04/02/2021
Greetings members of UGEC! We at the management and administration of UGEC hope that everyone is doing well and staying safe during these times of hardship living with the global pandemic known as COVID-19. As some of you know, we at UGEC have been working hard over the last few months to further improve and evolve UGEC as a community by developing and implementing new policies and activities that will make UGEC more engaging and fun for all of our members. In 2020, UGEC hosted four major tournaments that were highly successful and greatly praised by our members, staff, and partners. Our Battle Of Elites series starting with, Battle Of Elites 1 that was held in February, Battle Of Elites 2 that was held in April, and Battle Of Elites 3 that was held in June. Unfortunately, Battle Of Elites 4, 5, and 6 that were scheduled to be held in August, October, and December were canceled due to lack of funding and COVID-19. But because we promised our members these canceled tournaments, we made up for it with an even bigger tournament, Battle Of Fortitude And Fortune. Battle Of Fortitude And Fortune was UGEC's most successful special event of all time. With over 50 registered competitors, and prizes valued at over $200 that included a single one of a kind edition, Microsoft branded and UGEC engraved custom designed wireless Xbox One Controller, a set of UGEC member dogtags embossed with their Gamertag, and a brand new digital copy of Call of Duty Cold War Xbox Series X edition. With the high success of these tournaments and our recent rapid growth of members in 2020, we want to continue to host tournaments and other events and activities like these in 2021 and for future years to come. But unfortunately due to financial circumstances, we can't do it anymore without help from all of you, our great and loyal members. So we at the management and administration of UGEC have come up with something to try to make that happen. Starting now, UGEC has launched its first ever paid membership subscriptions. There are four different membership subscriptions. Basic Tier, Pro Tier, Elite Tier, and Council Tier. Each tier will have benefits included to justify their prices. All current members and future joining members will be organized into the Basic Membership Tier, which is free and will remain public to join for anyone on Xbox Live with Series S/X, Xbox One, or Windows 10 PC. It is important to remember that all proceeds from purchased membership subscriptions are strictly non-profited by any private individual or group within or outside of UGEC itself. Any and all financial gains are strictly used by UGEC for UGEC. Meaning that we will ONLY use any received proceeds, whether it may be by purchased membership subscriptions or donations, for the following: Officially advertised tournament prizes, any type of UGEC promotional giveaways, or in some necessary cases, use to renew and upgrade the official UGEC website in order to continue to serve UGEC members in the best ways possible, and for UGEC online advertising.
Benefits for Basic members include:
1. One entry into a Basic Level Tournament a month (or when available due to additional funding) with a low-end prize to the winner(s). Prizes may vary depending on amount of additional funding.
There are no prize expectations.
2. Low priority access to participate in weekly Game Night events within our numerous gaming divisions.
3. Low priority in-game assistance and help from our supportive community, I.E. achievement hunting, fending off griefers in a public game session/lobby, in-game tasks/objectives.
The Pro Tier membership is more for our serious members that want to further engage in UGEC activities and events. However, this membership will cost a one-time payment of $30 for the first month. Then $15 a month for each following month. Benefits for this tier include:
1. One entry into a Pro Level Tournament a month with a medium-end prize to the winner(s). Prizes may vary depending on amount of paying Pro members but are expected to be I.E. A current on-sale digital Xbox game, a current on-sale game's Season Pass/other DLC. One month, three months, or six months of Xbox Live Gold/Game Pass, etc. (In some special occasions, Pro tournaments prizes may be of an Elite membership prize)
2. Medium priority access to participate in weekly Game Night events within our numerous gaming divisions.
3. Medium priority in-game assistance and help from our supportive community, I.E. achievement hunting, fending off griefers in a public game session/lobby, in-game tasks/objectives.
4. An Xbox Live Gamertag change set to represent UGEC, paid-in-full by UGEC itself. (Gamertag idea must be submitted by the member to the Policy Enforcement Staff to be reviewed and approved before it is changed and paid for by UGEC. If it is denied, the member will be required to submit a different idea for approval.)
