Strathmore High School hosts regional Super Smash Bros. tournament

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Building on the success and excitement from previous years, Strathmore High School hosted a regional eSports tournament, March 25, once again offering a relatively new space for students to compete.

This time around, Strathmore High School brought together students to clash over Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – a fast-paced platform fighting game which operates in a similar style to that of Street Fighter or Mortal Combat.

“We have been doing eSports in the school for a few years now, mostly as a club, and there are other programs starting up. It is really picking up around the province,” said Ed Eberts, the Strathmore High School teacher who organized the tournament and oversees the eSports club. “(The students) look forward to it all year, just waiting for the event. Smash Bros., in particular, because you kind of have to play it in person. It’s a really different experience of the game.”

Eberts, now a member of the Alberta Scholastic eSports League (ASEL), is on an academic subcommittee helping to organize similar events throughout the province.

Three Hills School hosted a Rocket League tournament in 2024, and Strathmore students found themselves in Calgary competing last year. Prior to going to Calgary, local students travelled to Lethbridge for their opportunity to compete.

“We had schools attend from Three Hills, Drumheller, Standard, Strathmore, all around Golden Hills School Division. I invited schools from as far out as Medicine Hat, but nobody came this time. I am hoping it grows from here,” said Eberts.

As a rough estimate, Eberts said between 60 and 70 students came out to compete.

Just like any sporting event, students are required to have a coach to show up with them to compete at a given eSports tournament.

By school, each is slightly different, explained Eberts. Some will simply have an eSports club, while others have begun to operate dedicated eSports classes and organized teams who practice together regularly.

ASEL sanctioned the event, including the provision of medals for the students who placed first, second, and third in their respective divisions. This time around, the tournament hosted U15 and U18 divisions.

The Alberta eSports Championship, also hosted by ASEL, is planned to be held at Bow Valley College in May in their eSports arena, offering another opportunity this spring for students to engage in competition.

“We also run leagues throughout the year and tournaments for a couple other games, and then players that participate in there, the top team or two, often they will compete in eSports Canada’s events,” added Eberts.

Currently, Valorant, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are among the initial and most popular sanctioned games available for competition.

Further organization for future tournaments is going towards expanding the selection to include more genres, such as for League of Legends, NHL, or Splatoon. Eberts suggested titles will be examined based on their popularity among local player bases.

In the U15 division, Franko Dyk, Mason Van De Castle, and Jack Fawdry, each representing Crowther Memorial Junior High, swept the podium.

For the U18’s, Toshi Masaki and Takuto Nakamura from Strathmore High School also claimed medals. Joining them was Tristan Giles from Three Hills School.