From Rocket League to League of Legends, esports expanding to all of Sioux Falls' public high schools

The Sioux Falls School District’s esports program will expand to all four of its high schools this fall.

Esports started this school year with a statewide pilot season and 20 different teams that played across South Dakota. Locally, Sioux Falls schools saw the establishment of the “Red” Rocket League team and the “Inters” League of Legends team, which addressed technological needs and then, both teams won their first state championship titles.

Rocket League uses teams of up to three people, who drive cars in a game much like soccer on a personal computer. League of Legends sees two teams of five players face off in a battle to destroy their opponents’ base on the PC.

Esports are similar to regular sports in that they require players to use strategy and teamwork, to hold tryouts and practice, to have team captains and to require students to maintain a solid academic standing.

Since the South Dakota High School Activities Association will fully sanction the sport in the fall, esports will join the ranks of other activities like football and volleyball as a legitimate school sport in the state. There will be esports opportunities at each of the high schools in the district.

District fine arts coordinator Shane Wuebben said in a report to the school board Monday night that esports has shown educational benefits to students, such as increased student participation, improved attendance, enhanced academic performance, teamwork development, community among participants, positive interactions and strategic gameplay.

Wuebben said esports also offers students real-world experience, workforce development skills and opens them up to postsecondary opportunities they might not have considered before.

To get esports up and running, the district will need to allocate funds in the budget, procure hardware, recruit coaches, form student teams and participate in tournaments.

Next steps include ordering computer hardware as part of the previously approved 2024 fine arts curriculum adoption; hiring a coach for each school and recruiting students to join teams; regular season play commencing in the winter; and, tournaments in February and March.

Costs for peripherals, coaching salaries and benefits, team travel, uniforms and contracted services are included in the overall 2.9% ($39,658) expansion to the fine arts budget this year, according to Wuebben’s presentation and the preliminarily-approved budget.