Niverville resident Melissa Burns has developed her love of video games into a challenging and rewarding hobby that takes her all over the world. The phenomenon is called esports.
But what is esports?
“Esports are a form of competition involving multiplayer video games, but unlike games such as Mario Kart, they need to be balanced and won based on skill, technical ability, and strategy without being impacted by luck or chance,” says Burns. “Players can compete in casual scrims or leagues and tournaments, and the best of the best will play professional leagues that parallel those of traditional sports, much like the CFL or NHL.”
Burns says these players train the same way traditional athletes would, with regimented physical conditioning, nutrition plans tailored to their specific needs, and hours of dedicated practice, strategy, and development.
“One thing unique to esports is that fans can often interact with the pros via Twitch streams, and occasionally find themselves in a match with them online,” she says. “This direct line of communication with the greats makes esports very personable and interactive.”
Esports is a multibillion-dollar industry that continues to grow rapidly. Major events like the League of Legends World Cup now easily draw in over five million views online in addition to their sold-out arena crowds. Canada has five major league teams with many additional farm teams playing in development leagues.
“They are beginning to be featured on sports channels such as ESPN,” says Burns. “And the production side is just as developed too with shoutcasters, analysts, and interviewers who specialize in their fields.”
Burns describes herself as a “gamer” and has been playing video games her whole life.
“I started as a PC gamer right from childhood and spent countless hours playing console games at my friends houses after school,” says Burns.
As a young adult, she spent several years touring North America doing musical theatre with various companies, and played League of Legends with her now husband, Chris Burns, as part of their long-distance relationship. It was Chris who first introduced her to the concept of coaching esports after he started a team at St. Boniface Diocesan in 2012.
She was settling into a teaching career herself after retiring from musical theatre and had a job at Archwood School in Winnipeg where she decided to start an esports team for middle school students.
From there, the program grew quickly and Burns started to take on a leading role in organizing games on a greater scale in Manitoba.
Provincial and National Growth
In 2016, she started Middle Years Esport Manitoba as well as the Manitoba High School Esports Association. Eventually, the two programs combined to create the Manitoba School Esports Association (MSEA).
“We came together to provide a stronger, more unified voice for esports in Manitoba schools and actively work to provide support, professional development, curriculum, advocacy, and research within the field of scholastic esports,” says Burns, who currently serves as chair of the MSEA. “There was a trend towards for-profit American-based organizations hard-selling Canadian schools on their programs during the pandemic, and we wanted to provide a pedagogically sound alternative that was for Manitoba students, by Manitoba teachers.”
In January 2020, prior to the provincial amalgamation of the two smaller groups, Burns had also started laying the groundwork to launch the national network for multiplayer competitive video games that would become Esport Canada.
She had been working on research for a chapter she was writing for an academic textbook on esports research and its integration into education. This required a significant amount of networking to connect educators from across the country.
“This network of educators quickly expanded, allowing us to host competitions for schools across the country that were then streamed and shoutcasted by Canadian universities and colleges. Again, it was our response to pressure coming from American for-profit organizations that were encroaching on the Canadian education system, as our effort to keep esports in schools focused on supporting the student holistically through skill development, career exposure, social/emotional development, and player well-being, both on and offline.”
This work gained the attention of several colleges and universities across the country and their communities of gamers who had been playing exclusively through U.S. collegiate esports leagues since Canada didn’t have one.
This past summer, Burns and fellow educators were able to sign an agreement with a number of founding postsecondary institutions across the country and form Esports Canada, the official home of Canadian varsity gaming. Aside from organizing non-competitive matches, the organization aimed to provide the opportunity to help students develop within an educational environment.
Shortly after its formation, the Ontario Department of Hospitality and Tourism, as well as another esports industry stakeholder, approached Esports Canada to expand further by adding a competitive division.
This caused the organization to quickly rebrand, as changing the nature of the matches was a move that extended beyond the scope of their education-based program.
“We are now a federally registered not-for-profit governing body for esports in Canada and a National Federation Member of the International Esports Federation (IESF),” Burns explains. “Our mission is to amplify local gaming communities through federal advocacy, international representation, and sanctioned national competition and events that allow all Canadians to engage and excel in esports, while our vision is to see the Canadian Esports Ecosystem thrive by fostering a community built on respect, excellence, and love of the game.”
Esports Canada has three divisions—EDU, Post-Secondary, and Competition—and they look to work with local schools, communities, grassroots orgs/clubs, professionals, industry, and all other stakeholders to improve the landscape of esports in Canada.
This might sound impressive, but compared to other countries the league is still quite small. Burns sees even more potential to grow the program.
“As a nation, we have lots of infrastructure in place, but the community is fragmented, leaving us years behind in development when compared to other nations. We hope to change this by bringing everyone together, thereby creating a more unified voice for our communities in a way that benefits the social and economic landscape of our nation.”
International Gaming Representation
Burns recently represented Esport Canada at the fourteenth annual IESF World Esports Championships in Bali, Indonesia. The event hosted 105 countries and it was the first time Canada had been represented on the international stage.
“It was a big coming of age moment for the organization as a whole,” says Burns, who was able to attend along with a Canadian player named Naqi Hayder, a.k.a. Mishimized. “I was able to attend the event with Mishimized as the national representative, attending the International Summit and AGM. [Mishimized] competed against 40 countries, finishing thirteenth overall, a respectable finish for our first time at an international event of this size.”
During the events, Burns was able to build many valuable relationships with other nations, notably signing an official partnership with the Australian Esports Federation, which will provide Canadian and Aussie players the opportunity to develop through exchange programs. The agreement also secures an invitation for Canada to compete in the upcoming Australian Cup.
“The event was a huge success featuring six game titles, opening and closing ceremonies, medals and awards, streaming, exhibition vendors, and cultural experiences/displays similar to those of an Olympic event. It was truly an honour to be there and I am so excited to continue this work in the years to come.”
