The 2022 ASAC E-Sports Tournament may not have been your usual sporting event – but it generated as much enthusiasm and competitive spirit as any action-packed challenge our students could experience.
Hosted by ACG School Jakarta last month, the inaugural competition saw students battle on the virtual sports ground, pitting their skills against athletes from ASAC schools in Thailand and Vietnam. AS ASAC’s first live international tournament since 2019, students were able to connect and interact in real-time as they showcased their sporting prowess in Mario Kart 8 (Under 12 Division), Rocket League (Under 15 Division) and FIFA 22 (Under 19 Division).
“It was a tremendously fun and exciting tournament,” says ACG School Jakarta Head of Athletics, Ryan McPhee. “There were no technology or internet issues, and all the matches ran smoothly. The students from all the schools really enjoyed the day – you could tell from all the jumping up and down and excited shouting and cheering!”
Since the arrival of COVID-19, ASAC schools have been unable to travel for traditional sports-based tournaments, and staff have worked tirelessly to find innovative alternatives.
“For this academic year, we worked together to create a virtual events calendar where students could still collaborate, connect and compete against each other while staying in their home countries. One of the events we came up with was this E-Sports Tournament.”
Each school used Nintendo Switch and online play to connect teams virtually. And thanks to the communication platform Discord, players from different schools could see each other and communicate during the matches. Although the ultimate victory went to AIS Vietnam, students from ACG School Jakarta medalled in two divisions. Kangmin Kim and KyuSung Lee placed third in the Years 5 to 6 Division playing Mario Kart 8, and Christopher Toh and Taiga Horimoto were bronze medalists in the Years 10 to 13 Division using the national football team from France in FIFA 22.
“Congratulations to those students and to all the ACG School Jakarta students that participated in this awesome event. Not only was it a great opportunity to interact with students from other schools, but it was a safe and comfortable tournament for students to take part in – students who maybe don’t always get a chance to participate in the traditional sports tournaments.”
