Connecticut is the first state to officially welcome esports into high schools

Connecticut high schoolers are going to get a chance to prove themselves on the digital battleground thanks to a new interscholastic esports program.

Connecticut became the first state to partner with the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF), EGF announced last week. This means high school-level esports competitors will start competing against each other in regular seasons starting this spring.

High schools interested in competing in the esports league need to register online and must fall under the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Association of Schools (the governing body of interscholastic athletics in the state of Connecticut). Although only schools in Connecticut can sign up right now, EGF mentions on its website it will be announcing additional participating cities and states over the coming months.

EGF has operated in the scholastic esports space previously, organizing a test-season with 15 Connecticut school districts that culminated in a state championship at the University of Connecticut.

UConn, which offered up scholarships to the champions, has participated in EGF's collegiate league for a long time.

Through programs and leagues like these, EGF's goal is to bring an organizing body to collegiate and high school-level competitive gaming like the NCAA does but better.

The push to bring organized esports to high schools actually came from Connecticut, though. According to the press release, Clint Kennedy -- the supervisor of the Innovation, Personalized Learning, and Magnet Program at Connecticut's New London Public Schools -- was the spark that brought esports to Connecticut high schools.

"I am hard pressed to think of an activity that challenges our young people to collaborate, think critically, and engage persistently, even in the face of repeated failure, to achieve some level of success towards a desired goal," Kennedy said in the press release. "I see that many popular esports titles as a way to build these critical skills in hopes that we can then transfer them to other domains."

There are other high school-level esports compeitions like StarLeague's League of Legends tournaments for high school teams, but none that are being embraced by school systems like Connecticut's.

If EGF successfully pulls off a full season with Connecticut high schools (and potentially school districts outside of the state), we could see esports spread through U.S. schools like other sports programs.