In October 2006, Halo 2 was at the top of the Xbox Live charts, the Xbox 360 was still over a month away from launching and Kari "The Don Wan" Toyama was working at Safeway, and trying to come up with a method to raise money for Breast Cancer that didn't include baking. An avid gamer, she decided to tie the two together, and attempt to organize a Halo 2 tournament. She approached her long time gaming group "The Cavegirls", to gauge interest. A single forum post resulted in over 60 participants and over $777 in donations being raised by the end of the event. Thus, the annual Fight Like A Girl (F.L.A.G.) Tournament was born.
With the release of Halo 3 and more recently Halo: Reach, FLAG has continued to grow, and with each successive year FLAG has exponentially expanded in both participation and dollars raised, and this year, FLAG has raised more donations prior to the event weekend then was raised during the entire 2009 event - and is still going strong!
My first experience with FLAG was with The Don Won walking into my bedroom in 2007 and asking if I would be able to help her "some weekend in October for this Halo thing". I blinked at her, and agreed. I heard nothing about it again for several weeks until I received the following email:
"Subject: Official Leaders' Guide to Fight Like a Girl
Hello my amazing people! You have received this email because I say you are awesome, therefore you are a leader and referee for the Fight Like a Girl tournament on October 20th..."
And so began my FLAG involvement. I have returned as a Referee every year since, and this year marks my fourth year and it gets no less exciting. I competed the first year in addition to refereeing, and quickly realized that the stress of doing both just wasn't worth it. Co-organizer, Zoom Demon plays and referees every year, as well as oversees the brackets, no idea how she manages it all!
How the tournament works:
FFA and 2v2 games are refereed in-game by an unbiased observer, who is hidden on the map with a custom powerup which makes them invisible, invulnerable, removes their waypoint and their radar presence. They are there to observe and make sure that there is no inappropriate behaviour or language, which FLAG organizers The Don Won and Zoom Demon feel very strongly about. In their words, this is a charitable event, that behaviour can be left at the door.
This year, the tournament will include the traditional FFA, 2v2 and Play With Bungie events that have become staples of FLAG, with a new FireFight score event being added this year. It is open to all who are interested in participating, male or female and anyone who is concerned about the registration fees should take a breath and relax. There are always plenty of donors who are unable or uninterested in playing, and so they will be matched with someone/a team that might otherwise be unable to participate.
There are still slots available in the FFA and FireFight tournaments and to Play With Bungie, but Registration closes October 21, 2010 so if you're interested, GO HERE NOW!
If you would just like to Donate, you can do so HERE.