Gamers prepare for 24-hour event

Gaming@IU, IU’s gaming club, is organizing a 24-hour networking gaming event this weekend.

The Local Area Network event will be the largest of its kind, with almost 500
participants.

The club, founded by brothers Adam and Jonny Sweeny, was created in the early days of gaming when computers needed to be in close proximity for network games, Adam Sweeny said.

“Finding like-minded people was a challenge,” Sweeny said.

The event and club have grown since then.

Club member Haley Dafforn said they currently have about 684 people registered.
The club meets twice a year in the spring and fall for the major LAN events. The club also has smaller gaming events throughout the year.

In order to participate, gamers pay from $20 to $25 for a spot for their PC or console, 24 hours of gaming and entry to tournaments and raffle tickets.

Raffles and vendors are set up at tournaments throughout the night.

More gamers means the event will draw more sponsors.

“Attendees bring more of their friends, and we’re even seeing younger generations joining their elders at the events, which is a great thing to see over the life of the club,” Dafforn said.

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