Students smash fundraising target by 200% at Gameblast Tournament

A team of Esports students from the University of Northampton have smashed their fundraising goal to raise money for a local charity close to their hearts.

Taking place across two days last week (20-21 February), more than 30 students from across the University of Northampton’s Esports course took over the first floor of the Creative Hub at Waterside Campus to hit play on a range of games – including Wii Sports, Mario Kart, League of Legends, Rocket League, Valorant and Marvel Rivals – to unite gaming enthusiasts in aid of Oxford-based charity, SpecialEffect.

Students and staff from the University’s Creative Film, Television and Digital Media Production course were also on hand to professionally deliver a livestream broadcast which featured live reports on the fundraising donations as they came in.

Initially setting their target at £1,000, the students have successfully raised a grand total of £2,029 for SpecialEffect, a charity that focuses on providing people with life changing disabilities the opportunity to experience technology with no limitations, levelling the playing field.

As a result of the students’ hard work and total money raised, SpecialEffect will have the funds available to purchase the equivalent of 80 eye-gaze kits or 134 adapted one-handed gaming controllers.

As the credits rolled on the end of the two-day event, first-year student – and Project Lead for the event – Anya Tydeman said: “We’re so pleased with how wholeheartedly staff, students and members of the public supported our fundraising efforts for SpecialEffect (we even received support internationally from gamers in Vietnam!).

“The Esports community is exactly that – a community, of likeminded people who share a similar passion. To know that we’ve raised vital funds to enable dozens and dozens of gamers with life changing disabilities to join us in the virtual world is a feeling we can’t quite put into words.”

The University’s Lecturer in Esports, Ellis Celia added: “I am blown away by the grand total raise by our students here at UON, smashing their initial target by more than 200%.

“Beyond the vital money raised for this worthwhile charity, it was fantastic to see our students come together for a mutual cause and achieve success. They built a welcoming and inclusive environment, engaged with attendees and managed all aspects of the event themselves, from marketing and social media to delivering the event and managing unforeseen challenges. Their performance shows real promise as our next generation of industry professionals!”

Donations can still be made to the team’s fundraising total via JustGiving.

Find out more about studying Esports at the University of Northampton.