By CSSC Volunteer
I first signed up to CSSC when I joined the revenue some 10 years ago. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then I became one of those 'sleeping members' who quite happily forgot about it, read the odd magazine and reviewed the odd advert and became a statistic.
All this changed around three years ago when a colleague and I were discussing one of the latest video games. We were both casual gamers and enjoyed competing online, so we got round to discussing what it would be like to have a competition based on this. One thing led to another and I decided to see if we could run this locally and what facilities were available and the costs involved. Being CSSC members, we thought let's try to run this as an event and get some help from CSSC. The initial application was received by, as it was then, the Newcastle Area. They reviewed it and with some further explanation approved it to go ahead. My local CSSC Area has been a great support in getting eSports (Competitive video gameplay) off the ground in what was the forerunner of what CSSC eSports is today.
We moved from local to regional tournaments with great success, but I thought it was time to take it to the next logical step: National! So I took my ideas and proposals to Head Office to push out eSports across all regions, using the CSSC advertising and contact network. We found other like-minded members already either running their own eSport events (Swansea Area) or wishing to take part in this kind of event.
From this point we've built up a National Network involving 10 regions so far, a committee to help in the running of CSSC eSports, through ideas, events, advertising and recruiting. We have a great working relationship with HMV Gamerbase where we successfully ran the National finals in Reading 2009 and more recently in 2010 in Glasgow and Reading simultaneously. I can't stress enough at this point all the work the regional eSport organisers put into these events, the events team at Head Office, and most importantly the members who attend these events. Without all their help, CSSC eSports wouldn't be where it is today.
Personally I've got a lot out of eSports too: I've made a lot of good friends, gained some new skills in organising events from small local events to large scale National tournaments and all the logistics behind it. We strive to make CSSC eSports a unique experience that's fun, competitive and successful to all those involved.
I'm also a member of the Finance Committee for the Tyne Wear & Northumbria Area Association. Currently my position is the Accounts Manager, where my job is to ensure the annual accounts for the Area are in order, through bank reconciliations, preparing the accounts for audit and submitting yearly accounts to Head Office. I'm not quite sure how this happened! I went to collect a cheque for my first eSports event three years ago and never looked back.
My downfall in life has been enjoying gaming and accountancy (yes it's a strange mix) and on both counts CSSC has enabled me to pursue both to levels that would have been unattainable without their support. So my heartfelt thanks go to CSSC and all those involved; it's been quite a journey so far and I'm looking forward to the future.
For more information on CSSC eSports, check out the eSports webpage in the activities section of the CSSC home page.
Richard Lavery
CSSC eSports Organiser
