Dreamhack: Day 3, Bump Out

Sunday, 30th of April

This was definitely the least crowded day, meaning there was a lot less to do. I wasn't allocated to HQ/subs on the last day, unlike Friday and Saturday. Not only this, but most attendees started to leave around 5pm, meaning that is when bump out started. Before bump out, however, I spent most of my time, if not all of my time, in Rod Laver Arena, doing laps. It was pretty empty, and not a lot to be done besides crowd control. I took this as an opportunity to look in the artists alley, and see all the artworks that are at Dreamhack 2023 in Melbourne, and yes, I did buy some and run to volunteer HQ and quickly put them in my bag before rushing back to Rod Laver Arena.

After many laps around Rod Laver Arena, with attendees occasionally asking for advice and directions, I was called to the just dance stall, to replace a casual employee of ESL for a short period of time. The job was simple - you help connect and disconnect joycons, help attendees pick songs, and look after their belongings while they dance. This was around 3pm, and the just dance tournament had already finished. This is when a judge came to the stall, picked random songs, and then asked finalists to join the competition, where they would compete in Rod Laver Arena's main stage for a prize of a thousand AUD. Even though the competition for just dance was over, I still saw really impressive attendees that could dance to Rasputin. It was really fun in this area, and a nice break from doing laps in Rod Laver Arena doing crowd control.

Though, sunday was also the day of the CS:GO finals, which was extremely intense. High levels of engagement in crowds, cheering, and social categorization. In volunteer HQ, it was being streamed. In the arena hallways, it was being streamed, and we had to ask attendees to go to the arena seats, rather than to watch it in the passageways outside. The amount of sportsmanship was something I hadn't seen before, and the way in which attendees were wearing their teams esports shirts in the crowds, some with signs, and posters supporting their teams. Not to mention that when I finished my shift on the saturday, I went to GG easy, an esports bar, where they were also streaming the CS:GO tournaments on their TV screens. The culture was extremely similar to what you would see at sporting games, such as the AFL, NRL or basketball, and having never been to an esports event like this, I didn't know what to expect in terms of the crowd.

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The freebies were nothing like TGX LOL

BUMP OUT

• Ushering the remaining attendees out of the venue

• Making sure all that are remaining in Olympic Park are wearing Hi-Vis vests

• Packing up of chairs, tables - tiring labour

• Packing down PCs, monitors, mice, keyboards

• When we finished packing down the venue there was a strong sense of community within the volunteer groups, as this was a time where we mainly spoke to each other and got to know each other.

Bump Out was a period of reflection on the event. I truly believe it was a period in time where we came together as volunteers the most. To me, it was a feeling as if we had achieved something. When bump out started, we were all making sure that everyone remaining in the hall had Hi-Vis Vests on. Then, we were split up into groups - and I was sent to BYOC, because I know how to use a screwdriver (inside joke). This was in the loading dock, and once we arrived, we had to bring PCs from freeplay down, box them up, alongside all of the monitors, keyboards, mice, and cables. My arms were sore for 2 days after all of the heavy lifting - but it was really fun, honestly. I met new people, new friends that have similar interests. Not to mention that events like this is networking - I have connections for other convention events if I wanted to now - such as PAX, or the next Dreamhack, or another TGX.

This was the main time where I got to meet new people and 'bond' in a way, that wasn't through crowd control or distributing wristbands to attendees. I stayed behind for another hour after my shift had ended, with another volunteer to help with the packing up of the event so that everyone was able to go home earlier.

Once bump out had finished, we were all ecstatic (despite being so hungry and tired) after volunteering over the past 3 to 4 days. I did 26 thousand steps this day - it wasn't the busiest in terms of attendee numbers, but, bump out was crazy. From figuring out how to take apart the flags, and super confusing archways that are worse than ikea instructions, we eventually got there in the end.