The Peach State is one of only five in the nation to recognize ‘gaming,’ or esports, as an official sport.
Esports, short for ‘electronic sports, gaming is now a sanctioned high school sport and Georgia is home to 50 teams already competing. Advocates and supporters say the sport goes beyond video games and encompasses “teamwork, communication, strategic thinking and leadership.”
The Georgia High School Association, a nonprofit entity that sanctions high school sports in public and private schools, has an entire section of the website dedicated to esports, which includes team ranking information, playoff details, and the specifics of championships. The organization says esports have “400 million fans worldwide who repeatedly pack out arenas.”
WSBtv recently showcased one of the esport teams at a metro area school in Douglas County. See more here. The news outlet reported that universities like the University of Georgia and Georgia State Univeristy are offering scholarships for students on the teams. Currently, there are 200 colleges and universities offering almost 10 million dollars in scholarships annually.
Here’s a list of high schools that offer GHSA-sanctioned esports teams at this time:
| Athens Christian School |
| Atlanta International School |
| Bacon County High School |
| Baldwin High School |
| Brookstone School |
| Calhoun High School |
| Calvary Day School |
| Carrollton High School |
| Cedar Grove High School |
| Clarke Central High School |
| Colquitt County High School |
| Columbus High School |
| Commerce High School |
| Dade County High School |
| Denmark High School |
| Fannin County High School |
| Fayette County High School |
| Forsyth Central High School |
| Greater Atlanta Christian |
| Harris County High School |
| Heritage High School |
| Lafayette High School |
| Lambert High School |
| Lee County High School |
| Model High School |
| Monroe Area High School |
| Mount Vernon Presbyterian School |
| Mount de Sales Academy |
| North Forsyth High School |
| Pepperell High School |
| Pickens County High School |
| Pike County High School |
| Putnam County High School |
| Sandy Creek High School |
| South Forsyth High School |
| Statesboro STEAM Academy |
| Taylor County High School |
| Tift County High School |
| Washington County High School |
| Wayne County High School |
| West Forsyth High School |
What is Esports
