Message from the President
Peter Parker, Student President
Hello everyone, and welcome to the first GMU Esports newsletter! I’m Peter Parker, the student President of the GMU Esports program housed under Student Involvement. As you may already know, GMU Esports recently transitioned from being a registered student organization (aka a club) to a departmental student organization this past summer, which brought a lot of changes along with it. This first newsletter will focus on formally introducing you to what these changes entail and give you an idea of what to expect out of the program for the rest of the academic year. Future newsletters will be sent out on a monthly basis, featuring sections focusing on various GMU Esports-related topics written by different members of the Leadership Team.
New Staff Structure
Peter Parker, Student President
The biggest change internally that came from transitioning from a club to a program was the ability to have a long-lasting staff structure made up of student and school employees. Previously, as a club, that kind of long-term stability wasn’t something that was possible. Now, with the backing of the school, it is.
I would like to state upfront that this program is a work-in-progress, which means that the staff structure that exists now might shift and change as we figure out things that work and things that don’t. This also means that while we may not be able to provide all the infrastructural or material support players and community members want in the current moment, we have many initiatives in motion and we are excited for what is coming in the future. COVID has made many things much more difficult, but that is not stopping our efforts to build a strong organization.
Let’s get right into the meat of things now. Previously as a club, we were able to hold elections every year for club officers, like most RSOs. Now, students must go through a hiring process if they wish to be in a student leadership position. Right now, there are seven leadership positions:
President: Peter Parker
Community Manager: Hadi Khalil aka HK
Media Manager: Mazin Iqbal aka Maz
As President, I oversee the coordination between the members of the Leadership Team in a variety of projects, as well as the long-term planning of the program. As Community Manager, HK heads the wonderful Tournament Organizing, Event Planning, and Moderation Teams. As Media Manager, Maz heads the amazing Social Media, Graphic Design, and Streaming and Video Editing Teams.
League of Legends Team Manager: Juan Breckenridge
Overwatch Team Manager: Sam Robinson
Rocket League Team Manager: Daniel Harrison
Super Smash Bros Team Manager: Conrad Fimbres
Team Managers now handle two games each, an example of a recent change that was made to help adapt our early staff structures. You can read more in-depth on the Team Manager role in our Player Roles and Responsibilities Document.
Each of these positions are advised by our Graduate Assistant and the Executive Director of Student Involvement:
Graduate Assistant: Nhien Ho
Contact - nho3@gmu.edu
Executive Director of Student Involvement: Lauren Long
Contact - llong3@gmu.edu
Future Expectations
Peter Parker, Student President
This year is a building year and we appreciate your patience as we begin to set the path to leave a legacy for future Mason Patriots to enjoy. There are many exciting things coming in the Spring that we are finalizing this Fall and we can not wait to share it all with you soon. If something seems missing, we’re working on it. If something seems not fully fleshed out right now, then that means it’ll change in the future, as we’re constantly in flux.
To that end, we want to make sure our decisions are informed. Additionally, because we can’t always have all our eyes everywhere, we are reliant on community members and players to voice their feedback. As such, we will be holding monthly open forums in which members of the GMU Esports community can talk directly with the Leadership Team. The first one will be held on October 30th, 2020 during 2:00-3:00PM EST in our discord server. Stay tuned to the #announcements channel in the Discord server for more information on this soon!
Player of the Month
Mazin Iqbal, Media Manager
Each month we'll be showcasing a different player from one of our teams and provide them with some spotlight! This month we'll be focusing on Ian "Ibbinx" Binkley, a freshman at George Mason University.
IGN: Ibbinx
Position: Overwatch Team A, DPS Sub
His favorites include -
Hobby: Skateboarding
Food: Pasta
Show: BoJack Horseman
Ian is a big fan of videogames, but wasn't really a huge fan of online shooters since he felt that they were all "too bland". That was until he came across the game Overwatch. He stated, "the Overwatch cinematic trailers gave the game a sense of character and spirit that hooked the thirteen-year-old me (wow it's been a while!). As I started playing, I loved the balance between movement, aim, and cooldown management. It felt like the perfect mix of raw skill and game awareness that I was looking for".
As he matured, he found himself losing interest in the extracurricular activities his parents had signed him up for. About a year ago, he began trying to learn how to play Overwatch competitively. After becoming a Mason Patriot, he came across the GMU Esports Overwatch Team and was happy to join for the 2020-2021 school year as a Team A, DPS Sub Player. He looks forward to watching, learning, and playing with his teammates to become a better player himself!
Upcoming Events
Mazin Iqbal, Media Manager
While GMU Esports will not be hosting any in-person events for the remaining of the Fall 2020 semester, we'll still be holding various online events and promoting Student Involvement's events on our social media!
Link to our Events calendar: https://tinyurl.com/GMUEsports-Events
- Open Forums will be held on a monthly basis within the GMU Esports Discord to allow for the community to speak directly with the Leadership Team. The first one will be held on October 30th, 2020 during 2:00-3:00PM EST.
- PUGS or Pick-Up-Games will continue to be held on a weekly basis for various games in our GMU Esports Discord. They generally occur weekly on Thursdays at 8:00PM EST.
- Boost My Signal, our online Smash competition, will be held on a bi-weekly basis in the GMU Smash Events Discord.
Team Competitions/Info
Mazin Iqbal, Media Manager
Interested in knowing what competitions our teams are competing in? Follow the link below to join the GMU Esports Teams Google calendar to stay updated on competitions our teams are competing in!
Link to our Teams calendar: https://tinyurl.com/GMUEsports-Teams
Please message oldmanspidey#0776 over Discord if you have any questions or notice any errors related to the calendar.
Student Staff Volunteer Applications
Mazin Iqbal, Media Manager
We're always looking forward to expand our volunteer student staff at GMU Esports! When applying, you'll notice applications are split amongst two categories: Community & Media.
Link to our Staff Applications: https://tinyurl.com/GMUEsports-Apps
Please email miqbal20@gmu.edu if you have any questions or need help submitting an application.