It’s about time the UAAP and other institutions show some love to esports and gamers in general.
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Despite the popularity of video games over the past decades, there’s still a stigma associated with the hobby and what it supposedly tells you about a person. This is especially prevalent in video games in the academic setting. Many parents and adults like to link playing video games to bad academic performance. From familiar phrases like “Kaka-computer mo yan!” to thinking that video games are bad for kids, schools and video games have historically never mixed.
But over the years, there have been a handful of local organizations pushing schools to see video games, particularly esports, as something worth including in students’ school life. And now, esports has taken its biggest leap yet as a sport worth investing in schools with its recent inclusion in the UAAP.
ESPORTS GOES TO THE UAAP
UAAP Season 87 is opening this year, and aside from the usual action in the basketball and volleyball competitions, this season also saw the first time the UAAP included esports in its programs. For years, local esports advocates have been trying to incorporate the sport into the collegiate sporting event, with little success. But Season 87 proved to be a breakthrough with esports being included as a demonstration event.
INSTAGRAM/UAAP.OFFICIAL/PHOTO BY Angelo Rosales & Nicole Hernandez/UAAP Media Team
For its UAAP debut, esports runs from August 13-21 and is held at the Arete in the Ateneo de Manila University. Three games, NBA 2K, Valorant, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang, were selected for the event, with their merits being that they’re popular games among the students. In true UAAP fashion, the first finals match in UAAP esports was between Paolo Medina of Ateneo’s LG Esports and Kegan Yap of DLSU’s Viridis Arcus, and in NBA 2K, no less. Ultimately, the medal went to the Blue Eagles. Though, the Green Archers did rebound as they won the Valorant finals against UST. Closing things off for the esports event will be the finals for MLBB later this week.
THE SPACE FOR CAMPUS GAMING
Now, for people who wonder why the UAAP would allow “playing video games” as an event, it actually makes sense. Esports is not a niche or just a trending sport, it’s been growing in popularity for the past couple of decades. In the Philippines, there’s a thriving local esports scene with many Filipino esports athletes going on to win in international competitions. Even the International Olympics Committee (IOC) will be holding the first Olympic Esports Games in 2025. If you think about it, the UAAP is finally getting on with the times and seeing value in esports for students.
Esports isn’t just something where you look at a computer and press buttons. It requires skill and training to play on that level, in the same way athletes train for sports like basketball and volleyball. In competitive gaming, you also learn the value of competition, teamwork, cooperation, discipline, and sportsmanship. FYI, there’s so much more to esports and video games than being a distraction. You can learn good things from it. Seeing esports make its debut in the UAAP is further proof that there is merit in the sport.
NO TO STEREOTYPES
For students and alumni invested in esports, it means the world to them to see something they love get recognized and be given the platform it deserves. It also opens the doors for more student-athletes to participate in collegiate sports, and potentially see that there can be a future career for them in it. After all, despite what some may say, gaming can lead to opportunities down the line, whether it be an esports player, coach, production, shoutcaster, or the like. Students getting to play the sport that they love that also hones the next generation of talent by helping them grow and figure out potential career paths? Sounds like a bonus to us.
INSTAGRAM/UAAP.OFFICIAL/PHOTO BY Angelo Rosales & Nicole Hernandez/UAAP Media Team
Yes, like with most things in life, it’s best to do things in moderation and there should be a clear line in a student’s priorities. But in the same way student-athletes can balance their academics with their training, so too can students participating in collegiate esports. Hopefully, this is a good sign for academic officials to stop seeing video games as a scapegoat for the reasons why students are struggling at school.
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