NASEF, the camps are offered as three weeks of one-hour sessions and a single day Valorant Bootcamp:

•  Fortnite Creative Camp (July 12 - 16)
•  Valorant Bootcamp (July 17)
•  Minecraft Camp (July 19 - 23)
•  Gaming Careers Camp (July 26 - 30)

Campers are welcome to sign up for all camps or just the ones that interest them. The camps are designed to be accessible to provide young gamers with an experience to have fun learning new skills and gain insight into future esports opportunities—all in a professional setting learning from the best in the industry. Register here for the Second Annual Junior CLG Virtual Camp. 

Free Summer Challenge Tournaments from HSEL

High school students are invited to join esports tournaments in the 2021 Summer Challenge, which is FREE for all players in the U.S. Youth can play 10+ different games across PC and console and compete for bragging rights and prizes from ASUS. 

The Summer Challenge is open to ALL high school students for FREE, whether they are part of a school team or joining solo. They can even put together a team with friends from other schools. The Summer Challenge season is a leaderboard style format, where the total score of all plays determines playoff standings.

Available games include Hearthstone, Chess, NBA 2K, Overwatch, Smash Bros., Rocket League, Valorant, Minecraft, and more. Learn how to get started and see the full list of titles and game days on the HSEL 2021 Summer Challenge page. The tournament’s regular season runs from July 5 to July 25, 2021.

Organize Practice Games using NASEF’s Free Scrimfinder+

Students can play practice matches (scrims) against other teams all summer long, improving their game skills while keeping socially connected with others! Once a team logs into the NASEF portal, they can use the Scrimfinder+ tool to identify other teams with similar skill levels to play specific titles on specific days. 

Available games include League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Madden 21, SMITE, TFT, and more. Some titles are PC, some console, some cross-platform.

“CLG is a well-known professional esports organization with a passion to help youth develop personally and professionally. Together, we’ve planned terrific content that includes insights into esports careers, practical healthy gaming tips, and of course, ways to improve gameplay,” said Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of NASEF. 

“School may be out for summer, but students still want to compete! HSEL has put together an extensive line-up of tournaments in our Summer Challenge—and they’ll be free to join,” said Conner Alne, commissioner of HSEL. “As a team environment, esports is a great way for kids to stay connected socially over the summer.”

“These free summer programs are the first of many examples of the expanded impact that NASEF and HSEL will have as they jointly offer opportunities to members of both organizations,” said Todd Harris, board chair of NASEF. “Our goal is to reach even more kids with fun scholastic esports programs that will help them build life and career skills. These summer 2021 esports camps, challenges, and scrims, will do just that.”

About HSEL

High School Esports League (HSEL) was founded in 2013 and remains the largest and longest-running competitive gaming organization for high school students, with over 3,600 partnered schools and 140,000 participating students — and it is growing. The organization harnesses students’ passion for video games through organized competition and academics, resulting in better engagement, better GPAs, and better career prospects. HSEL and its program for younger students, the Middle School Esports League (MSEL), are anchors in the overarching Generation Esports (GenE) organization. Through interconnected esports offerings, it serves communities across the world that wish to better engage today’s youth. For more information, please visit https://www.highschoolesportsleague.com or follow HSEL on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch.   

About NASEF

The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) is on a mission to provide opportunities for all students to use esports as a platform to acquire STEM/STEAM-based skills and critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. NASEF operates under the umbrella of the World Wide Scholastic Esports Foundation (WWSEF). Find NASEF at NASEF.org and on Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

About CLG

CLG is a top tier North American esports organization respected for its championship legacy and passionate fanbase. CLG was founded originally in 2010 as a League of Legends team by George Georgallidis, with the intent of pushing the boundaries of esports and creating a thriving community around it. CLG is now one of the largest esports organizations in the world. CLG fields teams in all leading esports titles: League of Legends, Fortnite, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends and Super Smash Bros. In 2017, CLG partnered with The Madison Square Garden Company (now Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.), allowing CLG to further disrupt and cement its legacy in esports history. CLG has won multiple championships throughout its history, most notable are the LCS Summer 2015 Championship at Madison Square Garden, the LCS Spring 2016 Championship at Mandalay Bay; and the Halo 2016 World Championship in Hollywood, California. More information is available at www.clg.gg.

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Media Contact:
Claire LaBeaux
[email protected]
925-337-0244