Over the weekend, the Olympics Summit was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, over two days, and eSports was one of the themes discussed among the leading representatives.
The Chair of the Esports and Gaming Liaison Group, UCI President David Lappartient, presented his recommendation to promote the Olympic sports and the Olympic values in Esports and gaming. After discussion, the Summit agreed that the eSports movement did have “great potential for cooperation and incorporating into the sports movement”, at least in regards to virtual sports games. They agreed that the International Federations should try to consider how to govern electronic and virtual forms of their sport alongside game publishers.
However, for other genres of eSports, they concluded that the sports movement should focus on players and gamers as athletes, rather than on specific games. This way it would promote the participation in sport and its benefits as well as healthy lifestyle at all levels, both physically and mentally.
Finally, the participants also agreed that guidelines for sustainable relationships between sports stakeholders and Esports communities should be developed.
