By: Stephen Sedgwick-Williams
Hockey, soccer, football, dancing, racing: all of these things filled up the many screens placed around the Student Commons for the We Got Game event held on Sept. 30.
The event saw dozens of televisions, Xboxes, Playstations and many more students filling the ground floor of the commons for obvious reasons.
“It’s what students love to do,” said Bill Kitchen, the Students’ Association events programmer. “Students love video games; it’s right in that demographic sweet-spot and that’s what I’m supposed to do, make college fun and interactive.
“So what better way than to bring in an event like that that highlights an activity that students love to do?”
The students seemed to agree, with many jumping in to participate in whatever games were being played at the time, while others gathered around to watch them.
Brandon Wylie and Kenyon Payne, first-year mechanical engineering technology students, also enjoyed the event and said that it gave them something to do during the long breaks they had between classes.
The event was geared toward all students, whether they play games casually or more seriously.
“There is a tournament component: there’s also a drop in and play component as well,” said Kitchen. “There’s a portion of it where if you’re a little more competitive, there’s an opportunity to test your skills and sign up for a tournament within the activity.”
The NHL tournament in particular seemed to be popular. With a copy of the game as a prize, students were swarmed around the televisions set up for the game.
Dave Miller, owner of the company that ran the event, noticed the popularity among students.
“This is our second year doing it here and looks like it’s always a hit when we come here,” he said.
We Got Game is a company based out of Toronto which hosts similar events in schools around Ontario, including La Cite Collégiale and Carleton University in Ottawa.
But the best part of the event differed from person to person.
“It’s a stress relief, it’s fun,” said Miller. “We know students can’t afford multiple games so it gives them a chance to one: play with their buddies or different buddies and two: just interact with everyone surrounding them.”
“You get our students out, engaged, having fun, smiles on their face,” Kitchen said. “They’re having a good time. It’s not a lot more complicated than that.”