Esports club seeks recognition as an official UHCL sport

UHCL Esports is one of the largest student organizations on campus and is seeking recognition as an official sport of UHCL. UHCL Esports began on campus during the Fall 2016 semester.

The student organization has grown to more than 90 members and has seen the creation of several esports teams that are training to enter tournaments. This summer and fall semesters will be milestones for UHCL Esports as its “Overwatch” and “League of Legends” teams come together to skirmish, train and ultimately compete to win.

UHCL Esports is an open community that welcomes anyone interested in video games on campus, whether that be the professional tournament seeker to the casual couch gamer.

Cameron Balmer, president of UHCL Esports, explains this past semester the organization has solidified its leadership to facilitate its Esports teams.

Jake Pepe, first-person shooter and Smash general, puts together events that draw in large crowds. He’ll be leading the Smash series tournament, a summer-long event that will see bi-weekly SSB events with cash prizes to first, second and third place. The tournament began May 26 and will continue until the fall.

“When we were putting together our Super Smash monthlies and bi-monthlies we got in touch with Houston Melee Scene for advice,” Balmer said. “They were a big help with organizing tournaments on this scale.”

Dean Burse, “Overwatch” lead, is currently bolstering his primary team and opening tryouts for his secondary team. Training sessions and skirmishes occur weekly, with the eventual goal of participating in tournaments.

As one of the newer members of UHCL Esports, Sean Ulmer, league coordinator, heads and coaches the “League of Legends” team. With an already full roster, Ulmer has a second team underway.

“We’re gonna start pushing advertisements over the course of the summer saying, ‘Hey! We are getting ‘Overwatch’ and ‘League’ up and going!’” Balmer said.

Other board members include Franzel Caraballo, “DOTA 2” head, and Gannon Dewveall, retro chief, leads retro gaming and casual gaming, and will be organizing viewing parties for tournaments.

Finally, the board is rounded out by Ashley Deanne, lead organizer, who aids the organization with a thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of UHCL policy.

Through Deanne’s experience and the collective love of gaming that all the board and club members have, UHCL Esports has garnered the attention of the school. This begs the question – at what point does UHCL Esports transition from a student organization that plays video games to an official UHCL sport?

“I still remember the first info meeting we had. Short term goals, get tournaments and events up and running,” Balmer said. “Long term goals, we wanted to make teams representing UHCL for ‘Counter Strike,’ ‘League of Legends’ and ‘Overwatch.’”

Official recognition from UHCL is an ongoing process. UHCL Esports was recently invited to attend TheGameCon held at Galveston Convention Center June 3 – 4. Normally, a student organization would present a budget for an event like this in the form of a PowerPoint presentation to the Student Government Association (SGA) several weeks in advance, and SGA would vote to allocate funds after the second presentation. However, the next SGA meeting is June 7, half a week after the close of the convention.

Balmer and the organization were left distraught, but the group was informed they could reach out to Campus Recreation for funding. Deanne explained that Campus Recreation would recognize UHCL Esports as an official sport at UHCL.

“We’d be the first sports team since UHCL became a four-year university,” Balmer said.

Balmer said the success of the club now and in the future comes down to the team he’s built.

“I became confident in my team as they proved themselves to be competent and passionate,” Balmer said. “You must have very passionate people who are very well-versed in their areas. A good team makes everything possible.”

Along with putting a lot of work into the Smash bi-weekly tournaments to get even more people involved in the club, UHCL Esports is planning game nights and LAN (Local Area Network) events organized on and off campus.

UHCL Esports is also bracing for a membership explosion. Their first semester ended with 25 members and this past semester ended with more than 90, with even more expected to join.

The club also has a chat room for talking to each other, and an ongoing channel in that chat room dedicated to sharing memes.

“I made rules during finals that we post strictly wholesome and motivational memes only,” Balmer said. “I don’t know what other clubs’ requirements are, but we’re very open.”

The joy of gaming and bringing gamers of UHCL together is a major cause for club membership. Sean Carter, computer information systems major and YouTuber, recently tried out for the “Overwatch” team and shares this sentiment.

“The fact that UHCL gives gamers the chance to join a like-minded community is pretty admirable,” Carter said.

UHCL Esports is seeking official recognition by Student Life and Campus Recreation as an official sport of UHCL.

For more information on the UHCL Esports club, contact them at uhclesports@gmail.com, or visit its Facebook page.

Upcoming events for UHCL Esports include:

• A UHCL Summer Smash Series – a bi-weekly summer Super Smash Bros Series tournament starting May 26. Entry fee $5, free with Student ID.
• TBA – Participation in TheGameCon at Galveston Convention Center June 3 – 4.
• Tryouts for the “Overwatch” team.

 

Social Media for UHCL ESports: