The Class of 2021 student council hosted a Super Smash Bros tournament on Monday, February 11 in order to benefit the class.

Participation was $5 per person and a total of 23 teams registered for the event, each team consisting of two players. The class raised a total of $230, and profited $130 after prizes were distributed to the winners. Money raised will go towards future class events, including prom, as well as the annual class shirts for pep rally.

“We chose to run another [gaming] tournament as our first was extremely successful and it was a very fun, cool, and creative way to have a fundraiser,” class of 2021 president Ricky Podgorski said.

As for the students, a gaming tournament as a fundraiser is more interactive way for the students to raise money for their class funds, which will go towards events such as prom and graduation.

Gaming tournaments have become popular among the class of 2021, as student interest for the fundraisers runs high.

“Video games, in general, are really popular amongst students. The video game tournaments that we have hosted so far have featured some of the most popular recent releases andare part of long standing series. Both Super Smash and Mario Kart, our last tournament, were games that I remember playing in high school with my friends, so their legacies continue to grow as they adapt to the newest generations of players,” class of 2021 advisor MJ Martinez said.

Juniors Aidan Rostkowski and Frank Dolce came in first place in the tournament, and were rewarded with a $50 gift card to a restaurant of their choice. The tournament was set up in a bracket style, each player would get three lives and the only item allowed was the super smash ball.

Dolce has been a fan of video games his entire life, and was excited to see another gaming tournament being held for one of his favorite games.

“Super smash bros is a game that I have been playing since I was about seven or eight, so I have had a long history with this series. I would always purchase the newest installment of the series and would spend hours upon hours playing with my favorite characters from my childhood. So, when I saw that the Class of 2021 was running a tournament for a game that is held close to my heart, I gladly entered the tournament,” Dolce said.

The class of 2021 plans on hosting more tournament style fundraisers in the future, as well as focusing more of their efforts on community service projects to give back to the community.