Georgia is 1 of 5 States to Recognize ‘Gaming’ as an Official Sport

The Peach State is one of only five in the nation to recognize ‘gaming,’ or esports, as an official sport.

Esports, short for ‘electronic sports, gaming is now a sanctioned high school sport and Georgia is home to 50 teams already competing. Advocates and supporters say the sport goes beyond video games and encompasses “teamwork, communication, strategic thinking and leadership.”

The Georgia High School Association, a nonprofit entity that sanctions high school sports in public and private schools, has an entire section of the website dedicated to esports, which includes team ranking information, playoff details, and the specifics of championships. The organization says esports have “400 million fans worldwide who repeatedly pack out arenas.”

WSBtv recently showcased one of the esport teams at a metro area school in Douglas County. See more here. The news outlet reported that universities like the University of Georgia and Georgia State Univeristy are offering scholarships for students on the teams.  Currently, there are 200 colleges and universities offering almost 10 million dollars in scholarships annually.

Here’s a list of high schools that offer GHSA-sanctioned esports teams at this time: