Average age 64: older gamers form League of Legends team

2023-01-10

Computer games are not just for the young! A Taichung university has formed a League of Legends team just for those in their twilight years. The average age of the team members is 64. The young coach says she wants older people who are interested in games to have chances to enjoy them. We meet team stalwart Chiang Yi-shu, 66 years old, and hear how she went from being anti-computers to a dedicated gamer.

A League of Legends battle is underway. But look closer at the teams, and you see the contestants are all old enough to be grandparents. This team was formed at Hungkuang University and the average member age is 64.

When team member Chiang Yi-shu first saw the recruitment advert, she was attracted by the thought of learning new skills. She practices five hours a week, traveling from Taipei to Taichung just for training.

Chiang Yi-shu
Esports team member
I was both scared and happy when I first came across League of Legends. I thought, “Well, at least this is new knowledge for me.” I don’t give up. I’ve lived this long, how could I let a tiny obstacle like this defeat me?

Now 66, Chiang had once upon a time rejected computers. But after deciding to give them a try, she found computer games can bring older people lots of benefits.

Chiang Yi-shu
Esports team member
At first, oh, I really didn’t want to learn computers. Because I like interacting with real people. But after I checked it out a bit, I thought, “Hmm, this seems pretty good for our brains.” And using my hands like this, they stay quite flexible.

Ego
Esports team coach
She works harder than anybody. Because she spends more time training than any contestant I’ve seen. It’s already very unusual and precious that these older people are willing to play this game. So, seeing as they are willing, I think I should help them taste the joy of it.

The team recently sparred against a VTuber, a virtual reality streamer. Although they didn’t emerge victorious, they were inspired to work even harder and play better next time.

阿公阿嬤來打LOL! 弘光科大成立長青電競隊

2023-01-10

打電玩不再是年輕人的專利！台中弘光科大成立了一支電競隊，選手平均年齡64歲，其中有一名66歲的選手姜宜淑，抱持著學習新知的態度接觸電競，每週玩五個小時，她說，電競對活化老家腦部，相當有幫助。

電競館上演一場英雄聯盟爭霸賽，鏡頭拉近一看，選手都是銀髮族，這是台中弘光科大成立的長青電競隊伍，平均年齡64歲。

其中一名成員姜宜淑，當初看到招生廣告，抱持著學習新知的態度而加入，每週打五個小時，還會從台北坐高鐵到台中訓練。

[[弘光尚青電競隊成員姜宜淑]]
“我一開始接觸那個英雄聯盟，又害怕，又高興，想說，啊，起碼這個算是我的新的知識。我不服輸，我活這麼大把年紀，我怎麼可能這個小小挫折就讓我(被)打敗？”

66歲的姜宜淑，其實一開始是排斥電腦的，實際接觸後發現，打電玩對老年人好處多多。

[[弘光尚青電競隊成員姜宜淑]]
“對電腦我實在…..當初我沒有想要去學它，因為我喜歡跟人互動。摸索到以後覺得，這個好像對我們的腦好像還不錯。手這樣運用，還滿靈活的。”

[[弘光尚青電競隊教練 Ego]]
“她比任何人都還要努力，因為她是我看過花最多時間去練習的一個選手。當這些年紀大的長輩願意來玩這個遊戲，已經是很難能可貴的事情了，那當他們願意玩這個遊戲的時候，我就覺得說應該讓他們體會這個遊戲的樂趣。”

這支長青電競隊日前與VTuber虛擬實況主對戰，雖然未能獲勝，但隊員說大家都很努力，相信未來會打得更好。