ORLANDO - As the Official Health Insurance Provider of Magic Gaming, Florida Blue and Magic Gaming are teaming up to create the “Magic Gaming Esports Academy.” The program looks to build relationships with local schools, creating awareness of the variety career paths in esports, while promoting health and wellness. The two will also team up with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) to promote the academy and bring added value to OCPS' existing esports program. The academy is open to all high school and college students.
"Magic Gaming is thrilled to team up with our great partner, Florida Blue for this unique opportunity for local students," said Magic Gaming Business Operations Manager Gabriel Causse. "Adding in OCPS creates the trifecta in what we can offer students interested in esports and educating them on the careers that exist in this realm. We look forward to building the program and gearing it towards the interests of the students involved."
As part of the program, Magic Gaming and Florida Blue will host monthly virtual seminars that will allow members of the academy to learn from and interact with successful esports professionals while discovering the vast array of career options in the rapidly expanding field of esports. Esports is expected to have 29.6 million monthly viewers this year, according to Insider Intelligence, with game development and software engineering becoming two of the most in-demand employment sectors in the field. Magic Gaming and Florida Blue hope to harness this great opportunity for students looking to make a career in esports.
“Florida Blue has extended our long-standing Orlando Magic partnership to its Magic Gaming Esports Academy as a way to help drive sustainable change in the lives of students across Central Florida,” said Florida Blue Market President, Tony Jenkins. “We hope the Academy will help translate the passion many young persons have for esports and gaming into career paths in marketing, content creation, production, game development, and other areas supporting esports they may have never considered or believed were obtainable. Sparking a desire to learn and pursue a career in a growing and thriving industry can have a lifelong impact on a student.”
Through the partnership with Esports Orange County Public Schools program the Esports Academy will offer a robust learning opportunity for local youth. The Esports Academy will offer training sessions to the OCPS schools in the county's esports program as well as in-person visits to those high schools starting in the fall.
“Partnering with Magic Gaming through the Esports Academy will give our students unique access to a level of professionalism and career opportunities unlike any other and aligns with our vision of ensuring every student has a promising and successful future," said OCPS Program Specialist, Federal Programs Neil Otto.
For more details on Esports Academy's virtual seminars and to register please visit HERE.
Recently Florida Blue was announced as the Official Health Insurance Provider of the Orlando Magic and one of the team's seven "Champions of the Community" (COTC) partners. Through this enhanced partnership, Florida Blue also added multi-property rights by becoming the Official Health Insurance Provider of the Magic's other entities – Magic Gaming (NBA 2K League) and the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL), while also extending their Lakeland Magic (NBA G League) partnership.
Florida Blue becomes the first exclusive team partner in the health insurance category. The team's COTC partnership represent a shared commitment to the Central Florida community. Florida Blue will continue its collaboration with the Magic and its entities to positively impact and make a difference in Orlando through a variety of programs, sponsorships and support of initiatives benefiting the underserved community.
About Florida Blue
Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, has been providing health insurance to residents of Florida for more than 75 years. Driven by its mission of helping people and communities achieve better health, the company serves more than 5 million health care members across the state. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
About OCPS
Orange County Public Schools is the 9th-largest school district in the nation and the fourth-largest in Florida serving more than 206,000 enrolled students. They come from 208 countries and speak 166 languages or dialects. There are 205 Pre-K through grade 12 schools operated by the district including more than 50 new schools since 2003, in addition the district operates Orange Technical College which consists of five post-secondary technical college campuses. Over 40 magnet programs offer specialized curriculum, catering to unique student interests. Every student in OCPS has a digital device completing the district’s innovative one-to-one digital learning initiative. OCPS is the one of the largest employers in Orange County, Florida with more than 24,000 full- and part-time employees. The district is a three-time recipient of the Governor’s Sterling Award, the highest award an organization can receive for business performance excellence in Florida. More information can be found at www.ocps.net
About Magic Gaming
Magic Gaming, based in Orlando, Fla., is one of 23 teams completing its fourth season of the NBA 2K League. The NBA 2K League is a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., which began play in May 2018. The league features the best 138 NBA 2K players in the world. Magic Gaming’s six-man roster competes as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments, and playoffs. Follow Magic Gaming on Twitch – OrlandoMagicGaming, Instagram/Twitter - @MagicGaming, Facebook/Magic Gaming or at MagicGaming.nba.com