North American esports tournament platform Rally Cry has teamed up with NBC-held youth sports outlet SportsEngine.
The partnership will debut with three free-to-enter youth esports competitions across three weekends. The tournaments, set to be held from July 23 to August 7, will focus on players ages 13-18.
A $15,000 (~£12,200) total prize pool will be split between the three tournaments. EA Sports Madden 22 is the title of choice for its first competition, which will be held on July 23rd-24th for both Xbox and PlayStation respectively.
Moreover, Fortnite will be featured on July 30th and Rocket League concludes the trifecta on August 6th.
This is SportsEngine’s biggest step into esports, but the initiative is in line with the outlet’s purpose of supporting young athletes in finding local sports leagues, tournaments and camps. The organisation’s website also now hosts esports-related content.
Following SportsEngine’s business model, players’ parents and family members will be involved in the project with Rally Cry. This includes being provided with ‘educational resources’, ranging from basic esports information to how esports positively impacts kids.
The resources aim to encourage healthy gaming habits as well as promote parental education about the gaming and esports ecosystem.
Regarding safety for the underage players that will register in the tournament, Adam Rosen, Founder and CEO of Rally Cry, stated: “Rally Cry’s unique tournament platform provides the industry-leading safety, security, and identity protection that players and parents have come to expect from traditional youth sports.”
In May this year, Rally Cry also partnered with the military event FORCECON for three esports tournaments during Memorial Day.
Registrations to SportsEngine’s esports tournaments can be made here. While the Madden22 competition will be a solo event, Fortnite will be played in duos, and Rocket League in teams of three.
Supported by RallyCry
