Redshift, an online virtual reality sports group, will be holding its first Contender Series event in the Fredericksburg area in late June.

VR Gaming, which has been on the rise in popularity over the last year, differs from traditional eSports. Where eSports requires one to sit in front of a desktop or laptop, VR Gaming requires bodily coordination just like any physical sport, which translates into the virtual realm.

Event organizer Avram Ibanez, who works online under the name Sputnik Kobra, says that there is ten times the number of VR Gaming players as there was the year before. Ibanez says that rising sales in VR headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2 have risen and are used by one out of four VR players.

"The community has to throw these events and set the stage for the future, and it's a cool project, and by making this possible, we can grow events like these and stage larger future events," says Ibanez.

Ibanez allowed Potomac Local News to come and experience a VR game for ourselves which is a very immersive world where physicality is just as important as hand-eye coordination typically is in gaming. The three-dimensional game where one floats and flies in a virtual arena to play a game that's very similar to ultimate frisbee but very different.

An element of the game that is very unique is an aspect called grabbing. This aspect allows a player to gain speed by yanking themselves directly through teammates to get in front of other players in a fashion similar to roller-derby. One player will pull another in front of them to gain more speed.

The game will be set up as a double-elimination tournament of up to 12 teams. The event itself will follow pandemic protocols which will include a four-by-four playing area that will be spaced six feet from each other and will have competitors wearing masks as they play. While the Redshift crew is following their due diligence with regards to the pandemic, they want to make sure everyone is going to have fun.

"Everybody's got cabin fever and ready to get back out into life, and we're ready to get back involved in that and give people opportunities to get back into real life, and things like this could get the appetite warm and ready to get back out there and back to normalcy," says Ibanez's fellow organizer and announcer who asks to be referred to by his online name Sir Dimwi.

The event will occur at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 4800 Market Street near Fredericksburg on June 25-27. Tickets will be available at redshiftvr.online/contender-series.