Fayette County Schools host esports tournament

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Students in Kentucky’s second-largest school district will compete against each other Saturday in a video gaming competition. Fayette County Public School’s EPIC esports program is hosting a tournament to celebrate its inaugural year.

Over 250 FCPS students will make up 61 teams that will go head-to-head at Saturday’s EPIC esports Expo, representing 30 district schools. Shad Lacefield, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning coach, oversees the esports program. He said it’s a way to celebrate all the schools and their involvement in the program’s first year.

“With esports specifically in the state of Kentucky, there’s not a ton of opportunity for in-person tournaments and when it comes to esports, that’s where it is at; building relationships and community within each of the schools,” Lacefield said.

The Engaging Players in Inclusive Competition or EPIC program at FCPS is an after-school activity which combines STEM education and video games.

“We’ve really tried to show kids that video games are fun and exciting, but our program showcases all of these different career paths that can be associated with it,” Lacefield said.

Esport athletes will compete in Mario Kart, Minecraft and Super Smash Bros. Lacefield said the beauty of esports is anyone can learn and grow their skills.

“We wanted to make that really welcoming environment to show that this is a program and activity that all kids no matter their situation, background or what they look like they can play and have a good time,” Lacefield said.

The tournament is at the University of Kentucky’s esports lounge in conjunction with UK’s longstanding esports Campus Takeover, which offers esports enthusiasts a chance to gain insight into the gameplay. Erik Jarvis, program lead for UK’s esports program, said the university is always looking at ways to connect education and career pathways to video games.

“We can bring in students and industry professionals and kind of find the benefits where these worlds intersect,” Jarvis said.

Showing that video games can be fun and educational.

“I really love to see how engaged the kids are; to hear from the teachers and hear about how they see attendance is up and behavior is improving, they have all these success stories,” Lacefield said.

FCPS and its EPIC program were recognized as a Top 5 finalist for Esports District of the Year.

Many universities, including UK, have teams in various esports games that compete nationally. The Campus Takeover event is happening from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UK Student Center on Saturday, May 17.