Battlefy Link and Registration: https://battlefy.com/pokemon-vgc-ch...eds-to-the-aclu/58910f6dafdc1a3203a33e4a/info Background As some of you know, we've been trying to put together a tournament together to gather funds in one place to donate to groups fighting against the Trump administration's discriminatory executive orders. You can read a Wikipedia summary here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_policy_of_Donald_Trump The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one of three key players who brought litigation immediately against these executive orders. While this fight is likely going to drag out, I wanted to recognize their prompt actions. I personally donated, but I know that there are many of us in the community that have similar objections to these latest orders. Thus, this tournament was born. Donation and Prizing Information The total cost to enter the tournament is 12 dollars. Payment will be administered through Battlefy. The breakdown of that money will be as follows: $2.00 - Battlefy overhead costs $7.00 - ACLU donation $3.00 - Goes to the prize pot to pay out top 4. Payouts are to top 4: 1st: 50% 2nd: 25% Top 4: 12.5% Ruleset We will be using the standard VGC 2017 ruleset. Tournament Format We will be running Swiss rounds into a x-2 top cut. Time and Place When: February 4, 2017 at 3:00 PM EST (UTC -5) Where: Pokemon Showdown. Currently attempting to get a custom room. Will update this. PLEASE CHECK IN TO BATTLEFY WITHIN 60 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE START TIME. FAQ Why the ACLU? The ACLU was one of the major parties to bring litigation against the executive orders. Of the parties involved, they are probably the largest and most well known. However, if you're interested in supporting the others, they are the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and National Immigration Law Center. Both are very worthy organizations, but I decided to focus on a single organization for simplicity's sake. I can't attend but want to help! What can I do? Making a direct donation to the ACLU or another group is a fine decision, and I highly encourage doing so if you can. Heck, why not play in the tournament and make a direct contribution? I disagree politically but still wish to play. What can I do? You can still play if you're okay with registration fee being used in the manner outlined above. Why Showdown? VGC 2017 can take a long time to play out. A cartridge based tournament may take too long and be difficult to coordinate. Stream? I'm currently not prepared to run a stream, but if you are experienced in streaming, talk to me and we can set something up. Why does the Battlefy signup say the cost is $10? You get the surcharge upon payment checkout. Contact I can be reached via Twitter using the tag @bearsfan092
Some things need to be said here. I believe that Pokemon and its VGC scene should not be involved with politics. As individuals, fighting against Trump's policy or whatever else is fine, but involving a community that plays a children's game on a higher level is not. I don't want to attack you or anything but I believe this should be taken somewhere else. Also Friendly competitions exist now and they last for one day so organizing tourneys on Showdown in the future probably won't be as necessary. Also Obama chose the countries, Trump just executed it. Have a nice day
If you don't support the issue at hand (and it's pretty clear you don't), you don't have to enter the tournament. The Pokemon community does not need to be completely unified on any issue. However you will probably find that most of the Pokemon community is against the latest EOs, and there is strength in numbers.
I'll be working that day so unfortunately I won't be able to participate. But is there a play I can make a donation or something? *Scratch that, literally just saw the donation bit. It helps to read things thoroughly.
Already a lot of assumptions going on in this thread. It does at least support the thought that a politically charged tournament might not be the best thing for this burgeoning community.
I'll be holding off on registering until we hear back on what's going on with the streaming stuff, but I do support the goals and message of this tournament. A few years ago on Nugget Bridge we had a thread regarding political changes in Indiana due to US Nationals being hosted in Indianapolis at the time, and I appreciate that members of the VGC community are still willing to take a political stand. I hope we can bring a little more awareness to the event-- seems like registration is a little low, but I don't think we were expecting to see numbers like Zelda's in any case. Thank you.
Your belief, just like every other thirteen year old who thinks politics and whatever they're doing shouldn't mix, is wrong. What your government does and how the world around you works affects you every day. Nothing exists in isolation. The Pokémon Championship Series is a worldwide circuit. This year especially emphasizes international travel with the International Championships and of course the World Championships is an annual celebration of Pokémon held in the United States. With this executive order, President Trump has restricted anyone born in one of the seven countries but now a resident of the United States from fully participating in this circuit because they won't be allowed to return home. He has restricted anyone from one of those countries from visiting the World Championships. So yes, we stand as a community against this just like we stood as a community against former Governor, now Vice President, Pence when he tried to make the site of the US National Championships less hospitable to the LGBT+ members of our community. We're one of the oldest communities in esports stretching before Hearthstone and League of Legends were even released. This is a great idea and is well supported by many people within the community.
Some people don't have the privilege to ignore politics. As a human being, I stand up for those people.
We are not an esport yet. We may have a competitive player base before Hearthstone or League but we are certainly not an esport yet. Some things need to be changed by the TCPi for Pokemon to become an esport.
For one did you just ignore everything he was trying to say to you. Also saying something like we are not an esport though ,I think by that you meant Pokemon VGC or TCG isn't that popular in compared to some of the other Esports which is definitely true, but imo saying VGC is not an Esport is like saying Badminton is not a sport, because it's not as popular as Football Soccer or Basketball. As just from the definition of Esport it means- "a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators." I get people have multiple views on what makes an Esport but I just think of it that way.
I did not ignore what he said my reply was accidentally carried over to his quote. I agree now with your cause and am thinking of participating.
While I'm still unsure about my own participation in this tournament, I wanted to let you know what a fantastic job you're doing. It's empowering to see the injustice of Trump's administration opposed so actively as to see fundraising activities in our own vgc community, especially since these executive orders affect us in the way @Firestorm described. Great work. I stand behind this cause.
Just signed up! I'm happy to help with the cause, so thank you for hosting this! ^_^ I also have a question. Are we allowed to change teams throughout the tournament?
Tournament postmortem report! Overall I'm pleased to say it was a success. We had one small deviation from the payout scheme, but in favor of our goals. A super secret donor who will not be named (no it's not me), contributed another 50 dollars to the pot. 30 of this went to the ACLU, 20 went to the prize pot. The donor donated the 50 to the ACLU directly to reward participation, and left us to shift the numbers around. As such, I'm posting both the numbers under the old scheme and the changes. Entrants: 22 External Donations: 3 Original Prize Pool: 66 (22 * 3) Original ACLU Entrant Donation: 154 (22 * 7) Bearsfan matching : 50 (25 matches at 2 dollars per match) Original total donation: 204 (154 + 50) Since the donor went straight to the ACLU, the numbers were adjusted as such New Prize Pool : 86 (66 + the new 20 dollars) New Entrant Donation : 134 (Original 154 - the 20 dollars shifted to the prize pool) Total Donation: 214 (new entrant donation + bearsfan matching + remaining 30 from secret donor) Winners and prizes: 1st: Kingofmars (43) 2nd: Dimsunlight (21.50) Top4: Yuree and Maltrab (10.75 each) Winners can expect to be compensated this week by Battlefy. I receive the funds to donate at the same time as the winners, so once Battlefy administers the payments, I will immediately donate to the ACLU and post a receipt as proof. A few thank yous: 1. Our winners for putting on a great show 2. Everyone who participated or gave a donation. Raising your voice on critical issues isn't easy to do, but it's so necessary. Thank you for working with me to make this happen. 3. Battlefy for fast-tracking me into their payment beta system. Also the website is phenomenal. Please use it! 4. The participants again. I was a little nervous about running my first online tournament, but everyone was prompt and easy to get along with. It was a breeze.
