The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) has announced that esports will be added to its DofE programmes.
According to the release, young people will now be able to pick esports as their DofE Skills activity. Esports must take place through an organised and structured adult-led group in order to be recognised as a skills activity.
The DofE Award is a youth awards programme founded in the UK in 1956 by Prince Philip. The programme has since expanded to 144 countries. DofE has cited that the decision to include esports as a programme is due to the sector’s growth and as a response to developing needs and interests of young people.
The Duke of Edinburgh award is often associated with seeing its participants completing physical activities or events that help develop strategic thinking, leadership, teamwork, and communication, with esports now being regarded as a way to achieve these feats.
For a DofE participant to use esports as a method of completing the award, the esport must take place through an adult-led group, for example a school club, and on top of this, participants must also engage in a variety of other activities, such as developing a new skill they believe in, and a physical challenge.
Announcements such as this one continue to highlight how much esports and gaming has grown and developed.
