Los Angeles-based grassroots and scholastic esports platform PlayVS announced a partnership last week with the Vermont Principals Association (VPA) to make esports programs available in all 82 public high schools across the state. The VPA oversees high school sports and other after-school activities and programs in the state.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
PlayVS is charging a participation fee of $80 USD per player; with an undisclosed discount for larger teams. PlayVS said in a release that it will also help schools that don’t have the financial means to launch an esports program secure funding through Title 1 federal programs that support elementary and secondary education—a sentiment echoed by the VPA.
The first season facilitated by PlayVS will begin this fall and offer students across Vermont the opportunity to compete in League of Legends, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Fall 2023 Season will begin on Sept. 26, with a championship for all titles to be held in December.
PlayVS has had some limited experience working with a school system in Vermont; in a release the company said that it has been working with the Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont, for the last two years to create a school-sanctioned esports program for its roughly 1,300+ students.
The partnership is a bit of a bright spot for the company, which saw its longtime CEO and Founder Delane Parnell stepping down from the role at the beginning of May—replaced by educational technology veteran executive Jon Chapman at the beginning of this month. In March, the company laid off around 20 employees, and also saw some pushback from the board of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which voted to exclude NBA 2K competitions in the state over licensing issues with PlayVS related to the game.
PlayVS operates tournaments in the amateur, scholastic (K-12), and collegiate esports ecosystems throughout the United States and Canada, and since May 2018, the company has raised $106.2M.