Esports focuses on healthy gaming for children

By Neve Clinton
The Gibraltar Esports and Video Gaming Association (GEVGA) recently held its ‘Introduction to Esports’ Summer Camp at the Europa Sports Complex, aiming to foster a positive educational and social environment through play.

During the week the 10 to 15 year-olds completed workshops which consisted of half an hour of learning and around one and half hours of playing.

Firstly they got to grips with the equipment, learning about the structure of their gaming PCs and controllers and how to use them, and then practising through a variety of competitive esports games that were introduced to them.

They practised teamwork and communication skills, learning how to use communication software and voice chats in-game, through playing Rocket League with each other, a vehicular football game which requires strategising and teamwork.

Throughout the week the children enjoyed a ‘How to Win with Strategy’ workshop, playing eFootball to perform what they had learnt, and on Thursday they were taught about staying safe online, using Brawlhalla to demonstrate avoiding danger, a game where the aim is to knock one’s opponent off the platform and into a ‘blastzone’.

On the final day they were educated on the importance of a healthy, balanced lifestyle when pursuing gaming as a professional career, including guidance on not letting gaming eat into the early hours of the morning or relying on energy drinks, like Prime, instead of water.

They played Fortnite, which features a prominent health bar to keep track of remaining health points, indicating how much damage they can take before dying, and ‘Shield Potions’ which restore the protective layer that absorbs damage before health is affected, as well as ‘Bandages’, ‘Med Kits’, ‘Slurp Juice’ and ‘Chug Jugs’, which all restore health.

The children were given a workbook to track their progress and assess what they had learnt, and at the end of the week they were each awarded a participation certificate.

Carl Seromenho, Head of Education at GEVGA, and Esports BTEC teacher at the Gibraltar College, led the summer camp and told the Chronicle about the importance of providing this structure of learning and play for the children, covering core values and skills, rather than just two hours of free-play.

Carmen Rowan, age 10, said the camp was both fun and educational, having learnt about the setup, “a healthy way to do gaming, like if you want to be a pro you need to do a couple of hours every day”.

She said that she made friends at the camp, and her favourite part was “getting to play in teams with everyone here” and trying out new games.

Luke Peñalver, age 12, said the workshops were educational, but that playing new games, playing Rocket League against his peers, and completing mission objectives was fun, adding that playing esports makes him feel competitive.

Lucas Seromenho, also 12, said coming to the workshops to play esports makes him feel good.

“I have some friends here, so it makes me feel happy,” he said.

GEVGA will be hosting a second summer camp from Monday 18 to Friday 22 August at the Europa Sports Complex Esports room from 10am till 12pm.