Pennsylvania Interscholastic Esports Association opens registration for 2021 season

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Esports Association (PIEA) announced registration is open for its 2021 season, which will offer high school esports teams the opportunity to compete for Pennsylvania’s first high school esports championship.

The PIEA was established in 2019 as the only statewide interscholastic esports league.

“The PIEA is the first organizational governing body that focuses solely on esports competitions in high schools in Pennsylvania,” said Bill Thomas, a member of PIEA’s board of directors. Thomas said it offers regulatory structure for high school esports competitions and serves as the only entity with a path to a state championship.

The league began a competition last spring, which was derailed due to the covid-19 pandemic, Thomas said.

This spring, the PIEA plans to have a complete championship season in which teams can compete for two game titles; one in Overwatch and another in Rocket League.

Schools can sign up to join the PIEA and register their teams online now through March 15.

About 15 schools have already officially registered for the spring season, Thomas said.

Their goal is to have 64 teams competing in each game title.

A major benefit of esports during the covid-19 pandemic, Thomas noted, is that it can be done virtually. Many schools kept esports programs running through the pandemic, with students able to participate in esports clubs from home as long as they had the resources to do so.

“It can be done in school and it can also be done with students at home, so it’s pretty versatile,” Thomas said.

Plus, esports are already popular among high-schoolers, Thomas said, citing statistics that showed 90% of high school boys and 85% of high school girls play video games.

“Some of those students are probably active in school activities, but many more are not,” Thomas said. “When you establish programs within the school that allow students to come together over similar likes and similar hobbies, you’re going to improve and increase participation in the school community.”

He also touted a correlation between esports and academic benefits in STEM.

Between 140 and 150 schools across the state have some form of esports clubs or teams, Thomas said. But participating in the PIEA will provide “local rivalry competitions that are inherent to high school sports” and “encourage students to utilize their skills and talents and fight for a state championship,” he said.

The PIEA’s 2021 spring season is slated to begin on March 18, with a championship scheduled for May.

Locally, Gateway High School launched an esports team in 2019 andPenn-Trafford High School launched a team last fall. Pitt Greensburg and Point Park University also have esports teams.