If you have not heard about the BrightRock Battle of the Sports campaign yet then here’s some context. The competition, which is in its final week, saw famous names in sporting compete against each other to prove which sport produces the toughest athletes. Previously, the campaign tackled cricket, rugby, running, and soccer. However, this past weekend, the competition took on a new approach – esports.
Instead of running across the field in real life, Jason Goliath along with some of his friends participated in an esports version of the campaign that put their fingers to the test during a 12-hour FIFA 21 marathon. The marathon took place at Mustang Sally in Sandton City.
Given the current global pandemic, the BrightRock life insurer launched the Battle of the Sports which is one of the biggest fundraisers in the history of South Africa. This was in partnership with South African NGO, Events to Aid. The aim was to raise money to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Clive Grinaker, Founder of Events To Aid and leading sports marketing company Grinsport said the R100 million mark is for the much-needed personal protection equipment for frontline workers. The money would be spent helping workers protect themselves against COVID-19 infections.
READ MORE
Xbox Series X Does Not Get Too Hot – Runs Cooler Than Most Hardware
The sports approach is nothing new when it comes to fundraising. However, the inclusion of esports makes it a pretty modern spin on traditional charity work.
How did it work? Well, every goal scored during this 12-hour FIFA 21 marathon was converted into kilometres. This was to align the gaming marathon with the other sports previously played. During the 12 hours, all 6 players scored a total amount of 470 goals (that is a lot of jumping around and celebrating). This was done over 171 FIFA 21 matches.
The organizers worked out the kilometres by comparing a real-life FIFA match, and the average distance players run during the allotted time. They broke down the calculation as follows;
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FFD933″ class=”” size=”21″]
A single FIFA match by a player is between 11,2km and 15,2km. In terms of making the digital equivalent viable, each “Goal” was converted into a kilometre value of the minimum distance achieved, multiplied by 0.45 (45% of 1km).
The decision to use a 45% multiplier was due to the rate of games being played versus a general impression that running “digitally” is easier than physically, but still employs a tremendous amount of physical fatigue on your back, neck, arms and fingers. During the 12 hour period, all 6 celebrities scored a cumulative amount of 470 goals and 171 FIFA games, Therefore, 476*0.45 = 211.5km.[/perfectpullquote]
In the end, Team Jason scored 243 goals and Team Nick scored 227 goals.
Each team was made up of the following players;
- Team Jason Goliath: Jason (comedian), JSomething (musician), Shaun Carter (close friend of Goliath’s) and Eric Jansen (comedian)
- Team Nick Goliath: Nicholas (comedian) Mojak Lehoko (comedian), Shanray Van Wyk (comedian), Richelieu Beaunor (comedian)
I would say the BrightRock Battle of the Sports event was a success. You can find out more about the whole initiative on the official site here.
