FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. – Esports has officially arrived at the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing’s Eagle Fitness Center. Thanks to the efforts of the base’s esports ambassadors and two key organizations, the event culminated in the wing’s first esports festival on July 26, 2024.
As esports grow in popularity across the Air Force and Department of Defense, the EFC focused on bringing this program locally. According to AirForceGaming.com, over 86% of service members between the ages of 18 and 34 identify as gamers.
“(We are) always looking for innovative programs to offer our Airmen,” said Ramona Park, fitness and athletic director at Eagle Fitness Center. “Someone isn’t going to like basketball, dodgeball or volleyball. (We) wanted to start our own esports league as another way for our members to get involved and compete.”
The event was sponsored by the Air Force Gaming Base Support Program. AFG is the official gaming hub of the U.S. Air Force and has launched a year-long initiative to increase global awareness and support of base-based events.
The goal of the organization is to empower esports ambassadors and the community to partner with their local Force Support Squadron and create gaming events.
Park mentioned that Fort Meade’s esports ambassadors put together the games for the event and helped submit AFG’s festival support application. AFG’s support packages are divided into the following tiers: Silver, Silver Plus, Gold, Gold Plus, and Platinum. EFC received the Gold package, which included AFG merchandise and signage, as well as rental equipment to support the festival.
“This has been in the planning stages for some time and we have a prime court in our fitness center that everyone in the NSA has access to,” Park said. “It’s the only basketball court in the NSA, so we felt very comfortable being able to host this event on a larger scale. When we got this package, we were able to host a pretty large event.”
In addition, the festival received support from the Civilian Welfare Fund through the NSA. The CWF supports events and services for the benefit of government employees and their families.
The event was not just for members of the Air Force. Fort Meade is home to a large community of military and civilian personnel from all services of the Department of Defense. The league was created to provide all members of Team Meade access to the EFC on the NSA campus.
“One of the things we were adamant about when we created Fort Meade Gaming is that we’re not just going to do this for the Air Force,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Hwang, Air Force Gaming Fort Meade ambassador. “That didn’t make sense because the shared environment here is so vast. We saw a lot more benefit in growing those shared relationships than separating them or keeping them separate.”
During the festival, more than 100 players competed in Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6 and other games, providing Fort Meade employees with a new way to bond, build resilience and boost morale.
“We built Fort Meade Gaming because the philosophy was that gaming exists at all levels. It’s just about creating a community that fosters it,” Hwang said. “Even if there isn’t a community for it, people who like video games still make those connections. Our involvement helps bring them together and create different connections.”
Park added, “There’s a big esports community at Fort Meade. They’ve been in the community for a while, so they were really excited when they saw we wanted to do something at the NSA.”
The EFC hopes to host more gaming events like the festival in the future. For more information about Fort Meade Gaming, visit https://linktr.ee/fortmeadegaming.
