Esports Are Banned From The Olympics For The Most Ridiculous Reason


Esports in the Olympics

There has long been a call for the olympics to involve esports in its roster, but it seems today that many peoples dream may never come to fruition.

“They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot therefore be accepted”

The chief of the olympics committee had this to say about the idea of the addition of esports to the olympics.

This seems a bit odd to me as there are games already in the Olympics that are ‘violent’. Archery and shooting events have long been in the olympics. These events obviously don’t involve ‘shooting’ another person/player so aren’t quite on the same level as esports in that regard. However it could be said that shooting and archery events encourage people to go out and buy bow and arrows and guns to start shooting themselves. Whereas esports encourages people to go out and buy a game and play that. Which of those do you think is more dangerous?

Thomas Bach also had this to say:

“We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which is promoting violence or discrimination,”

I am not entirely sure what he means by esports being discriminatory but I do get where he is coming from with the violence stand point.

This isn’t the first time that Bach has dismissed the idea of esports in the Olympics. The same happened this time last year but the call for esports to be added to the olympics is still there and only seems to be growing in support.

Can you imagine all of these games being at the Olympics?

    • League of Legends
    • Dota 2
    • Overwatch
    • Counter-Strike: Global offensive
    • Rocket League
    • Starcraft II
    • Fifa/PES
    • Hearthstone
    • Fortnite

I can certainly see a few of these games being added sooner than others. Games like Rocket League that don’t involve ‘killing’ people do line up with olympic values and will also pull in a lot of young viewers for the olympics which I am sure the Olympics would love to see.

It looks like more and more universities are taking gaming seriously, as you can now study a degree in Esports.

Staffordshire University, based in Stoke-on-Trent, UK, has introduced the brand-new course for this year.

They have a dedicated Esports hub, with state-of-the-art equipment.

Credit: Staffordshire University/Facebook

The university said: “This course is brand new for September 2018. Focusing on the business side of esports, this is a unique course taught from what is considered to be one of the largest and best games universities in the UK.

“The BA (Hons) Esports focuses on the business of esports. You will learn how to host small and large scale events for single player and multi-player teams, create business plans to develop teams, create online communities and promote your events through digital marketing. You will also get the opportunity to explore the culture of esports, its audience and fan base and different game genres that make up the most popular in current times.

“Staffordshire University is considered to be one of the largest and best games universities in the UK. In 2016 we were the best place in the UK to study games design and development by ALPHR – the online branch of PC Pro. We also have a long history of event management courses with feedback via NSS and SVS indicating a high level of student satisfaction.

“The success in these two areas will see a unique partnership between games and events to create a truly outstanding experience in the UK market.”

Credit: Staffordshire University/Facebook

If you’re wondering what kind of things you’d be studying, they reveal all on their website:

  • Join one of our six competitive societies: League of Legends, DOTA2, Hearthstone, Counter Strike, Overwatch and Super Smash Bros and compete in events in the UK and overseas.
  • Take part in UK and International varsities.
  • Visit esports events in the UK and take part in an International residential.
  • Study digital marketing and take Google Garage Exams as part of the course.
  • Plan, develop and implement an esports event. In the first year the event will be a single player event, in year two this progresses to a team player event and in the third year the event will be a large scale, commercial venue event with team players and a prize fund.
  • You will be taught in a dedicated Esports Lab and Pro Gamer training facility with all the latest industry standard software and hardware.

You can find out more, and apply through Clearing, here.