Then we have the Elite Tier membership. It will be more favorable to our full-time dedicated members. This too will require a one-time payment of $50 for the first month. Then $30 a month for each following month. Benefits for this tier include:
1. One entry into a Elite Tier Tournament a month with a High-end prize to the winner(s). Prizes may vary depending on amount of paying Elite members but are expected to be I.E. A new digital or physical Xbox game, a new game's Season Pass/other DLC, a new controller or headset, a year of Xbox Live Gold/Game Pass, etc. (In some special occasions, Elite tournaments prizes may be valued at over $100 USD)
2. High priority access to participate in UGEC hosted weekly Game Night events within our numerous gaming divisions.
3. High priority in-game assistance and help from our supportive community, I.E. achievement hunting, fending off griefers in a public game session/lobby, in-game tasks/objectives.
4. An Xbox Live Gamertag change set to represent UGEC, paid-in-full by UGEC itself. (Gamertag idea must be submitted by the member to the Policy Enforcement Staff to be reviewed and approved before it is changed and paid by UGEC. If it is denied, the member will be required to submit a different idea for approval.)
5. A pair of physical custom made UGEC dogtags embossed with the members newly set UGEC Gamertag. Dogtags will be made by UGEC and shipped directly to the members registered address within 2-4 weeks (estimated) and shipping is paid-in-full by UGEC itself. (This specific benefit is limited to members that reside in the 50 continental states of U.S.)
And lastly, there is the Council Tier. The Council Tier are members of the management and administration of UGEC. Their benefits include nearly everything of the Basic, Pro, and Elite Tiers. There is no membership subscription fee for members of the Council Tier. Current members of the Council are long-time members of UGEC and have dedicated much of their lives to the management and administration of UGEC. Newly considered members of the Council Tier are specially selected by current council position holders, must be voted in by the majority of the current Council, and are only approved for official Council status by the Chairman of UGEC.
We know that since UGEC's public opening in 2013 that we have always been a free-to-join clan, and now community. And we want to continue to make that true, that's why no one is required, or should feel pressured into upgrading their membership. But those that want to be more engaged, more active, and take part in UGEC tournaments and other events, are encouraged to upgrade their membership to a Pro or Elite Tier. You can register for a UGEC Pro or Elite Tier membership by going to our website, ugec.club and following the instructions there. UGEC only accepts payments made by PayPal. It is highly recommended that all members review the new 2021 UGEC policies on our website to better understand our new terms of membership. They can be found on the Code of Conduct Vol. 3 page. If anyone should ever have any questions or need any assistance, contact the Director of Public Relations by his Xbox Live Gamertag, UGEC DEADSHOT and either he or a member of his staff will assist you as soon as possible.
There is also new changes made to the Hierarchy Council/Management & Administration of UGEC. Due to the new evolution and updates to UGEC, many Council positions have been reconfigured for their specific duties and authorities, some even decommissioned. Including the following titles but not limited to: Vice-Chairman, President, and Vice-President. Those that currently hold these positions will be reassigned to a staff group as that staff's Director to manage and administrate it. They will no longer have any responsibilities or authorities outside of their regular staff duties and authorities to contend with. The Chairman of UGEC will be the only person in the management and administration with absolute power and authority. As always, he can do anything he wants, whenever he wants, for whatever reason he wants. His decisions and actions may not be challenged by any other member of UGEC. But is always open to advisement from the council and suggestions from members.
We understand that these are big changes and may be met with complaint. But we strongly suggest that everyone embraces this new evolution and enjoys their membership with UGEC as we continue to evolve and expand for the future to come. For those that cannot adjust or agree to these changes, we recommend that you depart membership in UGEC, notice is not required. Thanks to our members, staff, and partners for being a part of the UGEC community and happy gaming!
UGEC Chairman, Cody Smith.
