Women growing the game in esports

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team has grown rapidly in its first year of existence. Since being added as a program in October and adding Lewis Smith as the head coach in January, the program has blossomed and has grown into a roster of 76 student-athletes. The esports team has grown in popularity on the women's side with five women competing on the team. Coach Smith and CUW are playing a key role in helping to try to diversify the sport.

According to womeningames.org, the number of women working in any role in esports or playing esports is estimated to be about five percent.

Coach Smith and the Falcons are trying to buck that trend and diversify the roster.

 "Oh it is very important," said head coach Lewis Smith. "I want all of our student-athletes to get better at their esport, but more importantly I want to see them grow as people. Meeting and communicating with people of different backgrounds, genders or races is a large part of that."

The Falcons have six females on the team being pioneers to the sport and many of them are excited to be able to compete at Concordia Wisconsin.

"I very much feel like a modern pioneer, said Rebecca Gehm. "It is a very new and fun experience to watch the team and the whole esports department grow all around you and watching the effort people are putting into it. It is inspiring. I enjoy playing games with others where all of us communicate and work towards the goal as a unit. Being a part of the first team feels special and unique and I hope I can get more girls into gaming by being a part of it."

Gehm, a sophomore from Frankenmuth, Michigan, like others on her team have been gaming since a young age.

"I have been gaming ever since I can remember when I picked up an old Game Boy and played the first Pokémon game," Gehm stated. "That was probably as early as age four or five but perhaps earlier than that, whenever I could get my little hands on a game. I spent hours playing Nintendo 64 and GameCube as a kid, my childhood favorite being Pokémon and Super Mario Sunshine."

Also on the CUW esports team is Maggie Vesey, a freshman from Cudahy, Wisconsin. Who also started playing at a young age around seven or eight, but really got into gaming in eighth grade.

"It's crazy," said Vesey. "Being the first group of people to share an amazing world to people who might not be aware is fantastic.  Creating the standing legacy for the future is amazing."

While there is excitement in the air for these women, there have been some historical obstacles to overcome in sexism in gaming that CUW is challenging.

"I have seen more and more women get involved recently, which I love," said Smith. "I hate how toxic esports has been in the past. However, as players, teams and institutions have taken the industry more seriously, the space has been becoming more inclusive."

Some of the women on the esports team have overcome not only sexism in gaming but overcoming the stereotype.

"It's a very isolating experience sometimes as a majority of gamers tend to be male," said Gehm. "Because it is such a male-dominated industry that also caters to a male majority audience, I often feel like one of the only females who enjoy pushing the guys off of Rainbow Road or going one on one in Overwatch for a little competition. But, one thing that is always fun as the minority is, as a female, males don't notice you as much in a competitive setting so it's always satisfying to win much to their surprise and prove that esports can be beneficial to both males and females regardless of physical ability. On the flip side, one of the downsides is also not being noticed. Being the minority, males tend to make fun of female gamers considering them a joke or thinking they're just a pretty face pretending to be into video games. This stigma does not necessarily get in my way at CUW as CUW is a female majority campus to begin with and they completely respect all who want to join with equal opportunity for everyone. I appreciate that a lot about CUW and I hope that by getting more females to be comfortable with the hobby of loving gaming, they can feel comfortable joining esports."

Competing with CUW has given student-athletes the opportunity to prove themselves and break stereotypes.

"The 'gamer girl' stereotype is quite a unique challenge to beat," Vesey added. "Many people think that girls play games just to impress their boyfriends or to be 'cute and quirky,' but once you get past that barrier and prove you're not just in it to be a stereotypical e-girl then it's great."

The CUW esports team hopes that with the growth of the sport at CUW and across the globe, the sport can become more diverse.

"I think as people view collegiate esports and our team as a legitimate competitive scene we will start to see more people who play casually make the lead to competing, many of those casual players being women," said Smith. "Also, I am glad we have women on our team already and they can serve as inspirations for other women who are nervous to make to leap. One of my favorite things about esports is how physical attributes that dictate success in sports just do not matter. When gaming, it does not matter if you are 6'6" man or a 5'4" woman. The playing field is even."

For student-athletes on the CUW esports team, the team has not only been a spot for equality but a home.

It's an equal playing field for males and females alike of any age, background, or physical ability," said Gehm. "Esports at CUW has allowed many people who may not be able to be involved in typical sports teams such as myself because of a double major to flourish in a team setting even from home. Team sports can be very rewarding and good for building skills used in the future for work and relating to others and if CUW can do that through esports and opening those opportunities to a wider pool of students, that's amazing in my book. My favorite part is probably the comradery, the teamwork, and that it is genuinely fun to be a part of. The esports teams each form mini families within the department and together make a large network of support for all members. All of the teammates look out for each other more than just in the game. Coach Smith works very hard to make sure everyone has a place and most importantly, enjoys what they do."

CUW esports team has become a home for many student-athletes and a place where competitors feel safe and can grow.

"My favorite part is just being able to have fun playing games with a group of people with common interest as you," Vesey shared. "Being in a group of people who like what you like is an amazing experience, and being able to just play games, make new friends, laugh, compete for your school, and have fun doing it all is just incredible."