The Esports team at Emerson is eagerly anticipating a pivotal weekend as they progress from the nomination stage to the final five of the*Gamehers Awards Top Collegiate Organization of the Year award.
The*Gamehers Awards have been designed to honour women and non-binary persons within the gaming industry. According to the organizers, close to half of the world’s three-billion-strong gaming community is women, an often overlooked demographic that they seek to celebrate.
The award platform offers various categories each shedding light on various corners and facets of the gaming realm. Whether you are a top streamer, gaming journalist, coach, or cosplayer, the*Gamehers Awards have a place for you.
Competing for the distinguished award, the Emerson Esports team is going up against Full Sail Armada, St. Mary’s Esports, UCI Esports, and Black Gxming Society.
The award ceremony will take place at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel on Friday, March 1. Viewing of the event will be organized in Walker, room 202 at 5 pm by the Esports team.
The award is bestowed on organizations credited with establishing diverse and inclusive esports teams. This includes organizations that have fostered a unified community revolving around women or femme-identifying individuals across gender-identity spectrum.
Having been nominated by an anonymous party chosen by the*Gamehers Awards, Emerson Esports was once under Catherine Hebert, the former president and a senior Business of Creative Enterprises major with an Esports communications minor, and Bryson Beck, the current president and a junior Visual Media Arts major, took the team to the finals.
Hebert expressed the importance of recognizing the contributions of women and non-binary gamers.
“From the inception of gaming, stereotypes and harassment have targeted women and other marginalized genders in the gaming sector”, said Hebert. “Women have often been overly sexualized and marginalized, leading many to believe they are unfit to compete at par with men.”
According to Hebert, it is crucial to recognize women and marginalized genders to cultivate a more accepting and inclusive Emerson Esports environment.
“Our ongoing initiative to grow our organization’s inclusiveness is imperative,” noted Hebert.
Aside from the major nomination by the*Gamehers Awards, Beck spoke about the team’s future goals which includes reforming their team setup to not necessarily require members to belong to a specific team but rather accommodate players depending on their expertise. This is in light of the significant growth the Esports team has experienced in recent years.
“To maintain a space where gamers of all skill levels can compete, socialize, and boost our level of competition, we’ve restructured our competitive system this semester,” explained Beck. “We’ve moved on to a single varsity team, while allowing players to form individual club teams which we facilitate in finding suitable competitions.”
Additionally, Beck mentioned that Esports team aims to concentrate on social events this year. This includes game night events both physically and on their Discord server, as well as an organization-wide event called “Gamers Touch Grass,” a field day event for team members.
“Our main focus is on community events because it’s the community that drives the organization,” Beck asserted.
Beck expressed surprise and gratitude for the*Gameher Awards nomination.
“Being nominated for this award is a big deal, considering that we are a student-run organization competing with collegiate backed organizations, and some of the most influential women in the industry will be present,” stated Beck.
Hebert also shared her sentiment on how the nomination contributes to the future growth of the organization.
“The collective effort in creating such a welcoming and affirming space is truly magnificent,” Hebert expressed sentimentally.