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The Saint Louis Science Center was proud to participate in the recent Gateway Legends esports competition hosted by Fair Saint Louis and sponsored by Centene Charitable Foundation. Held over the July 4th weekend, local esports powerhouse Maryville University served as the host team, inviting 16 collegiate League of Legends teams to compete over the three days. League of Legends is one of the world’s most popular games, which was created by RIOT Games who have offices locally in St. Louis.

As a partner of the event, the Science Center was asked to supplement the broadcast by streaming seven different matches over the weekend. The matches were streamed live on the Science Center’s Twitch channel (@STLScienceCenter). Through the support of the Youth Exploring Science (YES) program, the Science Center was able to provide a full production, where members of the YES team were able to work directly with industry professionals. These YES team members were responsible for equipment setup, maintenance, and monitoring the stream settings.

The Science Center also enlisted the help of local college students interested in shoutcasting. These six individuals helped to support the broadcast by calling the action throughout the matches, and also served as live hosts by interviewing the competitors and setting the stage for each match. Members of the shoutcasting team are currently enrolled at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, Drury University, Southeast Missouri University, and Missouri Baptist University.

Additionally, the Science Center was excited to partner with the esports team from the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis for the production and shoutcasting of the event. Members of the UHSP team were on hand to assist in the broadcast, as well. Aaron Kothe and Fernando Paiva from the UHSP team were instrumental in creating a successful stream and providing the YES team with opportunities to job shadow during the production process. Head coach of the UHSP esports team, Paiva says, “It was an honor and a privilege to partner with the Saint Louis Science Center to produce such an awesome secondary stream! I want to thank the Science Center, Fair Saint Louis, and Nerd Street Gamers for this amazing opportunity!”

In addition to producing live Twitch streams, the Science Center worked closely with the Missouri Scholastic Esports Federation (MOSEF) to produce two panel discussions with local esports leaders. The first panel offered the community a chance to listen in on a discussion among high school coaches and sponsors. The discussion focused on the benefits that gaming and esports provide students in high school. Some of the benefits discussed included scholarship opportunities for gaming, social growth, and opportunities for students to learn about various aspects of technology found in the esports industry.

The second panel was heavily focused on the collegiate opportunities that gaming and esports provide to students heading to college. With a diverse group of experts including coaches, students, and collegiate players, the panel discussed the various ways for students to be involved in esports clubs and teams at the collegiate level. They specifically focused on scholarship opportunities and how there is a place for everyone in esports. Many students may not be the best gamers, but are passionate about the team and games, giving them a chance to showoff shoutcasting and streaming skills.

The Science Center looks forward to working with the Fair Saint Louis team in the future and continuing to grow our esports program. For more information on our program or to see current offerings visit www.slsc.org/esports. Be sure to follow us on Twitch (@@STLScienceCenter).