The summer months have arrived, and many of our NASEF clubs are already enjoying their time off. Between road trips and amusement park visits, there is no doubt our high school gamers will want to fit a match or two. To help our community out, we have put together this Summer Gaming Guide!

Practice Healthy Gaming Habits

One of the mistakes that we gamers make is that we’ll play a long session without a break. While it’s fun to play when you’re on a roll, it’s not the healthiest habit to develop. In recent years, some studies have argued that sitting for a long period of time is the equivalent of smoking!

NASEF wants to encourage our students to play in a healthy manner, so be sure that you’re managing your energy and wisely caring for your health:

• Don’t fuel yourself with caffeine. It can interfere with your sleep, which is vital for a growing brain and body! Instead, hydrate with water.
• Do some cardio in the morning, preferably by getting outside and going for a walk or jog. Sunlight and fresh air are two elements that we miss out on when we stay indoors for too long. Get outside before you begin a gaming session!
• Recovery is an essential element of peak performance. Therefore, don’t sit in front of your game for extended periods of time! Take a 10-minute break after playing for an hour. It’s good to get up, stretch, and give your body, hands and eyes a rest.

Games Aren’t Just Online

Playing outside in the summertime isn’t just for young kids. Teens and adults should be getting outside on a regular basis, too! 

If you like playing FIFA 19, why not kick the soccer ball around outside for a bit? It’ll help give your brain the feel-good chemicals that keeps you sharp for online competition, and will get your body moving around. 

If you’re not into playing sports, that doesn’t mean you can’t find fun things to do outside. Throw in some earphones and walk around your block a few times listening to some music that gets you fired up, or a podcast you enjoy.

The goal of getting outside to “play” is to ensure that you keep your body moving, getting into the sunshine, and breathing in some fresh air. 

By committing yourself to moving around, you’re helping to make sure that your cardiovascular and nervous system receive stimulation. The human brain doesn’t finish developing until about the age of 21, so you want to ensure you’re doing all you can to take good care of your body!

Attend a Summer Camp (Online or In-Person)

Summer camps are a great opportunity to extend learning into a new, refreshing environment. Today, there is a diverse pool of summer camp options for all types of learners, including on the subject of esports and gaming!

This summer, NASEF will be hosting two online scholastic esports academies for students, at no cost! These multi-day learning opportunities will include presentations, group activities, and special guests!

Tournament Organizing for Students

• July 15  to July 19, 2019
• 5-day, 4-hour sessions
• Applications due June 28

In addition to our online scholastic esports academies, our program partners UCI Esports and Connected Camps offer additional summer programs:  

• 1:1 Esports Coaching - Connected Camps
• Online - available by request
• 90 minute session
• Ages 13-18
• Registration fee required
• League of Legends Bootcamp - UCI Esports
• In-person - University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• June 23 to June 29
• 6-night, 7-day stay-over program
• Registration fee required
• Overwatch Bootcamp - UCI Esports
• In-person - University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• June 23 to June 29
• 6-night, 7-day stay-over program
• Ages 13-18
• Registration fee required
• Girls in Gaming - UCI Esports
• In-person - University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• July 8 to July 12
• 5-day, 8-hour sessions
• Ages 13-18
• Registration fee required

Tournaments

School’s out! It’s time for sleeping in, going to the beach, and playing video games!

While our season-long tournaments are over for the 2019 academic year, we want to make sure your in-game skills don’t get rusty over the break! Check out our Summer Extra Credit tournaments below.

Smash Ultimate (1v1)

• Day 1 - June 21
• Day 2 - June 28
• Day 3 - July 12
• Day 4 - July 19

Overwatch (3v3)

• Day 1 - June 20
• Day 2 - June 27
• Day 3 - July 11
• Day 4 - July 18

Rocket League (2v2)

• Day 1 - June 26
• Day 2 - July 10
• Day 3 - July 17

For more tournament information, visit our Extra Credit page here. What are you up to this summer? Let us know! 

We want to know, what are you plans for the summer? Send us a message on Twitter @NASEFedu, Facebook and Instagram!