Apopka High School Esports is back and better than ever! The club is sponsored by Mrs. Luddy, who The Blue and White was able to interview for this article. Get to know more about our wonderful Esports program below.

During meetings, members play a wide variety of video games. The two most popular have been Smash Bros and Mario Kart, according to Mrs. Luddy. Members are also able to bring their Nintendo Switches to meetings to play on them. Other games played in the esports club include Splatoon and Rocket League.

When asked whether competitions are typically amongst other members or against other schools, Mrs. Luddy explained that “The competitions against schools are different than the club. We have the Esports Club and then we have the esports teams.” In the Esports Club, members play against each other in a less competitive environment. The esports teams, on the other hand, compete against other teams outside of the school.

On the esports teams, she continued, saying that “We had tryouts, and we have two teams that play Splatoon 3, and that is with the format called PlayVS, and they play against teams around the country. And then on Wednesday, we have three teams of Smash Bros, who are playing other teams in the state of Florida. And then on Thursday, we have a Mario Kart team and a Rocket League team. I believe the Mario Kart team is an east coast league, and the Rocket League is a Florida league. They have their games at 4 o’clock on those days.”

While many play video games for fun, it turns out they can be more valuable than that. Esports are becoming so popular that colleges are starting esports programs and offering scholarships for talented gamers. Mrs. Luddy mentioned that “I’ve already had a college reach out to me about their esports program and they want to talk to members, so we are trying to set that up for the first Tuesday of December, where they come to talk about what colleges are looking for, as there are colleges actually giving scholarships to go to their school to do esports.” Members dedicate lots of time and effort to their craft, just like any other athlete or skilled individual. And as such, they could potentially be rewarded for it.

For those who are interested in joining the esports club, meetings are held after school in room 211 (outside of the Media Center), on the first Tuesday of every month.