Source Image: włodi, "Video Games Players", 2008, Via www.flickr.com/photos/wlodi/2254657082/in/dateposted/
With the rise of E-sports around the world, you wonder is there anywhere in Canada, especially in college where you could play? Well, in Windsor, Ontario a new gaming lab featuring Dell Technologies Alienware computers was officially unveiled on September 19th at the St. Clair Colleges E-sports program. The Alienware Gaming Lab is the first of its kind in Canada. The Gaming Lab is stationed in the College’s 15,000 square-foot Nexus E-Sports Arena and broadcast facilities which opened in 2022. The Gaming Lab features 48 new free-play PC’s for novice gamers at the college and 62 computers to enhance competitive gaming play for varsity and academy players. The Nexus Arena also features a 5v5 competition stage, an E-sports classroom featuring broadcast studios and the latest industry equipment, 3 dedicated VR and sim racing space connected directly to the broadcast studio, 5 separate soundproof streaming rooms, and a console gaming lounge featuring 8 stations for drop-in play. The console stations include Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.
The Saints E-sports program, representing St. Clair College in Windsor, ON, was the first of its kind in Canada, founded in 2017. The Saints varsity E-Sports athletes earn scholarships to compete in leagues against colleges and universities across the world. The team competes across 15 titles, including League of Legends, Overwatch, Valorant Fortnite, Rocket League, Call of Duty and Rainbow 6 Siege. The program consists of more than 150 student E-Sports athletes, marketing and social media staff, broadcasters and more. Many of whom have studied at the college and competed around the world.
Most people might wonder why this is relevant. This is a big step in E-Sports for Canada. The last time I heard about anything E-sports related in Canada was when the League of Legends World Championship was held in North America in 2022 when there was a continental tour that included a stop in Toronto. From the research that I’ve done, there is actually not very many E-Sports training facilities anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Of what I could find, there are about 3. One of which is in Burnaby called Valhallan E-sports Training.
It’s going to be interesting what this is all going to lead to. This could lead to more schools doing the same thing as St Clair College. Which would be an interesting thing to see. I wonder what other people’s opinions on this is going to be.