SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) today announced a three-year agreement as the Official Esports Provider of the CIF Esports Initiative. NASEF shares the core values and mission of CIF regarding education-based opportunities for the students of California. NASEF’s model connects gameplay and competition to meaningful education around life and career skills.
Together, NASEF and CIF will offer tournaments in top esports titles. Tournaments will be hosted on the UGC (Ultimate Gaming Championship) platform, which is recognized for its ease-of-use and is supported by a highly responsive development team. NASEF’s structure combines competition with education about career pathways in the esports world and beyond, making high school esports a place where students prepare for global career opportunities as well as competition.
The CIF currently has almost 400 schools and 3,000 student-athletes participating in competitive esports annually. This collaboration is a model for state athletic associations around the country who, like CIF, have an objective to develop student-athletes of character and promote quality academics.
“There are many CIF member schools currently engaged in esports and we are excited to align with NASEF as they provide an additional education-based opportunity for all our students and member schools,” said CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti.
“This NASEF-CIF partnership will provide top-notch high school esports tournaments to students across California, providing opportunities to practice digital citizenship and experience positive play environments through competition,” said Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of NASEF. “At the same time, students will experience other roles within the esports ecosystem including shoutcasting, streaming, graphic design, event management, data analytics, and more, expanding the impact of scholastic esports to help students to thrive and grow.”
About NASEF
The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) is on a mission to provide opportunities for all students to use esports as a platform to acquire STEM/STEAM-based skills and critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
About the California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. CIF is uniquely positioned to foster student growth in values and ethics. CIF’s ideal of “Pursuing Victory with Honor,” provides the opportunity to influence the actions of the athletic community. CIF strives to promote equity, quality, character, and academic development.
