While once viewed as a hobby or a way to pass time, Hamline University is gaining a new perspective into the realm of sports as electronic sports (esports) joins the course of athletics. It is an organization gaining momentum as a relevant and meaningful aspect of campus life — one that reflects student interests and the university’s commitment to inclusive and diverse clubs and organizations.
Being on and off since 2019, co-presidents junior Rowan Larson and junior Parker Schott are working to maintain a strong foundation for the club to leave behind once they graduate.
“The Esports club was started before COVID, hitting its high in 2019 before basically shutting down during COVID. This last summer, I joined the club and was given the social media manager role. I asked for access to the email and saw an email saying we needed to do a bunch of stuff or we wouldn’t be a club anymore, so I spent the next week and a half, two weeks, doing all of it to make sure that the club stayed alive,” Larson said via email.
With the team maintaining strong dedication to their craft, they have been able to establish a spot in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) where they compete against other schools and universities in “Overwatch 2,” with a seven member team.
At the time of this being written, the Pipers are 3–1 on the season with two matches to go. Having this be their first year in the NECC, they were unsure of how they would fare.
“My half-joke goal at the beginning of the season was to win a game. We’ve absolutely blown that out of the water and look poised to be a force in the playoffs when they start November 14,” Schott said via email.
While the team is experiencing high levels of success as they move through the season, they are learning that this would not be possible without each and every member of the team, as well as their dedication to their craft and each other.
“The team culture is great! We all have a really high level of cohesiveness and camaraderie. Of course, in our first season as a team, there’s been road bumps along the way, but those have all been tests and learning experiences that we’ve handled very well,” Schott said via email.
One aspect of the team that may set them apart from others is the level of diversity among themselves. Schott highlighted just how the diversity within the group is working to broaden the values across Hamline and its community.
“We’ve been extraordinarily lucky to land an entirely diverse roster for this season and it looks like that trend will continue to the next one in the spring. Our goal is to make it a foundational fact that diversity not only matters, but is a core part of Hamline as a community. Both for casual and competitive gaming, the diversity and acceptance of our club matters more to me than our performance at the end of the day,” Schott said via email.
With a team proving that their impact goes beyond a controller or a screen, the Pipers are looking forward to what lies ahead.
If interested in watching the Pipers compete in their upcoming matches, all streams are available to watch through Twitch, where they compete on Fridays from 7–9 p.m.
