Dunedin Evolution
Back in 2015 when Aaron and I were just getting started setting up LSNZ we heard a rumour that Dunedin had a university club playing regularly and we were keen to head down and check it out. We immediately booked tickets and flew down to play their members’ night. They even put on an extra members’ night just for us. It was great to meet a bunch of new players and give them a preview of competitive play. By the time we got home, we were already hatching plans to host a competition there.
A year later we managed to set up the first LSNZ Invitationals. We didn’t have anyone living in Dunedin at that point, so it was a rush to get everything set up after we flew down. Grant was a great help moving a few bases and even cutting a new window for us. For the first invitationals in 2016, we played with uncapped teams on Australasian timing. The theory was that if all the strongest Auckland players pooled on a few teams then Dunedin might be able to beat the weakest Auckland team. We were wrong.
In 2017 we switched to a mixed team competition with a player cap. We also switched over to Worlds format since several New Zealand players were training for Belfort. By this point I had moved to Dunedin and managed to get a few things set up in advance. We were able to make some pretty substantial maze changes based on feedback from the previous year. This was also the first time we managed to attract some Australian players. We’re hoping this trend continues and want to attract players from even further abroad.
We had been planning to go back to Australasian timing for 2018, possibly with the idea of alternating formats each year, but Worlds timing was such a huge success that NZ now plays with stuns for a few months after ZLTAC every year. 2018 was an ambitious year for us. We made several large maze changes and spent a lot of time getting our first proper attempt at streaming going. We managed to get a 3-camera set up at each base. We also changed up the schedule a bit, removing the Sunday morning games and adding Lord of the Rings. Due to the amount of water in the maze, we considered dropping solo’s for 100m freestyle but ultimately we were able to get the leak sorted.
What’s next for 2019? Right now we’re looking at hosting somewhere other than Dunedin, possibly Christchurch. LSNZ Invites has massively improved the scene in Dunedin and it’s time to move on and share that opportunity with a new community.
