E-sports Club seeking new members

Chadron State College’s e-sports is a new club that gives those interested in gaming an opportunity to compete with others and currently operates remotely.

“We are trying to build up the club because it’s completely new,” Co-adviser Stephanie Alfred said. “We are trying to build a community around gaming because I know they are here and know they exist, but there’s never been a central place to meet other people or find people of the same interest. I think right now is about building that social aspect and, in the future, we hope to field a couple of competitive teams as club sports.”

The club’s primary competitive game is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, a multiplayer first-person shooter that offers team deathmatches. For CSC, the E-sports Club is hoping to have a team compete in the Rainbow Six Siege League.

“I think our biggest goal right now and one of my own personal goals is to break into varsity,” E-sports Manager Cole Martinez said. “It would be a really cool experience for our college to have that considering how many other colleges around us that are so much bigger and they have it, it would be cool to see a smaller school have the same thing.”

The club currently has no scheduled competition but hopes to compete in an exhibition against South Dakota School of Mines, whose program is recognized by the NCAA.

“That’s kind of the goal for the future,” Alfred said. “We’ve been talking with them about what the best way to do that is, we kind of envisioned them coming down here and we have a big setup in the ballroom and have a mini e-sports arena for people to come watch and enjoy.”

Alfred says a challenge e-sports faces is that the club must purchase its equipment using student activity funds and needs IT’s approval of the gaming equipment purchased.

Though the club’s goal is to evolve into a sanctioned sport in the NCAA like South Dakota Mines, e-sports serves as a casual atmosphere for students interested in gaming to connect with others on campus. With over 25 new students joining the club this fall, CSC’s e-sports welcomes students who will bring competition, positive attitudes and change to the gaming culture faced with negative stereotypes and stigmas, according to Alfred.

All members of CSC’s e-sports participate in the club’s discord server that is open for anyone to join by scanning its QR code posted on flyers around campus or by emailing Alfred at [email protected].

“It’s really chill, especially with our discord,” Martinez said. “For a lot of people, it’s just a hangout space. People will just go in there and chat with other people, listen to music or share pictures and stuff. It’s definitely just a chill space.”

Alfred and Martinez said the club is open to all types of video games, not just first-person shooters. As a new addition to e-sports this semester, the club opened Pokemon GO to its servers. Though not competitive,  many club members are participating in the casual game, according to Alfred.