Wingate Esports Club has high hopes for its future community

By AVERY HILL

Editor

The world of esports is a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar industry and after fighting for recognition in the fiercely competitive traditional sports sector for years, advocates of esports have been enjoying unparalleled success in the cultural and business marketplaces.

With the rise of alternative media and particularly streaming, the impact of video games on a worldwide scale is undeniable. VanEck, an NYC-based investment firm, found that esports’ global audience exceeded well over 550 million and is projected to surpass 640 million unique viewers by the end of 2025.

Data analysts at VanEck also project that esports’ overall global revenue will grow from $4.78 billion in 2025 to about $6 billion by 2029.

But for the Wingate Esports club, the popularity of the exploding industry is second to the close-knit community they have formed in the JM Smith Hall.

The club was founded in the fall of 2022 by Wingate student Sana Cheema, who started the club with the goal of establishing a space for gamers on campus but also to provide the type of community she wished to belong to.

“I started [Wingate Esports Club] because I went to UNCC a lot and watched their scrims and sometimes I even got to play with them and I found it was an amazing way to meet people who have similar interests,” Cheema said. “From there, I worked with the UNCC club president and was able to develop a plan for starting the team at Wingate. I started it as a team and club so that students who gamed leisurely could still be incentivized to join. As a commuter, meeting people was difficult and starting this club helped me find my place at the school.”

Eventually she stepped down and handed over the title of president to senior James Johnson to focus on pharmacy school. Johnson described the transition as informal.

“She asked if I wanted to take over and I said sure,” said Johnson, recounting the process.

While the process of becoming president might have been casual, for Johnson, the role has been anything but. He recounted the many battles he faced during his time as president, with funding and school recognition being some of the hardest fought.

Whether due to persistence or sheer luck, the Wingate Esports Club found favor in the eyes of Wingate University and earned official recognition as well as many of the vital items the club needed to succeed, including a room, PCs and monitors. According to Johnson, however, the work is far from done. 

“It’s still student-based, so we do the work of getting the word out and fundraisers ourselves,” he said. “It’s like climbing a tower, to be honest, but we can get it done. We’ve been working on it for a while.” 

Despite the challenges the club has faced with fundraising, Johnson is happy with the progress so far. Last semester, the Wingate Esports Club held a lucrative fundraiser selling Korean corndogs, netting $450 in sales. The event was so successful that Johnson repeated it, selling out for the second time in a row.

While fundraising is an important part of the club’s growth, the heart of the club is in its meetings.

These meetings led by Johnson are comprised of a diverse group of individuals with majors ranging from computer science to fine arts. While no two meetings are identical, each follows the same general blueprint. 

For casual meetings, Johnson opens each meeting with a few words, introduces any new events and then members set up PCs and consoles to play. For more structured meetings, a team captain will lead the members in practice and decision strategies for competitive matches.

Marvel Rivals, Counter-Strike and Fortnite are games that are popular with the club, with Mario Kart and Minecraft being played by more casual players.

Johnson has big dreams for the club and points to UNC Charlotte’s esports program, just 40 minutes north of Wingate.

“I want to take the club where UNC Charlotte is,” he said. “UNC Charlotte got a grant two years ago for $1.3 million for an esports arena. It just got finished and it is one of the coolest rooms ever. They have 30 PCs in there. It is reaching, as this is a much smaller school, but something in that ballpark would be insane.”

Beyond his dreams of new buildings and high-tech equipment, Johnson’s main focus is still building the small but thriving kinship of gamers he has helped foster over the past couple of years. 

“People will come in, they’ll talk about whatever, even if it’s just about games,” he said. “A couple of the members have gone to conventions or done things outside of the club and gone bowling. We hang out outside just playing video games. Anytime I see that, I think it’s super cool.” 

Under Johnson’s term as president of the Wingate Esports Club, the organization has seen growth and successful fundraisers, but his biggest accomplishment has been the comradery that has been carefully fostered. Club member Joel Eudy explained how the club has impacted the Wingate gaming community.

“I believe the esports club has impacted the campus community by giving a niche group a place to find community,” Eudy said. “We have a mix of both competitive and casual players and we try our best to offer each group opportunities to build as a community and build relationships. In fact, just last week we had a Halloween party where people within the club were able to get together and enjoy the company of people with similar interests.”

Club founder Cheema, like Johnson, looks fondly at her time as president.

“Having a community and a group of people you can actually call your friends in college is amazing because it’s a difficult chapter to navigate, especially because I came into undergrad following COVID-19 shutdowns,” Cheema said. “This club became an amazing way for me to meet people and really get to know them and many of them I am still friends with today because regardless of where they ended up, we still always have games to play when we want to catch up.”

Wingate Esports Club is preparing to embark on a new chapter as early members of the club look towards graduation. Now armed with funding, recognition and a place to call home in the JM Smith Hall, their future looks bright. 

Perhaps most importantly, throughout all the hustle and chaos that is college life, Wingate Esports Club has built human connection. That’s the ultimate victory.