The Paul Smith’s College Athletics Department hosted the event on campus, which was designed to showcase some of the unique attributes of the school.

“The new generation of esports starts within primary schools and with them, we can usher in a new era of athletes creating not only a bridge for their school and esports but also higher education as a whole here at Paul Smith’s College,” said Ethan Billman, current graduate student and coach of the Paul Smith’s College esports team.

High school esports teams from Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Moriah were in attendance. Students competed in Super Smash Bros, League of Legends, Mario Kart and Overwatch. Current PSC student-athletes helped the youngsters in Overwatch, and the college’s own Mercedes Rideout competed in the Mario Kart event, losing by a wide margin to a local 12-year-old.

Paul Smith’s College Athletic Director Zack Luzzi was also in attendance and was able to gauge the effectiveness of the event and what that means for the future of esports at the college.

“It was awesome to see so much excitement about being in our esports Lab, playing against some other schools, and making new friends,” Luzzi said. “We are in an incredibly unique position of being able to play a role in the growth and development of varsity esports teams at local high schools, we hope to host more of these events in the future, incorporating other sports as well.”

Saranac Lake Athletic Director Forrest Morgan said that he believes that Paul Smith’s College could potentially host Section 7 and 10 crossover games, All-Star games and future esports matches.