On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the New Paltz Smash Club collaborated with the SUNY New Paltz Athletic, Wellness and Recreation department and invited students to play Smash Bros. competitively with the club and to get a taste of what a Smash tournament looks like.
Event coordinator and esports Ambassador of Smash Club, Liana Ferguson, has a close relationship with the Athletic and Wellness Center (AWC) and is the one who pitched the idea to collaborate her club with the AWC. “I have been an intramural worker for the AWC and the esports student assistant for the past two years, which means that I have been running the league’s registration. I have a close relationship with AWC and I pitched the idea to the Assistant Director of Wellness and Recreation, Skyler Cain,” Ferguson said. “He was more than happy to collaborate with us especially since Wellness and Recreation has a winning series Wednesday event which are events that are one/two-day brackets that can either be volleyball, basketball, and pickleball. They are running alongside intramural leagues, so students who aren’t athletes can participate in these sport events. He was more than happy to give us some prizes and let us run this week’s Winning Wednesday event”
The Athletics Wellness and Recreation Center has events throughout the school year to help their students stay active. “The events they usually have are volleyball, soccer, basketball, basically any sports that you could think of. Now it is our turn to host an event, even though this isn’t sports-related, it fits the esports bracket of the AWC,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson revealed that SUNY New Paltz plans to have a room dedicated for esports in the third floor of the Student Union Building (SUB). “New Paltz is pushing for esports to be a club and hopefully soon when the construction for the third floor is done, we will be able to continue having our esports events and competitions,” said Ferguson. “Usually we play Overwatch, Apex, and Rocket League when the esports is running but for now we are promoting Smash Club as a category. It is like a proponent of esports and what it can be on campus. If an esports club happened to be its own thing, I would want it to grow in its own image just like how Smash Club did after the pandemic. This event will give people an idea about how esports will look like once it becomes a club.”
Smash Bros. is a Nintendo fighting game that has been around for 25 years, where all Nintendo characters can crossover into the game. This beloved franchise allows players to pit their favorite Nintendo characters against each other in epic battles. Either teaming up with friends for a memorable multiplayer experience or battling alone, Smash Bros. is an entertaining game to play.
President and third-year student James Cantalupi discusses the tournaments they host and the culture within the esports community. “Within the club, we run competitive tournaments for Smash Bros. and we play them on mainly Nintendo Switch consoles. We just have these tournaments for the competitive gaming scene on campus,” said Cantalupi. “Smash Club was founded in 2015 and since then we have been meeting on Sundays to compete. We have grown a lot since then and it’s all thanks to our Instagram account.”
Lucy Pawluck is a second-year student at SUNY New Paltz and is currently on the Smash Bros e-board for public relations. “I help with the Instagram page and making sure that our account is active. We have seen that we have gotten a rise of followers because of all the events and posts we publish on there. I pushed for my eboard members to start posting more on social media rather than just posting results. We even have students from Marist College who come down and join us on Sundays to compete. I think posting on social media has helped us advertise our club and get new students to join,” said Pawluck. “It’s not just a college club, there is a bigger Smash Bros. scene outside of New Paltz. There’s this local place called Contender Hudson Valley, an esports facility located in Wappinger Falls. Our events count for their tournaments so our members can head over there and compete with others around the area.”
The Smash Club’s meeting room was filled up with monitors and Nintendo Switch consoles, as they were ready to compete for the prizes, such as Wellness and Recreation intramural sports t-shirts. Even alumni came to the event to compete, emphasizing how much of an impact the club has on students. “We usually have a lot of alumni that come back to compete just because we are the only club in the area other than the Contender Hudson Valley that hosts these events. They also come back to see if they can beat their old peers and overall have a good time,” said Cantalupi. “You form relationships here in the club and the Hudson Valley. Smash Bros. is for all ages, not just for kids, we have a lot of older people who come back to compete. This has become a safe competitive space for a lot of people and a place where people get to play a game they love.”
SUNY has been involved with esports since 2021 and has tried to create its own esports league throughout the years. Esports programs provide students with opportunities to foster teamwork, develop strategic thinking and build leadership skills. It has been growing throughout the years and there are many tournaments within the esports community. Because of the increased love for gaming and the esports community, SUNY now has 64 colleges and universities across the state with over 2,000 students competing, and we hope to add New Paltz to the growing list.
Come join the Smash Club on Sundays at 2 p.m. in SUB 409 if you want to experience what it’s like to compete with the club. You can also check out their Instagram @npsmashbrosclub and join their Discord https://discord.gg/PvzSDQExUw to get updates on their events.
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