A turbulent global ecosystem that is blurring the lines between legacy and innovation, Gilles LECOCQ

In Volume 7 of Diagoras: International Academic Journal on Olympic Studies, emphasis was placed on the need to identify a set of managerial and theoretical processes capable of defining viable pathways for the development of the Olympic Esports Games (OEG). Central to this reflection is the challenge of achieving a balance between sustainability and popularity when selecting the disciplines to be included in the OEG.

It is within this framework that several contributions in Volume 8 of Diagoras examine the multiple components of a turbulent ecosystem in which unprecedented technological innovations confront legacies deeply rooted in collective memory. These analyses focus on the significant transformations currently underway, particularly through the implementation of new initiatives such as the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS) and the Olympic Esports Series (OES). These events promote competition between human players mediated by video games, thereby redefining traditional forms of sporting engagement.

We thank our member, Gilles Lecocq, for editing this volume.

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Esports have emerged as a captivating phenomenon, largely driven by technological development, which has enabled remarkable growth in both online and in-person spectatorship. The rapid commercialization of esports has profoundly reshaped the activities and modes of engagement available to both spectators and practitioners. Notably, the close relationship between commercial developers and amateur or professional players plays a decisive role in this evolution. These hybrid relationships foster forms of co-creativity, in which fans, players, and developers mutually influence and transform one another.

This interaction between two interdependent worlds gives rise to new forms of turbulence that gradually challenge long-established certainties inherited from the past—certainties that remain essential to preserve—while simultaneously introducing uncertainties linked to the technological transformation of athletes’ bodies. Positioned between nature and culture, between the carnal body and the artificial body, esports opens pathways to major contemporary issues. These include the need to adopt holistic approaches that enhance both the skills and well-being of practitioners, as well as the anticipation and development of ergonomic technologies designed to help esports players remain healthy and injury-free.

Such a process of renewal cannot overlook the technological revolutions already underway, which are beginning to transform athletes’ bodies and redefine the very limits of performance, increasingly confronting sport with the pursuit and realization of superhuman achievements.

Contributors:

–Olympic Esports Games: A turbulent global ecosystem that is blurring the lines between legacy and innovation, Gilles LECOCQ

–When a Virtual Regatta Energizes a Network of Coubertin Schools, Florent TRILLON, Bruno PIECKOWIAK  

–Another Football Story: Football Esports and its Updates on the Sporting Phenomenon, Bruno MEDEIROS ROLDÃO DE ARAÚJO

–Inequalities in Esports: Doping, Anti-Doping and Beyond, Umutcan KAYIKÇI   

–ESPORTS in Olympic Education, Juan Alonso MONTOYA RODRÍGUEZ

–Organizational and Legal Issues Surrounding E-sport within the International Olympic System, Éric MONNIN, Delphine MARTIN

–Virtuality, Universality, Esports and Olympism, Daniel Gustavo DE LA CUEVA

–The Île-de-France, a French Region that is Finally Becoming a Sounding Board for a Global Phenomenon, Noah GUIMBERTEAU, Yann MINCHENEAU, Evelyne CIRIEGI

–Esports and Olympism, David LAPPARTIENT