from the Down Tilt Team
It’s been hard to keep wraps on this but it’s out in the wild now and we can share that the Down Tilt Esports community was chosen to be one of the select ABC Trailblazers for 2023. For those who don’t know, the ABC Trailblazers program is for communities (members ranging between 18 and 28) in regional Australia that are doing things to impact and change their respective communities.
Funnily enough, while Launceston does not count as regional Tasmania, the whole of Tasmania counts as regional Australia! So we were very fortunate to get in. We lodged a submission last year, went through a vetting and interview process, and were selected. And I must say, we suffered from significant imposter syndrome.
Before we continue about the amazing week we had in Canberra, I want to go over the awesome projects that were there as they are truly doing things around regional Australia that deserve recognition (this is taken from the Meet the ABC Trailblazers website, link here):
We highly recommend clicking the link to learn more about each project and see how it might relate to you and your circumstances and how they may be able to help. If we did write-ups for each of them we would be here all year!
So let’s jump into what we did. Jai and Dean left on the 6th of February and spent a week in Canberra meeting with various groups, taking tours, mingling, and learning about what it means to be a Trailblazer.
The big aim for the week was the talk in Parliament House that was happening on Thursday. The week was filled with some fantastic workshops headed up by Taz and Em from Future Isles and the amazing members of the Sally Foundation and ABC who helped guide us along this path.
Highlights were definitely the speed pitching session at the Department of Infrastructure building, team bowling, the coffee walks, and all the time spent together bonding as a group who share the same goal of empowering those around us and changing the outlook of those who may not see what we really do.
Of course, there was a lot, and I mean a lot, of Smash Bros. Jai and Dean was able to secure the common room TV for some practice as well as showcase the game that Down Tilt is built on. This came to another major highlight, attending the Wednesday night ACT Smash Local at ANU.
It was a fantastic tournament put together by the TO’s. We played some great games and talked about the struggles we have as local communities and what we can do together to really put Australia on the map as a place to travel for major events.
The first three days coming were a real treat. Again the various activities and bonding we did, exploring Canberra and attending a Smash local. But it was finally Thursday and the day we came for had arrived. It was an exciting morning but one everyone had been looking forward to. It was our chance to share our story with those who can help us make real change. Now we won’t go too far into detail here. You can watch the presentation here and see some photos.
Thank you again to everyone involved and everyone we met through Trailblazers. We can’t thank you all enough for the support you have given us and we look forward to what we can all achieve together throughout the year.
Til next time!