In 2022, Rushka “RushkaGG” Samuels, a gaming content creator from Cape Town, conceptualised and hosted South Africa’s first gaming event exclusively for women.
Rushka then joined forces with another South African influencer, Jess “thejesshinds” Hinds, to continue and grow that legacy.
Since its debut in 2022, the Femmes & Thems Invitational has seen women and those identifying as such coming together to participate in competitive yet friendly tournaments.
It’s always been a strange experience to feel unseen in an industry that is both my long-time hobby and my career; where I see so many other women often overlooked or told we don’t belong in a space that we’ve quite literally already been in for years.
I’ve certainly seen an improvement over the past decade, but we didn’t get to the place we are now by accepting what little we had.
We got representation in games and recognition in professional spaces because we made our voices heard, and our Women’s Day tournament is one of the moments we use to speak up and say “look how many of us are here”.
It’s been an honour to work with Rushka on this the past two years. We’ve seen it double in size each year both through players and sponsor involvement and we only hope to keep that momentum each year.
Our goal is to showcase an often overlooked demographic within the gaming community and specifically in the competitive esports space. – Jess Hinds
The overwhelming success of the Femmes & Thems event back in 2022 has led to the annual Femmes & Thems Invitational, which has managed to draw a reach of over 2,2 million on social media alone.
Now it’s time for the third Femmes & Thems Invitational, which is on 8 March, International Women’s Day; this time, Valorant is the game of choice.
In a nutshell, Femmes & Thems 2024 is open to gamers who currently live in South Africa, identify as Femme and are of any rank in Valorant.
Jess and Rushka will be acting as hosts for the tournament. They will have the Invitational streaming across both their Twitch channels throughout the day, as well as on the ACGL Twitch channel.
📣GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT📣
Courtesy of @elgato for the #ACGElle Femmes & Thems Invitational, we have a Stream Deck Mini to give away! Stream Deck is a staple for so many content creators and one could be yours 🫶
WIN an Elgato Stream Deck Mini here: https://t.co/YRNEQ5kJsa pic.twitter.com/mMMBMvKg9z
— Jess Hinds (@thejesshinds) March 4, 2024
As for the talent casting this fabulous event? It will be the always excellent Naledi “AndrovaZA” Matutoane and Esmarie “EsProxyZA” Swart.
There will also be a collection of prizes, with various bands involved in this incredible event.
We certainly could not have grown the event to the point it is now without the immense support of the community of players and supporters that take part each year, and it’s been incredible rewarding their support and enthusiasm with bigger prizes as we grow. – Jess Hinds
In short, Gigabyte, the headline sponsor, will give out cash prizes to each winner. Redragon has jumped in with gear hampers. Turtlebeach is covering gear for console gamers, and Corsair has upgraded the sound for the event.
Cats out the bag
This international Women's Day we invite you to support some of your favourite gamers during the #ACGElle Femmes and Thems Invitational
cc. @thejesshinds @AfricanGaming
Powered by:@AORUS_ZA @CORSAIR @elgato @PCBuilderZA @RedragonSa @TurtleBeach @lumigloskin pic.twitter.com/R5cv1imaW4
— RushkaGG (@rushkagg) February 21, 2024
On top of this, Elgato has helped with setup upgrades, and PC Builder has given two PC upgrade kits – and that’s only a few of the brands involved in this year’s event.
What makes the Femmes & Thems invitation unique is that it aims to highlight Femme gamers in South Africa. Regardless of whether they’re casual or serious about gaming, they all stand a chance at a winning position across the different ranks.
I wanted more visibility for women in the space – anyone in gaming, from casual players to content creators, game devs, etc. Each year we discover new faces and it’s exciting.
I have hopes of growing this so that we are able to host for the rest of the continent, something for African women (my Kenyan acquaintances were bummed they couldn’t join in on the fun). – Rushka Samuels
If you want to tune in and support the event, all the matches will be streamed on Twitch on Women’s Day, 8 March:
11 AM – 1 PM
African Esports – Stream will be from the Caster’s Point of View
7 PM – 9 PM
African Esports – Stream will be from the Caster’s Point of View
Are you looking forward to Friday’s Femmes & Thems Invitational? Let us know in the comments.