The partnerships established by the adec will allow Cuban athletes the possibility to represent the country at the world e-sports championships.

Last week, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, announced the intention to create an eSports Olympiad in line with the digital revolution the world is experiencing.

«We are very pleased with the enthusiasm with which the eSports community, represented in our commission, has embraced this initiative in recent years. It is further proof of the appeal of the Olympic brand and the values it represents,» he explained at a press conference.

However, the proposal will be put to the IOC members for consideration at a meeting prior to the Paris Olympics in July.

According to specialised media, for the future Games, the IOC will take into account the federations that already have an electronic version of their sports to make up the sports programme.

And although this session does not focus on international issues, but rather on promoting the island’s technological achievements, we could not overlook the news, especially if we take into account how much the country has achieved in promoting electronic games as a sporting modality.

THE EXPERIENCE OF KAZAN AND CHILE

The Future Games in Kazan, Russia, marked an important moment in the Cuban e-sports community.

As Raydel Montesino Perurena, rector of the University of Informatics Sciences, explained to Granma beforehand, integrating digital eSport formats into conventional sports was the magic of Kazan.

He stressed that, for the novelty of the concept and the short preparation time, the results can be considered good. «It showed that there is potential to develop and improve the results in future editions of this type of competition.

The results of two athletes from the University of Havana in the «sports programming» competition was one of the highlights of Cuba’s participation in the Future Games.

On the other hand, the island’s presence in the First Pan-American Electronic Sports Championship, held in Santiago de Chile, concluded satisfactorily.

In terms of competitions, the most successful was the fourth place achieved by the women’s Dota 2 team, while the men’s team finished sixth.

LA ADEC WITH INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP

The Agrupación de Deportes Electrónicos de Cuba (ADEC) made two important announcements this year: joining the Pan American eSports Confederation (Pamesco) and becoming a member of the International eSports Federation (ieSF).

Javier «ToXavieR» Vidal Hernández, president of ADEC, explained to Granma that Pamesco is an umbrella organisation for most of the federations in the Pan-American region.

Therefore, he said, it is always helpful to COIncidir to exchange strategies and knowledge in order to improve the work of the Cuban Association.

Membership is also conducive to participation in events, tournaments or friendly meetings. «There is still a lot to explore in that sense. It is a relatively new membership, but we will continue to update the ADEC’s social networks on what this type of alliance brings with it».

In the case of the ieSF membership, «ToXavieR» stressed that this organisation has been in operation for several years, and its management is focused on acting as a governing body for eSports at the national level.

Thanks to this membership, the ADEC will be able to access its competition circuit, which would allow it to participate in the World Esports Championship (WEC) through selections, initially nationally and then regionally, although arrangements are being made to begin the process this year.

The ieSF itself also organises the World eSport Summit, an annual event for technology and gaming enthusiasts, as well as investors and entrepreneurs interested in the eSports phenomenon, which enables partnerships to be forged and relationships with people connected to the world of eSports.

Overall, two important memberships have been obtained this year and it is hoped that, this year or next, the fruits of these alliances will begin to be seen.

INTEGRATION WITH THE CUBAN SPORTS AUTHORITIES

«ToXavieR» emphasised that constant communication is maintained on all events and processes with both the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) and the Cuban Olympic Committee.

He stressed that collaboration is expected this year with a view to participation in several events, including the Brics Games in the Phygital category, taking place in Kazan, and Cuba’s participation in the Global eSports Games, organised by the Global eSports Federation, next December in China.

CUBA IN THE ESPORTS OLYMPICS?

Returning to the initial topic of this paper. If Thomas Bach’s proposal is approved next month, the ADEC president believes that Cuba «would be considered for participation».

Although he said that it is not yet known what the event will be like or whether it will be supported by the e-sports governing bodies that currently exist, he considered that being part of these organisations could guarantee a place at the event.

He specified that it would also be necessary to analyse the titles to choose from, although he assumes that they will be oriented more towards conventional simulators.

«Once the reality of the eSports Olympics is known and confirmed, we will then have to analyse whether they are titles in which there is a community, whether there is some activity or whether we have to start working from scratch to prepare athletes for this event,» he reflected.