Esports is a growing industry, and it’s beginning to spread like wildfire. More and more colleges are now taking part, but what if you’re the first person with the idea on your campus?
Well luckily, beginning an esport club at your college and university can seem like a hefty task, but by taking the right steps and being consistent you could get a club off the ground pretty smoothly. Whether you choose to create a varsity or community based club, the beginning steps are pretty similar.
Step 1: Awareness
Esports at its roots are people coming together to play games, so your mission as an organizer is to spread the word. There are a lot of ways to do this: social media, emails, just talking to people. A good start would be picking a time and place to consistently have a gathering or event to all come together.
Finding others with similar interests by creating a social media page on instagram, twitter, or creating a discord server allows you to reach these people and tell them about the club’s goals and future plans or events. Just do what you can to get people’s attention and retain that attention once you get it.
Step 2: Approval
As your club starts to grow, you’ll meet like-minded people that play other games. This allows you to make a full fledged club, so the next step would be to register the club with your school. Most schools will require an official Student Organization Registration form.
This is your opportunity to show the school’s administration or student body that your club deserves to be recognized. If approved, your club is official. This allows for more perks like sending info emails to the student body, renting buildings or rooms for events, or being able to create and manage a budget for the club.
Step 3: Action
From there it’s about growth and consistency. Once you have an official club you can begin entering and representing your school in collegiate tournaments and leagues.
Maybe your club will make a twitch and become the next big thing broadcasting, or maybe your school becomes known for having the most legendary pokemon tournaments. The sky’s the limit, it just takes someone taking the first step.
