Edmonton school's e-sports athletes go mouse-to-mouse with province's best

Globe and Mail

13-05-2025

There were no balls, pucks, sticks or high-performance shoes for the athletes. Instead, there were desktops, laptops, ergonomic keyboards and very large mouse pads. Inside the computer lab at Vimy Ridge Academy in Edmonton, athletes prepared for the tournament of the year.
They had spent months getting ready for the Alberta Esports Championship, a provincewide video-game competition for high-school and junior-high students. With more than 200 competitors representing 27 schools playing three different games, the tournament bills itself as the largest of its kind in Canada.
And where many similar tournaments are held online, this one, held in Calgary May 10-11, was an in-person affair, with teams duking it out face-to-face in front of a crowd.
'This would be the big one,' said Travis Bouchard, the director of Vimy's e-sports academy ahead of the competition.
The high school was hoping for a strong performance this year – especially since standing out in big tournaments can help open doors to postsecondary schools.
Across the country at high schools, universities and colleges, competitive video gaming is becoming commonplace. The University of Waterloo and Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, among others, all boast e-sports programs and offer scholarships – sometimes even full rides – for e-sports athletes.
A multibillion-dollar industry, e-sports are expected to continue to grow in popularity. Valorant, a first-person shooter game at the Calgary tournament, boasts more than 35 million players, with championship matches garnering millions of views online and offering lucrative prizes.
That growth has prompted the creation of several leagues in Canada. In Ontario, Lakehead Public Schools launched its own e-sports league. In B.C., Grand Forks Secondary School sent a team of students to compete in Hawaii last July.
At Vimy Ridge, Mr. Bouchard hopes he can create an environment where some of his students can one day go pro – or at least pay for school through e-sports.
But like any sport, getting to that point requires hard work.
With programs in hockey, lacrosse, baseball and other sports, Vimy Ridge Academy is no stranger to producing top talent. Stuart Skinner, the starting goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers, walked the halls. As did 2025 Stanley Cup hopeful Sam Steel of the Dallas Stars.
Mr. Bouchard launched the e-sports academy two years ago. The first class had just 14 students; now, in its third year, it's 30 strong.
Unlike schools that may have an e-sports club or team, Vimy's program is built into the daily routine. As a sports-focused school, most students spend half their days in academics and the other half training in their sport.
In addition to gaming skills, e-sports teams also work on their physical fitness, with everything from weight training to spin classes and yoga. In the week before the big tournament, fitness training took up half the students' time.
On the day before this year's competition, the Valorant team was drilled by support coach Jackson 'Jax' Reid on 'sayings to live by.' One such phrase: 'Play safe when you're ahead,' a common refrain in many sports.
'Discipline is important,' Mr. Reid advised, adding that even his university-level team struggles with it.
Like hockey, Valorant involves teams of five. Players score a point either by planting a bomb, if they're the attackers, preventing a plant if they're defenders or eliminating all enemy combatants.
In such shooting games, which simulate highly sophisticated gunplay, learning how to aim and 'peek' corners takes countless hours of tedious drills to master.
While scrimmaging – basically a practice session – Joaquin Lafuente, 17, jerked his computer mouse quickly one way, then slowly brought it back, before repeating the motion, trying to achieve an economy of movement. Above him on a wall, a sign warned about common e-sports injuries that can affect the neck, eyes and wrists. The big mouse pad suddenly made sense.
'I had to take a two-week break' after last year's tournament, Mr. Lafuente said. Not because of physical injuries, though. As a member of the Valorant team, he's well aware of the burnout that can come with playing a game five days a week, nine months a year.
He said he was looking forward to this year's tournament. His teammate Cam Cairns said it's always fun to play against good teams.
Outside the game, Mr. Cairns is a quiet, shy kid, but his friends don't hesitate to boast about his skill. In Valorant's ranking system, the 16-year-old is Platinum 3, which places him in the top 21 per cent of all players. He also plays a position called initiator, which is known for bombastic, high-stakes plays.
'A lot of our success happens to root from him,' Mr. Lafuente said.
Mr. Cairns has already had a few postsecondary schools approach him about his future. But in the meantime, he's just focused on the fun of it.
'There's a solid chunk of my day that's devoted to playing video games every day, which is pretty neat.'
Before joining the Vimy program, Mr. Lafuente said, he had little in common with his peers. Joining the team introduced him to like-minded people with an interest in gaming.
For Mr. Cairns, it's a similar story. E-sports has improved his communication skills and helped him build friendships.
In the end, the team from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute won the Valorant tournament, and Vimy tied for fifth place after getting knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Mr. Bouchard said he was happy with the results.