Game On! PlayVS Levels Up with the Introduction of Middle School Esports Leagues

Known for its popular varsity leagues, PlayVS will expand to middle schools for the Fall 2024 season, enabling more students than ever to experience the community, camaraderie, and teamwork of esports

LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — PlayVS, the leading varsity esports platform in North America, today announced that it will expand to middle schools across the U.S. at the start of the Fall 2024 season. With 36,000+ middle schools in the U.S., the expansion more than doubles PlayVS’ potential reach. Now, more than 68,000 total schools in the U.S. can offer esports programs to their students.

To date, PlayVS has offered the highest tier of scholastic competition, having crowned more than 200 state and regional varsity champions during the 2023-2024 school year. Its middle school leagues will be cooperative and free-to-play, providing a platform for students to participate in a more casual setting without the pressure of intense competition.

The expansion to middle schools marks a significant milestone for PlayVS in its mission to bring the many positive benefits of gaming to students everywhere. According to PlayVS’ Fall 2023 Mid-Season Survey of Active Coaches, the vast majority of esports coaches (90%) see improvement in student socialization; nearly three out of four (74%) see improvement in mental health and positive life outlook; and more than half (60%) say they’ve seen improvement in grades or attendance among players. With approximately 76% of children playing video games, PlayVS’ expansion opens the door for hundreds of thousands of middle school students to experience these benefits.

“Being part of a team is one of the most valuable things you can do during your formative years as a student, especially during your middle school years,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS. “We already see the incredible benefits of esports at the varsity level, be it as simple as increasing participation in an after-school activity, or as powerful as inspiring students to become game designers or pursue STEM careers. Our expansion to middle schools will help empower a new generation of students through teamwork, skill development and a sense of community.”

The newly introduced leagues are structured around a two-week preseason and an 11-week regular season, which is two weeks longer than their high school counterparts. Teams will go head-to-head across the three month period, with an end-of-season win-loss record as proof of their performance.

PlayVS, which is COPPA compliant, will initially limit registration to students 13 and over. In Spring 2024, PlayVS will open registration to all middle school students alongside a parent registration portal, to ensure the safety of all involved.

For more information or to register for the Fall 2024 season, please visit www.playvs.com.

About PlayVS

PlayVS (pronounced Play Versus) is North America’s leading scholastic esports platform, on a mission to unlock the many benefits of esports for players everywhere. PlayVS offers a single community in which players, coaches, educators and parents come together to compete, connect and grow through the power of esports. PlayVS is the official high school esports partner to the NFHS Network, the Special Olympics and state and regional organizations in the U.S. and Canada that offer officially sanctioned scholastic esports leagues. To learn more about PlayVS, visit https://playvs.com/.

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