Dec. 18, 2006 - Another first was held in Redlands, CA: the XRGames Toy Drive which benefitted the Boys and Girls Club of Redlands. Above are just some of over 60 kids and teens worked up a sweat playing videogames in this unique tournament format. There were 2 Divisions: The Super XRGamer, where participants had to play 5 different games for a total score (pentathlon). The Individual Division allowed players to compete in individual games such as DDR and 3kick. Many of the SuperXRGamers also did other games that were not part of their 5 required games, resulting in playing up to 8 different games!
Check out the pictures below to see all the action for these REAL video game athletes (compared to traditional sedentary videogame players who compete in tournaments and call themselves "cyberathletes" or "e-athletes", as reported in a recent Reilly column in Sports Illus.)
Thanks to our sponsors who supported us: Beaver Medical Group (sponsored the Wii), JAM Sportswear for the cool t-shirts, J & M Trophies for the ribbons and medals, and Xavix, Makoto, and Brewer's Ledge for prizes.
(Click on the pictures to view them more closely.)
Without our awesome volunteers, these XRGames would never have happened. They did a great job keeping the games going. A special thanks to Devin G. and Kevin F. for coming in early and helping to get things set up and organized while I was taking care of last minute details.
"Love is Orange" was the game used for the DDR station.
3Kick was a popular Individual game.
Bailey, a swimmer on the Redlands Swim Team, shows she can kick on dry land as well.
The Makoto was both an Individual and SuperXRGamer event, so it had a lot of participants trying to master the accelerated game.
Gabby M, an intense competitor, cracks a smile as she whacks the lit target.
Kathy Dunn, Program Dir. at the Boys and Girls Club of Redlands, instructs Natalie P. and Summer M. (on right of picture) what to do on the Sportwall game. The Sportwall was only for SuperXRGamer competitors.
Noelle C. dashes to get her beanbag. She collected quite a few ribbons and medals at this XRGames.
Darce Peter runs on the Jackie Chan Run (Intermediate level), another event that was both an Indiv. and SuperXRGamer event. He was also the winner of the raffle for the Wii.
Even our younger competitors could compete on the Xavix game.
At the Intermediate Level on the Xavix Run, you have to "duck" below a barrier by touching all for squares as this XRGamer is doing or lose points.
Our one non-videogame event was the challenging obstacle hula hoop course on the bouldering wall. Here, Jenny M. strategizes her path through the hoop. Players rec'd a 5-sec. penalty for knocking down a hoop or touching the floor. This was both a SuperXRGamer and Individual event.
One of the Nichol kids shows excellent form going through the hoop.
Notice the intensity of on this player's face as he competes in ATV Fury 3's Tag game against 3 other competitors.
Michael C. (in baseball cap) was the overall winner in the Individual Gamebike event with a very high score compared to the rest of the field.
4 players competed at the same time.
Nick C., concentrates as he races to capture the colored balls.
The Trazer Fusion game was a SuperXRGamer-only event. It tested a variety of skills--lunging, jumping, side-to-side movement. Here Kent gets some air as he goes for the dropping balls.
Gaby M. concentrates as she plays the Trazer.
Two of the hardest working volunteers were Thomas "R" and Keri who tabulated and calculated all the scores for the various divisions, ages, and events so we could award the ribbons (3 deep per age and sex in each event) and medals for the overall winners in each event. Great job, guys!
Refreshments were provided to keep fueling the participants and volunteers.
In between competing in events, friends got to hang out. Thanks to JAMSportswear for the cool-looking t-shirts!
Amand and Kayla B. show of their t-shirts, too.
After the ribbons and medals were given out, the raffle for the prizes were started. Kids rec'd tickets for each event, and additional tickets if the placed in the top 3 of their division and events. Here, they are examing their tickets as the number is read.Ok, here's a picture of me (Ernie) calling out the raffle numbers for cool awards we had.
Here's Darce P., the lucky winner of the Wii!Here are the winners of the DS Light and the iPod Shuffle. You can tell they're pretty happy campers!
Natalie and Summer pose with the pile of presents raised for the Boys and Girls Club of Redlands.The next morning, Kathy Dunn and another staff person from the Boys and Girls Club of Redlands came by to pick up the toys. Here they pose with COO Joel (middle) one last time before loading up the toys for the kids.
Congratulations to all the XRGamers, parents, and volunteers for all their support of this first-ever event! Look for more tournaments like it in 2007!
