Karate Chopping VGC2017 event in Pampanga! Round-up interview

pokemonphilippines
Feb 13, 2017
3 min read

After the very much awaited tournament in Pampanga comes a round-up of what transpired in the said event.

What follows is the interview with the host of the event himself, John Kevin Uy Quinto. Also currently acting as the main administrator of Pampanga 3DS League .

Here is the full exchange between PKMN-ph: Pokemon Philippines and John Kevin Uy Quinto:

P: Is this your first time holding an event like this? J.K: As big as this, yes.

P: When did you think of the event and why? J.K: Few veteran players asked me to help organize one since the announcement of Pokemon Sun and Moon. I gladly complied since it was a long time ago since we had any activity and it was also good to do it at the time while the game was new and people are feeling enthusiastic to it.

P: The event was held in SM Pampanga. How did you get to have that as the venue? J.K: One of the veteran players had good connections with the admin of SM Pampanga. The only thing they asked from us was the traffic of people.

P: How would you describe the event? J.K: The event was a very lively one. Especially when we started the first round of the Swiss battles. People who bypass became onlookers. Even shopkeepers had to leave stalls to see what what going on!

P: How was it managed? J.K: The management of the event was very challenging. For one, I am Manila-based. Meetings are expensive for me. Another is that we had no sponsors, no venue, and no grasp of the demographic of attendees so planning was as good as seeing though a dirty glass.

P: How were the players? J.K: The players themselves were enthusiastic. We had one who messaged us that came as far as Nueva Ecija. We had a couple of first time competitors, too.

P: How was it executed? J.K: Execution of the event was challenging as the planning due to budget reasons. Not knowing how many attendees will come. Everyone was reluctant to shell out some cash for the event. To get things done, I took the risk. Albeit, a somewhat calculated risk. But with the prizes and the little advertising, we did we get a good number of people attending the event. We got things done although not so smoothly as it should've.

P: How would you describe this event from the past events? J.K: The difference is that this one is more official than our past ones. People seeing that we were able to run the event inside a well-known establishment makes it so. It's also scary. We didn't know what to expect.

The event RSVP showed at least 26 people coming and the around the same number to be interested. That's not something to take lightly for a guy who normally organizes events just for friends and few newcomers.

P: But overall, the outcome was great, don't you say? J.K: I would definitely say yes and would gladly do one again sometime soon.

P: One last thing. Do you have any announcement or do you have something to say for the community in your area and for the community in general? J.K: Never stop trying or get intimidated whether its going to be organizing an event or fighting a battle you will lose. Take it as an opportunity to grow stronger and see a bit more of what life may bring. Lastly, you'll be hearing more from the Pampanga scene.

On the final note, here are some of the photos taken during the event last February 12, 2017.