Mission
A nonprofit founded by educators, Garden State Esports is the organizing body of scholastic esports for New Jersey. Our mission is to create high-quality, student-centered experiences through scholastic esports so ALL students can use esports as a platform to grow socially, emotionally, and academically.
Vision
To ensure that ALL students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be society’s game changers: educated, productive, and empathetic individuals.
Values
Learning. Community. Opportunity. Diversity.
Why Join Garden State Esports?
Free To Join. Free To Play. Always.
Our bottom line will always be to our students, not investors. All GSE competitions, resources, and events will always be free. During the 2022-2023 school year alone, our members saved over $1.3 million in for-profit league dues by joining Garden State Esports!
Run By NJ Educators For NJ Schools And Students
GSE isn’t our job, it’s our passion. Everyone at GSE is an educator. Together we have 400+ years combined teaching experience. We know your schools, we know your kids, and we know how to help make esports meet the learning goals of your school district.
Play Against Local Teams Using A Familiar Schedule
Our 3:30 start time and three season schedule follows the traditional NJ athletic schedule that schools and students already know. We group teams into their traditional athletic conferences to make sure they play against schools they’ve heard of!
Earn Varsity Letters
195 colleges are offering more than $16 million in esports scholarships for talented players and support staff. Every college and university in NJ has an esports program. GSE will work with your district to develop criteria to make sure your esports team is varsity letter eligible and stakeholders understand all the post-secondary opportunities available to students.
Supported By The NJ DoE and School Boards Association
We are proud to have the support of the NJ Dept. of Education and the New Jersey School Boards Association. Check out our latest webinar with the NJBSA on why your district should join Garden State Esports on the resources page!
Esports Helps Give Kids A Sense Of Belonging:
92
% Of GSE Students Who Made At Least One New Friend Since Joining Their School's GSE Team
66
% Of GSE Students Who Are More Motivated To Go To School Since Joining Their School's GSE Team
46
% Of GSE Students Who Did Not Participate In Any Extracurricular Activities Before Esports
Competition For Everyone: Three Ways To Get In The Game With GSE
1. Play pre-scheduled matches against local rivals, earn a varsity letter, and win a state championship by entering your best team into our Championship seasons, our highest level of play!
Fall Championship Seasons: 9/12 – 11/28
Tuesday – 3v3 Rocket League
Wednesday – TBD
Thursday – League of Legends
Winter Championship Seasons 12/5 – 2/24
Tuesday – TBD
Wednesday – SSBU Crews Battles
Thursday – Overwatch 2
Spring Championship Seasons 3/5 – 5/18
Tuesday – 2v2 Rocket League
Wednesday – 2v2 Smash Bros.
Thursday – Valorant
2. Contender Leagues are for JV teams or teams looking for more casual competition. Seasons are 5 weeks with unlimited participation per school!
Community Gaming Mondays
Fortnite
Fall Contenders
Tues – 3v3 Rocket League
Wed – TBD
Thurs – Splatoon 3
Winter Contenders
Tues – TBD
Wed – SSBU Crews
Thursday – Overwatch 2
Spring Contenders
Tues – 2v2 Rocket League
Wed – 2v2 SSBU
Thurs – Valorant
Minecraft Fridays
Bed Wars
Capture The Wool
King of The Hill
3. Garden State Esports offers additional leagues to help grew diversity throughout our programs.
Victoria League
Victoria League is an additional competitive league open to GSE girls, marginalized genders, and non-binary persons.
Fall – SSBU – Thursdays
Winter – Overwatch 2 – Wednesdays
Spring – Valorant – Wednesdays
Unified Leaue
Additonal opportunites for players with special needs to game with peers.
Fall – TBD – TBD
Winter – TBD – TBD
Spring – TBD – TBD
We Provide
Casual & Competitive Gaming For All Ages
Varsity Letters & State Championships
Cutting Edge Curricula
Getting Started & Technical Resources
Coaching Support & Certification
A Diverse, Inclusive Community Ready To Help
Esports Can Be A Pipeline To College and Career Readiness For All NJ Students:
87
% Of GSE Students Who Plan to Attend College After High School
54
% Of GSE Students Who Plan To Major In A STEM Field
67
% Of GSE Students Who Will Persue A Career In The Esports Or Video Game Industry
Where We Are
13
Big North Conference
7
Burlington County Conference
26
Cape Atlantic Conference
6
Colonial Conference
13
Colonial Valley Conference
265
Total Programs
16
Greater Middlesex Conference
12
Hudson County Conference
10
North Jersey Conference
18
North West Jersey Conference
17
Olympic Conference
52
% Of NJ School Districts
41
The Shore Conference
12
The Skyland Conference
12
Super Essex Conference
8
Tri-County Conference
54
Union County Conference
7000+
Students
Whether your district is looking to get started or already has an established esports program, join us for free and compete against other New Jersey schools in daily casual competition or to earn a varsity letter. During the 2022-2023 school year alone, schools saved over $1.3 million in for-profit league dues by joining Garden State Esports!
Join Us!
Thank You To Our Partners!
