Keokuk High School will become the first high school in Lee County to offer an esports program.
“The more programs we can offer that include everybody, the better we're going to be because we want kids to just find their niche and be able to do things and be involved in school,” said Keokuk High School Activities Director Zach Summers.
“So having this opportunity, it's another step in that direction. It's just huge that we're going to be able to do that and hopefully the kids will take advantage of it.”
He said more than 100 Iowa high schools already have esports programs. It’s also becoming more popular in higher education – schools such as Western Illinois University in Macomb and Culver-Stockton College in Canton (Missouri) now offer esports programs.
Keokuk will add the online gaming competition this coming school year on a trial basis. If the school completes the year of video gaming competition, it will be invited to join the Iowa High School Esports Association.
Students on teams of five to six players will play video games remotely against other Iowa high schools. They will play three seasons and three different video games during the fall, winter, and spring.
The fall season will be held from September to October, when participants will play Smash Bros., a crew battle demolition-type video game on a Nintendo Switch video game console.
During the winter, from December and into February, teams will play Rocket League, an arcade-style soccer game played with race cars. These games will be played on either a PC computer, Xbox, PS4 or Nintendo Switch.
The spring season will conclude the school year from March through May with Mario Kart 8 competition to be played on Nintendo Switch.
Summers said the school district believes that athletics and activities play a major part in the educational process. He said research reveals that students who participate in some form of extracurricular activities perform better in school, have better attendance, and better graduation rates.
“When you are involved in extracurricular activities you are held accountable, taught soft skills, have high expectations, and learn to work in team-like settings,” he said.
“When looking to add programs here at Keokuk CSD, we want to make sure we are adding activities that target groups of kids that are not currently participating in anything.”
Summers said Keokuk students can sign up for the new esports program during the first two weeks of school this fall.
The first day of school is Aug. 23.
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