Gamertell

I ran into Zach Wigal (pictured right) online well after our interview for the “Teen with a Dream” story and was glad to hear his dream came true. He and his friends were finally able to host a Halo tournament through a CyGamZ fundraiser held in November 2007.

He told me GOF was able to raise $500, which was used towards community service projects within his area and that this year he and his friends are hosting another Halo tournament event called Gamers for Giving February 29, 2008.

“I believe last we spoke about GOF happenings I told you we had a small fund raiser for our organization at a LAN center called CyGamZ planned, and that we were still discussing possible dates and things for our big comeback event, Gamers for Giving,” Wigal said when I caught up with him earlier this week. “Well the CyGamZ event has ended, and we’re 100% focused on Gamers for Giving, which is a Halo 3 tournament combined with a 3 day straight PC LAN.”

Wigal plans to “raise at least $7,500 dollars to help families and kids who struggle with Autism,” he explained. “All profits made from the event are going to be donated to the Autism Society of Washtenaw County (which is a local branch of the Autism Society of America). They’re a group which operates within the same county as the public safety director who canceled our (original) Halo tournament. They’ve talked about using the money to actually build a local learning center for kids with Autism.”

He jokingly said by playing within the same county as the director he hoped the public safety director could see how much good a video game once deemed to have terrible effects on society by the same director.

“Gamers Outreach Foundation tries to use video games for various charity purposes and community projects. You’ll also remember that our organization was started because of the canceling of a Halo 2 tournament some friends and I tried to hold. Gamers for Giving is both the comeback event for my friends and I, and the launch event for Gamers Outreach Foundation,” Wigal said.

To date, the event is scheduled to take place at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center at 2 p.m. on February 29, 2008, and will last till 10 a.m. on March 2, 2008.

“The event is a 3 day straight PC LAN combined with a 2vs2 Halo 3 tournament,” Wigal said. “To host the PC side of things, we’re teaming up with a group known as MPcon, a group of guys who host Michigan’s largest multi-annual PC LAN events. They’ll be hosting a number of PC gaming tournaments throughout the weekend and it’s generally just a good time for PC gamers to get together, and LAN it up.”

To make it more fun to the gamers, those who take first and second place in the 2vs2 Halo 3 double elimination tournament on March 1, 2008, will also walk away with prizes.

“We’re awarding $1,000 to the winning team and $500 to the team that finishes in 2nd place,” he explained. “We’ll have a number of stations set up where players will be competing with each other. Additionally, we’ll have a main stage area where the finals and other high profile matches will be played. It’s literally a stage with 2 projector screens on each side showing what’s happening on the players’ screens for everyone to see.”

During the planning stages, the Gamers Outreach Foundation was contacted by a number of organizations interested in sponsoring their event and is still in the process of negotiating with the potential sponsors for future projects. That has proven advantageous as they are able to make the tournament a little more interesting to gamers by having booths available that will offer products and games to those who attend the event.

“We will be setting up booths with different goods and games for people to take a look at or interact with,” he said. “We’ll also hold a raffle (which I’m hoping will be a staple at each annual Gamers for Giving event we run) where we’ll be giving away a number of big ticket prizes, (like an xbox 360 and hopefully a full fledged gaming rig built by our sponsor Mythlogic to name a few).”

The event costs $25 per person to take part in the PC LAN event (only), $25 per person for the Halo 3 tournament, $50 per team for the Halo 3 tournament and an option for both events for a discounted price of $40.

Those interested in registering for either event can visit Gamers Outreach Foundation or MPCon website at the links below. Wigal warns that gamers who wish to compete should register early because space is limited for the event.

Registration site [Gamers Outreach Foundation] Site [MPCon] Site [East Michigan University]

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