Esports has gained high popularity as a competitive activity and has been recognized for its appeal and benefits and as a club sport at the University of Wyoming (UW) campus.
The club brings the teams into competitive games and hosts gaming competitions as well.
Their club has a competitive aspect, but as a whole, it is more focused on having a good time while playing the game rather than being the best of the best at it.
Their planned games and activities include a Nintendo Switch setup, several gaming computers, a VR station with Beat Saber, Jackbox, board games, card games, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaigns and Table-Top Roleplaying Games (TTRPG) one-shots.
“I joined the club in my freshman year last fall because I wanted to just find a group of people with similar interests as me… I couldn’t be happier with the club, as it’s where I met all of my really good college friends so far,” said Charlie “Chuck” Stoessel, one of the varsity captains of the esports club.
They offer a wide variety of games for people to learn or excel in games they have played before.
One member of the esport club team, Kathleen, a botany major, talks about the games she’s interested in.
“The primary genre I enjoy is horror, but I dabble in other games such as Overwatch and Halo.”
As a brief recap, this last semester was great for the club and had successes and breakthroughs. The club’s structure was slightly modified to help provide an open and friendly space for anyone on campus interested in gaming. Competition-wise, they faced off with CSU in border wars and partnered with the blockchain and digital innovation center to host a Rocket League tournament.
“If there was one thing I could tell people about our club, it would be that it isn’t strictly the sports part of ‘esports.’ A lot of people are under the impression that our club is all about competing, improving, training, and whatnot, but in reality, our club is about giving a community to anyone with an interest in video games,” Stoessel said.
Starting Jan. 31, 2024, the club will be holding weekly meetings in the form of a game night each Wednesday in the IT building from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. They will also be tabling in the union every Wednesday morning this spring.
“I think the biggest reason that interested people aren’t joining is because of the worry that they might not be good enough, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Stoessel said. “If it means anything to anyone, I joined the club when I was ranked silver (the second lowest rank you can be), and now I’m working with people at the top of the game to schedule events to not only help everyone on the team improve but also to simply have a good time.”
