The Algonquin College E-Sports club held its League of Legends tournament on March 10 at Click eSports Gaming Centre in Nepean, electing to host it off-campus for the first time in its history.
The decision did not come easy and was made in response to perceived lack of support from the SA, as club president Chris Boettcher and club tournament organizer Frank Talwar explained in an interview with the Times.
With over 500 members, Algonquin College E-Sports (ACE) is one of the biggest clubs in Algonquin, and regularly hosts events such as their Nov. 3, 2017 Hearthstone Casual Tournament and their annual League of Legends (LoL) Worlds Viewing Party. Talwar, a second-year journalism student, says that it’s his goal to improve the college’s image in the competitive scene.
“I have a lot of high school kids coming to events,” he said, explaining he would love to continue to host these events on campus, seeing in Algonquin the potential to become “the number one place to go” for students interested in a career in e-sports.
However, he does not believe that ACE is receiving the support or representation it needs in order to foster such growth, especially considering the club’s size.
At the top of his concerns is inconsistency in scheduling space for club meetings and events, an issue which has been exacerbated since the start of the year.
The SA club coordinator at the time, Bria Sherman, had gone on temporary leave on Jan. 4, but was announced to have quit permanently in a Jan. 23 email. The position was effectively vacant for slightly over two months, with manager of student experience Bill Kitchen taking over club coordinator responsibilities in the interim.
Boettcher and Talwar say their communication with Kitchen over club concerns was frustrating, describing communication with the SA as inconsistent and severely delayed.
In Sherman’s absence, ACE had twice requested access to room E206 – their regular space – and had been denied both times, the second time without any explanation given.
After subsequently asking to use “any classroom with a projector,” or alternatively room E209 where the club’s office is, they were told in an email that this “can lead to challenges” if other people wanted to use the space, and that a request for a booking would be made for them – followed by two weeks without a response.
The sentiment has been echoed by Algonquin Students for Kink Education & Workshops (ASKEW) club organizer Cassandra Atchison, who said she too has been struggling to book rooms for club meetings since Sherman stepped down in January, adding that the main thing she’s learned in running the club is “that bureaucracy is a struggle.”
For his part, Kitchen told the Times that he had been fully dedicated to fulfilling the additional responsibilities given to him following Sherman’s exit, but it has not been easy, noting he has had to do a lot of work outside of his regular hours. He said that he considers clubs to be a “self-guided experience,” emphasizing that the SA is completely willing to co-operate as long as club representatives communicate their needs sufficiently in advance.
As of March 13, the club coordinator position has been filled by Sienna Benson and the SA expects the club experience to improve.
However, both Atchison and Talwar consider the scheduling and support issues to have begun during the Ontario college strike last October, with some issues dating further back. Talwar said ACE has seen a 90 per cent decrease in signups this year, pointing at the underwhelming turnout at the Sept. 26, 2017 Algonquin Club Fest, which can be seen as an outcome to poor promotion on the part of the SA.
Atchison said she has had issues with slow email response and erratic room booking since last September, describing one instance in which the SA changed their room booking three times in the same week shortly before the event date. Similarly, Boettcher recalled the multiple attempts he made to secure the Observatory for a club event, in each case having been “led on” before being refused.
Talwar also criticized the SA’s policy of prohibiting clubs from giving away cash prizes at their competitive events, which in turn disincentivizes participation. He stated that the funding they receive from the SA is insufficient for a club of their size. Consequently ACE opted to seek outside sponsorship for their most recent event.
Many of the difficulties ACE faces, claims Talwar, are not shared by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) when they hold their annual Battle Royale tournament on Algonquin’s campus.
According to Talwar, the IEEE gets a selection of benefits which the clubs don’t, such as staff support, extended space booking, parking, and no restriction on whether competing players are Algonquin students. Furthermore, the IEEE uses ACE’s Discord channel and Facebook page to promote Battle Royale, which Talwar considers to be exploitative of the community he strives to build.
Among the issues listed as having motivated the move away from hosting events on campus is the inadequate internet connection, which Boettcher says IT Services have failed to properly address. However, according to Talwar the IEEE’s Battle Royale receives this concession as well.
When questioned about it, Kitchen said that he does not have anything to do with the IEEE’s event and cannot provide information on it, however he is willing to work with students and aid them to achieve the support their club requires.
He stated that he is very optimistic about the SA’s ability to meet the clubs’ needs now that the club coordinator position is filled, saying “It’s been a really difficult year for students…For the folks in clubs, they’ve had a pretty clear service deficiency for a number of reasons. It’s something we’re working hard to address, and we are excited to turn the page and get back to full functionality.”
Still, Talwar and Boettcher have said all upcoming ACE events, including the North American LoL Championship Finals Viewing Party set for early April, will be held off-campus until the SA commits to providing a higher grade of service. Specifically, they expect “proper booking, accommodations, and better support”, also emphasizing the need for a better internet connection at their tournaments.