University students are probably uniquely geared to understand what should go into an expo or convention, almost naturally.
SAEGX is a brand new entry into the Australian convention scene with a heavy tilt towards eSports which, apart from Dreamhack, TGX and smaller offerings like BAM, is extremely underrepresented.
It has also been conceptualized and is run by a group of university students. I think that's a good thing.
We reached out last week to find out more about this new event (being the absolute convention tragics that we are) and understand exactly what SAEGX has to offer. Also: FREE ENTRY?! IN THIS ECONOMY?!
We sent some questions over for the team to answer.
Tell us a little bit about yourself - who are you and what do you do?
Sean: Hi! My name is Sean, I’m the Community Manager for Swinburne eSports and one of the lead organisers for SAEGX. At SAEGX you’ll find me at the show matches either on camera or behind it
What is SAEGX?
Sean: SAEGX Is the Swinburne Anime eSports Gaming Expo, it is a student club run event hosted by Swinburne eSports, and Sweebs (The Swinburne Anime club). It features a bunch of staples of anime/gaming expos including but not limited to; A cosplay contest, Guest Panels about Anime/Gaming/Uni Social life, eSport Show matches, an artist alley, and a game showcase.
SAEGX has some well known faces in the cosplay community involved, take a look:
What compelled you to start SAEGX?
Sean: We wanted to create an opportunity to showcase our clubs’ eSports teams, our artists, our musicians and culture. On top of that Sweebs and Swinburne eSports wanted to work on a big project together to commemorate our 2024 communities.
In your “about” post on Instagram you mention that SAEGX is a collaboration between Swinburne eSports and Sweebs. Can you tell us a little bit about each of these?
Sean: Swinburne eSports is a club which has its hand in many pies, but to put it simply we do two main things: 1) An opportunity to compete and get involved in eSports. 2) A place to find like minded people with a shared interest in eSports.
Sweebs was founded by anime fans for anime fans and was a place to celebrate and connect with those who shared that passion. Over the years we have grown to become a large social club that takes the mutual interests of its members to form long term friendships and foster a sense of community around Swinburne.
How did these two groups come together to create SAEGX? Was it through common
interest?
Sean: We share a lot of members. It turns out a lot of people who like eSports also like anime. On top of that we're all fans of expos;
What is your vision for SAEGX in the future?
Sean: We’d love to see SAEGX becoming an ongoing annual or bi-annual event, this year we hope to set a precedent for how big a club can go when it comes to making something. At its core this event is about its community, no matter how it evolves and transforms we hope it keeps its identity by being community focused.
In simple terms: How is SAEGX free entry?
Sean: Our priority is creating an accessible event that showcases our Swinburne talent and community. We’ve worked hard to find sponsors who align with that goal and they’ve enabled us to be able run this event.
Have there been any hurdles, major or minor, while organizing SAEGX?
Sean: A big hurdle we’ve faced is getting people involved and getting the word out about the event. With no precedent our pitch for the event relied on the strength of the idea and the quality of the other events we’ve run. Besides that, we've run into many smaller hurdles, however our mentality for event planning is like Jazz Music, you just improvise.
Is SAEGX officially supported by Swinburne? What did the pre-production and pitching process look like?
Sean: SAEGX isn’t officially affiliated with Swinburne, we work with Swinburne Student Life which is a separate entity responsible for the running of Swinburne Clubs.
To get to the point where we could pitch such a big idea required us to show a level of competency and professionalism required to execute such a large event, pre-production has been a project plan we’ve been chipping away at since March.
We always love a new expo, the more the merrier! With so many taking place each year, especially in Melbourne, what sets SAEGX apart from all the others (other than free
entry)?
Sean: SAEGX is curated to be built around student projects, a major goal of ours is to give Swinburne students the opportunity to present their work alongside industry regulars. Basically every aspect of the event has been built around giving people the opportunity to dip their toes into the expo scene.
Give us a quick rundown on the events people can expect to see at SAEGX?
Sean: An Artist Alley (with over 40 different vendors), a cosplay contest (all levels of experience welcome), eSports show matches (Swinburne vs 7 different unis at 7 different games), Indie game showcases, beats.au Rhythm games, panels and workshops (Come make some cat ears!) and an invitational FGC tournament.
What event during the weekend are you, yourself, looking forward to the most?
Sean: I don’t play Valorant, however I’m a big fan of the Swinburne Valorant team. I’m looking forward to their show match Sunday @ 4:30 pm.
Do you pronounce it “Sage-ex” or “Sae… Sae-jixs…”? This is awkward via text.
Sean: SAY - GEX.
Like this guy.
Check out Swinburne Anime eSports Gaming Expo (SAEGX) at 12pm-7pm on September 14th-15th 2024! Follow them for more updates!
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