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The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    FCA brings together gaming community through tournament

    The Lion’s Roar / Jonathan Rhodes

    Students and non-students gathered to face each other in a double elimination style Super Smash Bros. Tournament. FCA hosted the event as a opportunity to  fellowship with non-religious students.

    Bringing students together is a top priority for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes so they hosted a gaming tournament to do so. Participants played Super Smash Bros. for Wii U last Thursday, May 5 in the Student Union Room 2202. This is the first time FCA has done a Smash Bros. tournament.

    “I have a heart for Smash Bros,” said FCA President Avery Martin. “It’s a game that can connect people from all different races and ages. The only reason I wanted to do this tournament is because I really feel that God is calling me to reach people inside my circle of influence. I’m the only person in my FCA that plays Smash Bros, and so I decided to run this event because I had to make some type of attempt to reach these people and show the love of God. We had a pretty good turnout. Thirty people showed and for a $5 tournament, it’s the people that I’m trying to draw in.”

    FCA is a campus ministry that focuses on helping athletes develop their relationship with God, but is open to non-athletic and non-religious students as well.

    “We stand for God,” said Martin. “We try to resemble God in everything that we do. Whether it’s sports or everyday life, we want to be a light of God on this campus. FCA reaches more non-athletes than athletes. We are really trying to reach every single person that we can, and for this campus, we want to grow as family. We have a family-oriented organization to where we help each other move forward in life and find out why are we here at Southeastern. We really want to bring out the fullest purpose out of each and every person that we encounter.”

    FCA has hosted other events in the past from worship nights to table events outside the Student Union.

    “We have something called ‘Fields of Faith’ where we invite all the campus organizations and all students, even high school students in the area, just to come worship and encounter God,” said Martin. “We actually were supposed to have it last week, but it was cancelled due to rain. We also had a prayer table last semester before finals just to engage the students and show them that we are here and we care. We want to have some prayer for this finals week and just be there for the students during this time and pray.”

    Participants in the tournament were mostly composed of the Super Smash Bros. community that plays in the Student Union during the week.

    “We pretty much do it in between classes,” said sophomore computer science major Arkeith White. “You go to class, get that out of the way and then you have to go to the Union to eat anyway, so why not play video games while you’re there? Whenever you’re free at any time during the day, there is always a time for you to go play with other people.”

    The tournament was won by non-student Craig Schayot who is ranked fifth in the state as a Super Smash Bros. Wii U player. Junior computer science major John Paul came in second and non-student Karlos Thomas finished in third place.

    “The first year I played brawl, it was with my roommate and he played competitively and so we played everyday, and that’s how I got better,” said Schayot. “I started going to tournaments a year later and started to come close to beating the top five ranked players in the state. I took a break for awhile then once the Wii U version came out, I picked up where I left off, still losing to the top players, but I have improved a lot over the past year. Having to compete with a crowd definitely makes you more prepared for it next time.”

    FCA hopes to host a Super Smash Bros. tournament every semester if possible and continue to bring fellow players together.

    “Jesus said to his disciples ‘Go and preach to all nations,’ said Martin. “FCA is just one nation. I can’t just border myself through FCA. I have to reach out to these students I encounter every day. Some days I shouldn’t play because I have other responsibilities to do, but just seeing today, that sacrifice was well made. I want God to bring out everyone’s full purpose, and if that’s through Smash Bros, then that’s the tool that I use.”

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