Fundraising can sometimes be a daunting and laborious task. While you typically see an elementary student selling chocolate bars outside the local grocery store or people begging for money at your door step, Midnight Sun has come up with more exciting and fun ways to raise money.
March 1st brought us the first Midnight Sun: League of Legends Tournament. The tournament garnered a great turnout with eight teams participating; each consisting of 5 players. The games were played in the RCH 101 lecture hall where space was limited but Midnight Sun did a good job of using what space they had. Every game was projected on the wall provoking strategy discussions and roars of excitement every time an exciting play happened. As the first time Midnight Sun had ever hosted a gaming tournament, it was at times a bit bumpy. The beginning of the tournament was delayed about an hour and the aforementioned lack of space was annoying for players, but these small issues did not take away from the tournament in the slightest.
The solar team charged $10 for each team to participate and sold pizza, drinks and raffle tickets. The money raised from the event will go towards funding the 11th Midnight Sun Solar Vehicle. The success of the event was evident after talking with some team members. All of them were very enthusiastic with the outcome of the night and said they planned on hosting another League of Legends tournament in the near future. It is refreshing to see the engineering team step away from traditional fundraising and move toward something unconventional, something we can get involved in and enjoy.
In fact, something not just males can enjoy. While gaming is traditionally seen as a male-dominated culture, a significant number of women showed up, not just to play but also watch. As a man who predominately plays video games with other men, it is encouraging to see more women involved in gaming. It is also nice to see the female members of Midnight Sun getting involved in the planning an execution of such an event.
Overall, the event was a great success and a wonderful idea. It was an amazing first effort from the Midnight Sun team and something I would definitely want to participate in again.
Leave a Reply