For four years, Tony Verbsky, math teacher, has been putting together a plan to host after-school Wii game competitions in his classroom for students to relax and have fun, and his plan will come true in the near future, due to the amount of help from many of his students and the teachers around the school.
Throughout the years, Verbsky hasn’t been able to host competitions due to not having all the needed equipment, such as the Wii remotes and the screens around his room. Now that students and teachers have been giving away their Wii remotes, it has helped drastically with the progress of starting competitions in his room. He already had the Wii console, and just needed more remotes so everyone gets a chance to play.
Verbsky said, “It’s meant to be an activity where we can all be in one area having fun. It could also be a way to raise funds, but not a lot.” Students will have to pay $5 as an entry fee to get into the competitions, and it is planned to start during the first semester of the next school year.
Three of the games he wants to host the tournaments for are Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart, and Just Dance. Later, Verbsky plans on adding more games to the list for more variety, so people can still enjoy themselves, play games, and will get a chance to eat food ordered by Verbsky.
“I really do like the idea that Mr. Verbsky has planned for the tournaments. It seems like everyone will have a really good time being there,” said Ethan Vuong, freshman. “It’s something that lots of people would definitely enjoy, and I really do support that.”
So far, Verbsky has many students who are helping out with his idea, and he just needs a few more things before he can start hosting the tournaments.
Verbsky wants to be able to support 32 player double eliminations to 64 player double eliminations for the games, which are teams of two competing for first place to win a prize that Verbsky will offer. This means that he would need more Wii remotes in his possession in order to start the competitions.
As of right now, he only needs about eight more Wii remotes to start the tournaments, and the remotes will eventually be obtained by either Verbsky himself, or by the students who are helping him.
These competitions will be held during the beginning of each semester, when things won’t be as chaotic as they would be throughout the rest of the semester. The approximate date for the tournament to begin is early into the first semester of the next school year and will be hosted in Verbsky’s room.
Verbsky said, “The best thing about what I learn is that when I go to these events, I find out cool things about the students, things I didn’t know. It’s just a fun social event where I have the opportunity to meet my students when they’re having fun instead of when I’m giving them a math beatdown.”
Jaysen Anderson, Staff Reporter
