Esports, the playing of video games competitively, is the up and coming power house in the sporting community and Arizona high schools will soon be competing for a state championship.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association announced that esports was being added to the list of activities that schools could participate in under the AIA.

This means that schools will now be able to compete for a state championship in different games.

The esports community is an industry that has been on the rise for years. Games such as Overwatch, Dota and Counter-Strike have dominated the space, with the likes of the Overwatch League championship being aired on ESPN.

The AIA is very aware of this fact and getting ahead of the game was one of the keys.

“It is important that we get out in front of this. There are many esports companies looking to get into this space, and by bringing it under the AIA umbrella we can best provide the opportunity for our students to compete for a state championship while working with the partner(s) that are best suited to provide the platform that best fits our mission and vision,” said Brian Bolitho, Director of Business Development for the AIA.

And with the games being big, the personalities are event bigger. Most notable is Tyler “Ninja” Blevins who has cemented himself on top of all others in the now popular battle royale-styled game called, Fortnite.

Blevins has done everything from playing with popular rapper Drake to being featured on ESPN’s E:60. He has also recently become the first professional esports player to be featured as the cover athlete of ESPN Magazine.

Now students in Arizona with dreams of entering the professional esports arena, like Ninja, have the opportunity get their start.

This not only gives players to compete in the games they are interested in, but it could also lead to opportunities after high school.

“With the creation of leagues like this, it’s creating a path connecting esports to a real career,” said Lucas Selman, the President of the ASU Esports Association.

“Students who compete in the AIA league or other similar leagues like HSEL have a huge chance of being picked up by colleges. There are over 100 universities already that offer scholarships and that number will probably double in the next year,” he added.

Now that the announcement has been made, decision making and analysis will be done by the AIA to make sure they are ready to give the plan to the member schools.

“Right now, we are gathering all the information that will be pertinent for our schools to know that will be interested in participating, including registration information, the technical details and how the season will take place from regular season to post season, including division and section setup, etc.,” said Bolitho.

To add a brand-new program takes a lot of hard decision making and analysis for not just the AIA, but the member schools as well.

“The district office and our local school board would have to make the financial commitment to starting the program. If there wasn't any funding to provide equipment, an adult sponsor, transportation, and fees to support the program, we would not be able to add the activity,” said Tanque Verde High School principal AJ Malis.

“I believe there would have to be extensive discussion in the community as to whether this activity should be added as opposed to others that TVHS does not have at this time,” Malis continued.

The AIA is planning on releasing more information to the member schools by mid- November, said Bolitho, and then the schools will have the opportunity to decide if they would like to participate.

The AIA will look to structure the activity with two seasons throughout the year that include a regular season and playoffs.

The first season is set to start in February of 2019.