054: The Future of Recreational and Competitive Esports with Dr. Luke Potwarka and Greg Mittler

Co-hosts Toben Racicot (English Language and Literature) and Sid Heeg (Environment) interview Dr. Luke Potwarka (Recreation and Leisure) and Greg Mittler (Athletics and Recreation). Together they are the founders of UWIN aka the University of Waterloo Interdisciplinary Network for Esports. 

Sid and Toben chat with Greg and Luke about Esports sustainability, the possible inclusion of Esports in the Olympics, and their recent trip to the University of Warwick for future collaborative research efforts on Esports development and research.

Bios

Dr. Luke R. Potwarka Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the Spectator Experience and Technology Laboratory aka the SEAT Lab. His research involved thinking critically about sports spectatorship and consumer behaviour and wellbeing.

Greg Mittler is the Esports and Gaming Coordinator in the Department of Athletics and Recreation and an alumnus of Waterloo’s Recreation and Business program. Greg has been involved in many parts of Camps and Athletics at UW for almost 20 years.

Shownotes

SEAT LAB: “Our international team of researchers investigate the role of sport spectator experiences in the promotion of individual health and well-being. To achieve this goal, we employ various technologies as both a methodology (e.g., social neuroscience, eye-tracking, second screens, etc), and a means of experiencing sport events (e.g., virtual reality, augmented reality, mobile devices). Our lab's current work focuses on developing a better understanding of the sport consumer experience using social neuroscience methodology. We are interested in addressing the extent to which brain system activation can predict engagement (i.e., flow) and involvement in the sport viewership experience.”

UWIN's Mission: “The mission of our proposed network is to strengthen esports-related scholarship, teaching/learning, and student experiences at the University of Waterloo. We will advance this mission through socially just and equity-oriented approaches, which seek to make esports more accessible and inclusive spaces for all. Our mission will consider esports from a holistic wellbeing perspective, with considerations for potential physical, mental, social, and emotional benefits and harms of esports to participants and communities.”