British Esports Association

British Esports Association
Formation June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)
Founder Chester King
Legal status Not for profit
Purpose National body for grassroots Esports
Headquarters Pinewood Studios
Key people
 Andy Payne OBE, Chester King & Dominic Sacco

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 June 2016 to help develop the UK's grassroots esports scene and provide an infrastructure to nurture future talent.

Its 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 [1]

The organisation's chair is Andy Payne OBE, a games industry veteran 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] The government of the United Kingdom, specifically through the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport are supportive of its aims.

In September 2016, Dominic Sacco joined the team, formerly of trade magazine publisher NewBay Media and Esports News UK.[3]

In December 2016, the association announced its advisory board,[4], which currently consists of:

  • Michael “ODEE” O’Dell, General Manager at Team Dignitas
  • Craig “Wizzo” Fletcher, Founder at Multiplay
  • Chris Mead, Twitch‘s UK Director of Partnerships
  • Ryan Hart, World Champion Esports Player
  • Ceirnan “Excoundrel” Lowe, Colour Caster
  • Josh Williams, Founder, National University Esports League
  • Carleigh Morgan, Academic
  • Andrew Nixon, Partner at Sheridans
  • Philippa Warr, Games Journalist
  • Mark "Garvey" Candella, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Twitch
  • Heather "Naysayerz" Dower, Esports Host

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]

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

Rt. Hon. Ed Vaizey MP joined the Association as Vice Chair in October 2017. [10].

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 will run from October 2018, in partnership with Twitch Student and AoC Colleges Sport, concluding with finals at the Insomnia Gaming Festival in spring 2019. [13]

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. [14]


References

  1. ↑ Sacco, Dominic (July 1, 2016). "About the British Esports Association". British Esports Association. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  2. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (June 30, 2016). "Britain gets its own esports association". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  3. ↑ Cooke, Sam (2016-09-09). "Dominic Sacco joins the British Esports Association". Esports Insider. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  4. ↑ Auxent, Adrien (December 7, 2016). "The British Esports Association reveals its advisory board and launches website". The Esports Observer. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  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. ↑ "Former Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has been appointed as Vice Chair of the British Esports Association". Daily Mail. October 12, 2017.
  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.
  14. ↑ "West Ham United Foundation Esports partnership launched". West Ham United. September 28, 2018.
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