By: Charles Owens
For: Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — A mascot has been selected and registration will soon begin for Bluefield’s new Esports program.
A project of the new Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Bluefield, the Esports center is currently being developed at the former arcade area of the Raleigh Street Cinemas.
“We are painting the space right now,” Kathryn Kandas, grants project manager for the city of Bluefield, said. “We are painting what is known as the arcade. It’s that front space with the windows that will be our Esports center. We are also painting a space in the back.”
Kandas said the windows will later be tinted, as all of the computer equipment and gaming machines for the online competitions are added.
The goal is to have the Esports center ready for students by this fall. The Esports program will be an after-school offering of the new Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Bluefield.
Kandas said the fall registration period will open soon. It will be available for middle school youth in grades 6, 7 and 8 from both Bluefield Middle and Graham Middle schools. There is no cost for a student to become a member of the Esports team.
Kandas said more information will be announced soon on city social media sites about the upcoming registration, which is tentatively set to open on July 13.
A new mascot for the Esports program also has been selected, a Bluefield Beaver, who still needs a name.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Bluefield is working with Concord University on the new Esports Center.
“We’ve worked with Concord University’s E sports program,” Kandas said. “Those guys are fantastic and will help us install the technology, do all the furniture layouts. Concord University’s Esports program has been a huge partner with all that. They are national champs. They host tournaments. They have youth come in from Texas A&M and Georgia Tech for a game. So they are the real deal.”
Kandas worked with the Boys and Girls Club of America to help establish the new chapter in Bluefield.
The Boys and Girls Club of America is a national non-profit that promotes safe, positive and inclusive environments for all children. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Bluefield will be operated by two full-time staff members and two-part time staffers who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the program.
Equipment for the new Esports center started arriving earlier this year, according to City Manager Cecil Marson. That equipment has included computers, gaming systems and other items that will be needed for online competitive play in the city’s downtown area.
Esports, or electronic sports, is an organized and competitive form of online gaming both for teams and individuals. Esports tournaments are growing in popularity across the nation, particularly among young people, who often compete for college scholarships through the online tournaments.
According to the website of the Boys and Girls Club of America, the agency supports a network of more than 5,500 local clubs and reaches more than 4 million children and youth each year, providing safe spaces, caring mentors, healthy meals and snacks, and evidence-based programs that support academic success, leadership skills, and health and wellness.
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