RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The YMCA of Greater Richmond and the Manchester campus of Bryant and Stratton College came together on Saturday, March 19 for an e-sports tournament in the college’s new e-sports lab.
The event is the debut of the YMCA’s new e-sports club, which will participate in tournaments across the state. The YMCA and the college decided to work together on the event because the college happened to be in the process of starting their own e-sports club team, which will debut this May.
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The tournament, hosted by the local YMCA and Bryant and Stratton College, kicked off in the college’s newly-unveiled e-sports lab on March 19, 2022. (Photo: Timothy Corley/WRIC) -
The tournament, hosted by the local YMCA and Bryant and Stratton College, kicked off in the college’s newly-unveiled e-sports lab on March 19, 2022. (Photo: Timothy Corley/WRIC) -
The tournament, hosted by the local YMCA and Bryant and Stratton College, kicked off in the college’s newly-unveiled e-sports lab on March 19, 2022. (Photo: Timothy Corley/WRIC)
“We’re hopeful that going forward the YMCA will continue to practice and continue to host tournaments at this location,” said Beth Murphy, Director of Bryant and Stratton’s Richmond Campus.
Students and YMCA club members gathered to play Rocket League and Super Smash Bros., two popular e-sports offerings. While this tournament was low-key, the two organizations are entering into an increasingly competitive fray.
“It’s a billion dollar industry, the e-sports industry is,” said Beecher Crawley, IT Coordinator at Bryant and Stratton and the club’s organizer. “Many people are playing it, from younger people, the single digits, to fifty, sixty years old.”
He helped to design and build the lab, which has 14 gaming stations, and said he has high hopes for the club team they’re putting together.
“We’re gonna start of with a few different games and eventually go competitive with it.”
