The Forest Lake State High School Lions Esport team competed in the Microsoft Office Specialist Australian Finals and QUT Sport High School Overwatch 2 Competition early this month.
The students involved competed for first place, against a number of other national-level teams in two separate competitions.
The Microsoft Office Specialist Australian Finals is a national competition that tests students’ skills on Microsoft software like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Top students, like those from Forest Lake State High School are invited to represent their respective schools.
Forest Lake State High School head of the Esports department MJ Raatz said the students, who are officially partnered with Microsoft, had all been recognised as Microsoft Office Specialists in Powerpoint after a 90-hour training course before being invited to participate in the competition.
“Students undertook an online timed test through Prodigy Learning…we were invited to attend due to our students’ performance in their qualification test,” he said.
“It’s an internationally recognised qualification, and quite challenging.”
Mr Raatz said due to some difficulties, the team was left feeling that they didn’t compete to their best ability, but are ready to go for next year.
“We intend on competing next year around March,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students to showcase their skills and talent. They are very challenging tests, and it’s a credit to our students who performed so well.”
If they place first, the winners of the competition will be invited to attend and compete against winners from 116 other countries in the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Orlando, Florida, for an $8000 prize.
The QUT Overwatch competition ended with the team just barely missing the finals, landing them in fifth place.
“Overwatch 2 attaches to many scholarships in the university program in this country and overseas,” Mr Raatz said.
“Esports is a billion dollar industry now, and we’re looking at pathways for our students. They may become professional players, but this is limited. There are many jobs in Esports including production and casting.”
“In all instances, people working in the industry need to have firsthand knowledge of the mechanics of the games. So, if QUT changes, we’ll pivot and change with them and what they perceive as what’s cool and profitable.”
The Forest Lake State High School Lions are currently competing in The FUSE Cup, XP Esports and Meta Esports competitions for a number of games including Just Dance, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros and Rocket League.
