Los Fresnos CISD Receives Grant for Esports Program

Updated: October 4, 2024

By Mike Villarreal

The Los Fresnos CISD has some exciting news: the LFCISD Esports Program has received a grant from Acciona Energy. The Esports Program was launched two years ago and has expanded to include teams at all campuses.

The program is focused on teamwork, communication, and inclusivity. Esports is the fastest-growing sport, and students gain vital strategic thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills while having fun with peers. Last year, Los Fresnos students competed in teams and brought home trophies during the spring Region One competition.

The district would like to thank Acciona Energy for their generous grant; the program will acquire new equipment, allowing more opportunities for participation and growth.

Acciona Energy is a global group that manages and develops sustainable solutions, specifically in renewable energy. Their business covers the whole value chain, from construction, design, maintenance, and operation. They plan to design a better planet by transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

Esports, as we know it today, is relatively new. However, competitive gaming has been around since the days of Pong. Esports can trace their origins back to 1972, when home consoles first became common. In 1980, the first nationwide Space Invaders Competition was held, with over 10,000 participants. A year later, gamers competed in the inaugural Donkey Kong Tournament, and in the early 1990s, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter Tournaments grew in popularity, paving the way for games like Overwatch, Warcraft, Starcraft, Halo, and Call of Duty.

1998, Starcraft 2 became legendary, with a PC tournament boasting over 50 million online viewers. Going into the 2000s, Esports had tremendous momentum with the debut of tournaments such as the Electronic Sports World Cup and the World Cyber Games. Major League Gaming (MLG) launched in 2002 and is now considered one of the world’s most prominent hosts in Esports. In 2006, the first televised Esports event, Halo 2, was shown on the USA network.

There are many genres of Esports, including Multi-Player Battle Arena (MOBA), First Person Shooter (FPS), Card, Fighting Games, Battle Royales, and Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games. The emergence and popularity of online streaming services have helped Esports grow, with the online platform Twitch, launched in 2011, regularly streaming popular Esports competitions. Viewers of Twitch watched 12 billion minutes of video in 2013, with the most popular games being Dota 2 and League of Legends.

Esports has become so popular that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the start of the Olympic Esports Games (OEG), which will stage non-violent sports-inspired Esports titles. This event will debut in Saudi Arabia after being approved by the IOC Board this year. Globally, an estimated well over 3 billion people are familiar with gaming, a figure that grows every year. In 2021, 800 million live-streamed gaming platforms will increase to 1.5 billion spectators by next year, with the majority being young people.

Reference: History of Esports – About Us | SIUE. https://www.siue.edu/esports/about/history.shtml
Photos from Los Fresnos CISD Facebook page