APRIL 4, 2023
Amsterdam High School has a very active eSports program these days. More than 25 students are part of the Gaming Club, open to students in grades 9-12. The Gaming Club meets every Wednesday throughout the school year. This year, club members played games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo Wii U. Seven students recently completed an in-house, six-week Mario Kart season where Jacob Grieme finished in first place and Heiden Bartlett was the runner up. Devin Mastropole-Tompkins is the Gaming Club President and Michael DeAngelo is the club Secretary.
The Gaming Club is a “feeder” to a new eSports curriculum and a new eSports competition lab at the high school. New eSports courses for the 2023-23 school year will include Exploring Interactive Media and eSports, Shoutcasting and Broadcasting, Streaming and Speech, and Cybersecurity.
The global eSports market size was valued at USD 1.22 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from USD 1.44 billion in 2022 to USD 5.48 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 21.0% during the forecast period. Many individuals are choosing a career in eSports because of its booming industry, exciting work atmosphere and occupations with transferable skills.