Posted in: eSports, Games, Video Games | Tagged: eSports, Gen.G, University Of Kentucky
Gen.G & University Of Kentucky To Host Regional Esports Conference
Esports team Gen.G and the University Of Kentucky announced they will partner to host a regional esports and gaming conference. According to the announcement, this will be a two-day festival for students and administrators in the area, running from February 18th-19th, 2023. Officially being called CatCon, the goal of it will be to hold community-building tournaments for student-run gaming clubs from any college, as well as hosting conference-style panels and networking events. We have more info on the event below and a pair of quotes from today's announcement.
"The conference also marks the return of the UK Invitational Tournament with competitors playing in-person for crash prizes across multiple games in partnership with the UKY Esports Club, including Halo Infinite and Valorant. Participants will need to qualify through an online league in order to be eligible for the in-person tournament. Spectators can watch the stream on Twitch. Registration will open on December 20th in the official University of Kentucky Esports Lounge Discord. There will be workshops for attendees that include keynote speaker Kishonna Gray, an esteemed award-winning researcher, author, and lecturer who serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky. She will discuss Examining Intersectionality Creative Storytelling in Video Games Media and more. Student programming will also include a career fair, where companies and organizations in the gaming industry will showcase open jobs and give students insights into possible career paths. In addition to administrators and current college students, local high school students are encouraged to attend and can participate in private UK campus tours, Q&A sessions with current students, and more select programming during CatCon."
"Gen.G could not be more excited to work with our longtime partner to support the growing esports hub at the University of Kentucky," said Martin Kim, Chief Revenue Officer at Gen.G. "CatCon will give both students and administrators the tools they need to thrive in this burgeoning esports region and take the esports and gaming culture in the collegiate esports to the next level."
"CatCon will provide current and future students, community members, and aspiring administrators with the connections and knowledge they need to continue the path that the University of Kentucky and Gen.G have begun paving towards lasting esports success in our region," said Heath Price, Associate Chief Information Officer at the University of Kentucky. "Through our continued partnership with Gen.G, we desire to be a leader in the strong thought leadership that is happening across the video gaming and esports industry, and we believe events like CatCon have the potential to encourage even more collaboration across the collegiate esports landscape."