Just a few of the gamers taking part at Power Up Prince George at UNBC. Photo courtesy Pat Howard

Prince George, B.C. – UNBC is the site of a two-day charity gaming event this weekend on behalf of Friends of Children and the big draw, a chance to do battle with members of the Prince George Cougars, is lined up for today.

One of the organizers, Kelsy Polnik, says Power Up Prince George “is a big competitive gaming event where people are competing in eight different games, and all the money that we’re getting for the sign-ups and from silent auctions we’re giving straight to Friends of Children.  That’s a charity that helps local families in Prince George with unexpected medical expenses.  So if their child needs special treatment or entertainment while they’re in the hospital for the long term, or travel expenses or any cost related to illnesses, it helps them absorb that cost.”

Polnik says this is their second year holding this event.  “We’re trying to highlight a different charity every year so last year we did the Child Development Centre in town, this year Friends of Children, uh if it goes well we’ll do something different next year and just try to highlight charities that do awesome work for PG.”

As far as gaming that’s going on he says “we’ve got both some competitive and some casual stuff, some really crazy competitive stuff like Overwatch and Street Fighter, and we’ve got more casual stuff like Mario Party, Pokemon, Mario Carts.  And we’re going to have the NHL tournament (today).”

“It’s gonna have the Prince George Cougars here and they’ve actually got some teams registered with their players and their management, and they’ve donated a whole bunch of stuff like signed jerseys and gift cards.  So if you want to play against the Cougars you’ll get to do that.  Come check it out if you get a chance, it’s going to be really cool to see the general public playing against the Cougars for some really cool prizes.”

Members of the Cougars taking part include Sam Ruopp, Aaron Boyd, Tate Olson, Brad Morrison, Brogan O’Brien, Jesse Gabrielle, Colby McAuley and Ryan Schoettler.  Newly-acquired D-man Brendan Guhle was going to take part but, hey, he’s in Buffalo playing with the NHL’s Sabres right now!

All of the activity is taking place right outside the Canfor Theatre at UNBC, with doors open from 10 am to 6 pm.

Polnik says “we have sponsors from different businesses in town that have donated money to help with the costs of the event.  It’s a paid admission and all of that money goes right towards the charity and we also have a silent auction running with a whole bunch of different nerdy and gaming-related items to bid on to raise money for the charity as well.”

Admission is $10.