UHV hosts video game tournament for local high school students
A group of high school students from across the region descended upon the University of Houston-Victoria on May 9, electrifying the atmosphere as they prepared to take on each other in epic video game fashion.
High School Showdown, hosted by the UHV Jaguar eSports Club with the help of event sponsor StudioBuilt by Amherst, is an esports competition event for high school students in the area, said Randall Jasek, adviser of the UHV Jaguar eSports Club.
Jasek and members of the Jaguar eSports Club were there to facilitate the event that had nearly 35 students in attendance.
“This is a great way to get that fun practice in,” Jasek said. “We’re also trying it use it as a way to get the students to look past video games and try to get them more involved with the community.”
High school students within a 100-mile radius were invited to the event, Jasek said. Some of the students who were at the event represented schools such as Palacios High School, Industrial High School, Cuero High School, Victoria West High School, Victoria East High School and Gonzales High School.
Students also had the opportunity to talk with UHV and Victoria College representatives about college opportunities throughout the event.
“Our main objective with High School Showdown is to help inspire new esports programs at high schools in the area,” Jasek said. “Hopefully, with that new growth, we can continue to do more of these events for a much larger audience in future semesters.”
During the event, students participated in tournament-style games such as Super Smash Bros., chess and Mario Kart. The only team game that required team registration was Mario Kart, and the club is looking to expand team formats into games like Super Smash Bros. for future events, Jasek said.
“I hope the students take away both the social development of gracious professionalism when competing and working with other team members,” Jasek said. “But I also hope the students learn from the technology and broadcast stations that were there at the event to encourage them to be more involved when they aren’t competing.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.