One of the biggest debates concerning eSports is whether competitive video gaming can be recognized as a sport. The definition of sport has been attempted many times, and a universal definition has not been determined. Rather than a definitive academic definition, people refer to the Oxford English Dictionary definition, “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. The definition of sport needs to be discussed to ensure that eSports can be defined as a sport.
Countries have begun to recognize professional gamers as athletes. In the United States, professional gamers can obtain P-1 visas, which are given to athletes. In 2013, professional gamer Danny “Shiphtur” Le was the first to receive a P-1 visa for eSports. In South Korea, the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) is recognized by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. KeSPA regulates athlete’s amateur and professional status. The recognition of professional gamers grew in South Korea that the South Korean Air Force had an eSports team when professional gamers had to do mandatory military service. Using the examples provided, eSports should be recognized as a sport.
As discussed earlier, eSports falls into the definition of a sport and is already being recognized and organized by several college campuses. eSports also has an advantage to being acknowledged as a collegiate sport, since no defined gender is required to play competitive video games. Women and men can play together without an imbalance being created by gender differences. Since women can start a women-only team or participate with men, the recognition of eSports in the NCAA could fall under the emerging sports for women list.
The benefits of having an eSports team is not limited to saving a university money as a low-cost sport; eSports can generate money for their athletes. As discussed earlier, if the eSports athletes win tournaments in the CSL, that money is applied towards that student’s scholarship. The subsidized money will save the university, as other scholarship money can be allocated to other student athletes. The university also has an ability to gain sponsorship money from the many different companies that do not usually sponsor sports. RMU was able to secure four sponsors when bringing eSports to their university.
