British Esports Association

The British Esports Association is a national body for esports (or competitive video gaming) in the United Kingdom. After receiving authority from the UK Government, it was established in March 2016 to help develop the UK's grassroots esports scene and provide an infrastructure to nurture future talent.

British Esports Association
FormationMarch 21, 2016 (2016-03-21)
FounderChester King
Legal statusNot for profit
PurposeNational body for grassroots Esports
HeadquartersBuckinghamshire
Vice chair
Ed Vaizey
Key people
Andy Payne
Chester King
Dominic Sacco
Tom Dore[1]

Organization

The association's chair is Andy Payne OBE, who has worked for the Mastertronic software publishing group, AppyNation, Just Flight and is a board member of UKIE, the trade body for the UK games industry.[2] Former Minister and MP Ed Vaizey joined the association as vice chair in October 2017. Andy Miah joined as advisory board member in November 2019.[3]

Goals

The association's three goals are to promote esports in the UK and increase its level of awareness, improve the standard of UK esports and inspire future talent[4]

Announcements

In April 2017, British Esports announced its first game advisers, who provide input and expertise to make sure the association can support and understand each game's community effectively.[5]

The Association held an after-school esports club pilot scheme for school children at Maida Vale Library in summer 2017.[6]

Collaborations

British Esports has joined Ukie,[7] the Creative Industries Federation[8] and the Sport and Recreation Alliance.[9]

In September 2018, British Esports teamed up with West Ham United Foundation, London Sport, Archery GB and GAME to host an activity week merging esports with sport, including football, archery and Rocket League.[10]

Events

In early 2018, the inaugural British Esports Championships were announced.[11] The pilot Championships for schools and colleges ran from February to April 2018[12]and the first full Championships ran from October 2018, in partnership with Twitch Student and AoC Colleges Sport, concluding with finals at the Insomnia Gaming Festival in 2019.[13]

References
  1. Sacco, Dominic (January 16, 2019). "Meet the team". British Esports Association. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  2. Takahashi, Dean (June 30, 2016). "Britain gets its own esports association". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  3. "British Esports Association announces new advisory board members". www.gamasutra.com (Press release). November 19, 2019.
  4. Sacco, Dominic (July 1, 2016). "About the British Esports Association". British Esports Association. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  5. "The British Esports Association announces games advisers". British Esports Association. April 26, 2017.
  6. "Can gaming really benefit children? New library club gets kids excited about esports". Libraries Taskforce. September 13, 2017.
  7. "Ukie esports update: October". Ukie. October 10, 2017.
  8. "British Esports Association boards Creative Industries Federation". Esports Insider. February 19, 2018.
  9. "British Esports Association joins Sport and Recreation Alliance, signs Mental Health Charter". MCV. February 19, 2018.
  10. "West Ham United Foundation Esports partnership launched". West Ham United. September 28, 2018.
  11. "Inaugural British Esports Championships announced". Sky Sports. January 17, 2018.
  12. "British Esports Championships pilot review" (PDF). British Esports Association. July 24, 2018.
  13. "British Esports Association partners with Twitch Student to grow esports in schools". Dot Esports. July 12, 2018.
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