What is the Esports Club?

Esports is a club dedicated to playing video games competitively and is hosted by Mr. Bieri. It is hosted in Room 31 every Tuesday after school. 

Mr. Bieri is a science teacher and an ‘avid gamer.’ He has played games most of his life and especially enjoys the PlayStation. He also plays board games, such as Dungeons and Dragons. He has kept a regular DND game with his friends since high school. 

“I have an NES and a Sega Genesis, N64 and a PS2 all hooked up in my gaming loft.” Bieri said.

Esports is a blanket term used to describe all forms of video game-based competition. Santa Fe only participates in Smash Bros. competitions, but other schools around Oklahoma and the world compete in hundreds of different games. League of Legends, Rocket league and Smash Bros., are among the biggest titles. Santa Fe has several games approved for play, but due to lack of resources only Smash Bros. will be played this year. Bieri hopes that next year the club will have enough resources to allow more games to be played.  

Esports is the latest activity to be added to high schools in Oklahoma, due to its spike in popularity in recent years. Esports’ recent addition to Santa Fe is a big deal to Mr. Bieri and the newly formed Esports club. Esports leagues in Oklahoma are sponsored by PlayVS. PlayVS is a company that specializes in helping high schools and colleges organize Esports competitions. It uses an online platform that enables schools to build and manage teams, check schedules and track match stats, all with support from PlayVS.

“OSSAA governs it and PlayVS facilitates it,” Bieri said.

Despite Mr. Bieri’s excitement of Esports inclusion in high school, running the club is not without its challenges. The Esports team had to forfeit one of their matches during their first competition because of an issue with online play. Another challenging aspect, is Mr. Bieri having to coach the entire team himself. He says next year the club might get an aide to make the teaching feel more focused. 

Mr. Bieri’s long-term plan for the esports club at Santa Fe is heavily dependent on how this year ends up. It’s dependent on the club’s success and resources they may get. Next year, Esports will be a full-length seventh hour class, like Cross Country or any other sport at Santa Fe. 

“Next year, it is already a part of the master schedule,” Mr. Bieri said.

Mr. Bieri has also thought about a combination of Edmond Santa Fe, Edmond North and Memorial esports teams to form a large group to represent Edmond. This will be beneficial because depending on what game a player competes in, they will have a specific coach to help them with their respective game.

With a plan for next year and their first Edlam game Tuesday 26, the Esports Club looks like it has a promising future here at Santa Fe.