Eye of the Storm: Support Your Local Scene

Debunking the always misconceived myth.

Sometimes people ask questions. Sometimes they misunderstand things. There are times when I get to thinking about it and decided to write it down instead of holding it in. Ever hear or wonder what people meant by “Support your local scene”? A quick look inside my head.

Supporting your local scene is something that people hear all the time. However, what does it actually mean? One of the biggest things that scares people off is thinking that they have to be some big shot player that’s amazing, and so on and so forth. This actually lands on both sides of the coin, mind you. So it tends to stagnate a scene at times. Let’s take a quick look at supporting the scene, however.

Tournaments:
Tournaments are quite possibly, the first thing that comes to mind when people think about supporting a scene. While it’s true, that it’s a big part of it, we can think of the different kinds of tournaments. Your local scene should be consisting of players that are within a reasonable distance of the central area of play.

So local tournaments, big or small will be consisting of these players. For some, they look to make it into their job. For others, they look to expand and make progress. It doesn’t hurt to take the money off the line occasionally and help out some of the newer players who feel intimidated. It doesn’t even make it any less of a tournament.

You know, back in the day, it wasn’t always about the money. Pride was enough to play hard and not have a loss on your belt. Nowadays, people equate money to a match counting. However, a loss is a loss in a tournament. Free or otherwise. Perhaps that should be kept in mind. It also wouldn’t hurt to have prize tournaments instead.

Personally, as a Tournament Organizer, I’ve done this. I would give to my local community by putting prizes on the line for those who wanted to compete. Case in point: People can be strapped at times, and while some want to keep it business as usual, we can still have tournaments that don’t hurt the pocket. It also doesn’t hurt to show up just to play Casuals/Friendlies. Just  because it’s a tournament, doesn’t mean you have to enter. Just go for the experience.

Sessions:
These are important. It gives people a chance to play those they might normally not. It also gives people a chance to try things that they may not want to risk in tournament. You get opportunities to perfect your game, and to learn new things. The first thing that comes to mind is Bum163’s House of Chaos.

People like Coach Steve (Insaynne) and others go regularly to play and help others grow. At times, they turn in to random tournaments, but that’s cool, too. Sessions are a great way to find newer players, and those who are truly on the up and coming. Case in point: Sessions are VERY important, and hosting them, big or small, is part of supporting the community.

Training:
Now while this could be considered a session, it also isn’t. Training is getting together with a specific goal in mind. Once I learned how to play Street Fighter and not just mash buttons as a young lad of 13, I would train my friends. Sometimes one-on-one, some times with two or three others. I taught them the things I learned so they could develop as players and experience the game through a different angle.

They also could learn to do all the cool stuff they saw and wanted to do. There are those in the community willing to do that. What does it involve? It’s a two way street. You need a teacher, and someone who is willing to learn.

Supporting your community and local scene has different facets to it, and in the end, meeting people and making connections are a part of helping it grow.

I hope I’ve been able to help some of the newer players, and also some of the players who got a bit discouraged perhaps because of not being as “good” as others. What are some ways you’ve supported your scene? What about some ways that weren’t mentioned?

Thoughts? Leave a Comment

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