At Monday’s Knoxville School Board meeting, the board received a presentation from students about the creation of an E-Sports club. The club will be affiliated with both state and national E-Sports organizations, and is expected to begin competition in the winter season. Superintendent Cassi Pearson says this group will allow students to explore their gaming interests in an academic setting while following distancing measures.

“We will have a club starting here around E-Sports. Mr. Nicholas Moats, a science teacher at the high school, is going to be doing their guiding. There is a fall season, winter season and spring season, and I believe our club is hoping to be ready to go here during the winter season. There are several different games that they talked about. Rocket League, Overwatch, League of Legends, Smash Brothers; there’s all sorts of games they can choose to compete against others. It’s all done virtually, so in this COVID world, this is a great club to get started, because it’s something we can do with a lot of safety precautions; kids can still have fun and compete, and eventually go after some scholarship money for college.”

The club plans to operate from its members’ homes, and is open to any student. An interview with Knoxville Schools Superintendent Cassi Pearson can be heard on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.