Stanstead game shop to host Beyblade tournament
Beyblade, a popular Japanese line of spinning-top toys from the late 1990s-early 2000s, is making a resurgence around the world, and local enthusiasts in the Eastern Townships are hoping to generate interest in Stanstead this weekend.
Louis-philippe Laplante created Beyparc QC, a competitive sports league in Quebec, in 2019 to bring Beyblade fans together in the province. On Saturday, the Taverne du Gamer, a local game shop, will host a friendly tournament celebrating the 20th anniversary of Beyblade. Laplante will be there to explain the rules and answer questions about the sport.
According to Laplante, he has already developed a strong following in the province. However, this is the first time that he will be running a tournament in Stanstead. He wants to make this a regular event throughout the Eastern Townships, including Sherbrooke.
“It hasn’t been too bad we’re in different regions and we’re dispersed a little bit everywhere so we have small groups, but I’d say we have on average about 20 people in each region,” Laplante said.
Felix Haerinck, Laplante’s technical assistant, said they heard people were asking Taverne du Gamer employees questions about Beyblade. They decided to venture out to Stanstead to check out if there was any interest to create a club or participate in tournaments.
“The shop told us that there were a lot of people asking questions about this product, so we’re here to answer questions and to actually see what kind of players are out there,” said Haerinck.
Hearinck is hoping to show people that Beyblade is much more than a simple toy. It is an official sport in Japan, he explained, but a lot of people in Quebec, and North America, stopped buying the toy because they thought it was only for children.
There are large tournaments in Japan, and across Europe, where children, teenagers and adults compete against each other for various prizes. Beyparc QC has been hard at work informing Quebecers about the unique sport, which also spawned several television shows.
“There are tournaments all around the world, more especially in Japan, but that was the goal to actually bring this joy right here in Quebec,” said Haerinck, adding that for many people there is a level of nostalgia at play that attracts to them to the sport.
Vincent Proulx, an employee at Taverne du Gamer, told The Record that he is curious to see the turnout on Saturday. Right now, according to the Facebook event, there are nine confirmed participants, while 20 people have said they are interested in the event.
Proulx admitted that he does not have a lot of knowledge about the Japanese toy. The game shop has a lot going on in the summer, the employee explained, but he hopes the Beyblade tournament will attract enough people to create what they are calling a Beyclub.
“We want to see if there is really an interest in this, that’s why we’re holding the event,” said Proulx, sharing that there will be special prizes for first, second and third place.