Super Smash Bros. tournament enlists help of therapy dogs to combat performance anxiety Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Super Smash Bros. tournament enlists help of therapy dogs to combat performance anxiety Animal crossing. News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 24 Aug 2019 21 comments The people behind a big Super Smash Bros. tournament have drafted in therapy dogs to help players deal with performance anxiety. The Big House, a long-running and major Super Smash Bros. event held in Detroit, will have five therapy dogs on-hand to help players before and after matches. Laura Rall, a student at the University of Michigan working on a masters in social work who also volunteers at The Big House, came up with the idea. She told Eurogamer she has personally experienced the benefits of therapy animals in the past. The Big House expects five therapy dogs to be available during the tournament. "A few months back I was discussing with a friend who competitively plays Melee about performance anxiety and I jokingly mentioned therapy dogs coming to tournaments, since the friend loved dogs," she said. "The thought stuck with me and when I suggested it to Robin (Harn, tournament organiser), he loved it as well. After that, I started to get the ball rolling on making this happen." Rall enlisted the help of Go Team Therapy Dogs Detroit, which has worked the event venue, Cobo Hall, before. "When I described why I thought therapy dogs would be beneficial, they were very into it and volunteers signed up immediately!" Rall said. "I'm not positive if this is their first fighting game tournament, but I think it's likely." Rall said she hoped the players will make use of the therapy dogs throughout the tournament, and expects they'll have a positive impact. "I think at these national tournaments a lot of competitors can have performance anxiety, so the dogs could help relieve some of that stress and pressure beforehand," she said. "I've also witnessed the heartbreak and frustration players can have after losing, and I think hanging with a dog could be very beneficial to de-stress in a healthy way." Rall hasn't worked out all of the details yet - the tournament doesn't run until early October - but mentioned "celebratory petting-sessions" and the potential for the dogs to assist in non-competition related matters, such as attendees dealing with issues outside of the tournament or those with crowd or social anxiety. Feedback so far has been positive, although there are some questions left to answer. For example, some people may be allergic to dogs, or have a phobia of dogs. Rall is currently working with Go Team Therapy Dogs to come up with solutions. "All of the dogs do have their proper vaccinations and paperwork (and their handlers will have the paperwork on hand at the tournament) and have gone through extensive training to be a qualified therapy dog," Rall said. "However, as someone who personally is allergic to dogs, I understand the worry and the physical and mental health of attendees takes a priority, so we are working hard on coming up with a solution (such as the dogs being confined to a specific area) to accommodate this need." Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store