Many, if not the majority, of Club Penguin armies presently maintain an AUSIA division. This was not always the case. Nevertheless, over time, the AUSIA divisions of many armies expanded to reach comparable sizes with those of other time zones. With the recent announcement of AUSIA Arena: Summer Edition, it is worthwhile to examine the evolution of AUSIA tournaments throughout the history of CPA.
The term AUSIA refers to the combination of Australian and Asian time zones. Sidie9 is credited with creating the first-ever AUSIA-based army, playing a key role in the establishment of the Army of Darkness. Other armies, such as Army Union and Heroes, followed suit. In 2013, the Army of Club Penguin became the first major army to create an AUSIA division, led by Flipmoo. Flipmoo is also credited with being the person who popularized the word “AUSIA”. Later on, Sidie took charge of the division in 2015 and eventually became the leader of ACP until her retirement.
Other major armies such as the Rebel Penguin Federation soon followed suit and adopted the idea of AUSIA divisions. This allowed players across the world to take part in the Club Penguin Army community. The CPPS era brought around an even bigger surge in AUSIA divisions, with almost every army hosting AUSIA events. Armies like the Army of the Orient Seas, which were arguably much more impactful despite being AUSIA centered, rose to prominence in this era.
Currently active AUSIA centric armies include the Warlords of Kosmos and People’s Imperial Confederation. Meanwhile, major armies like ACP, the Help Force and RPF are well known for their powerful AUSIA divisions. I reached out to Sidie, who currently leads PIC, for her thoughts on this topic.
Sidie9: The practice of Australian and Asian divisions in armies has come a very long way and I think it’s magnificent. We’ve entered a period of “AUSIA democratization”, where AUSIA battles are seen as fair game with most armies utilizing competent AUS/Asian divisions. This is in stark contrast to OG armies, in which ACP (and RPF to some extent later on) held monopolies on AUSIA warfare. If we want to go even further back, the only AUSIA divisions were minor and had been operated by myself and some friends. So, by the AUSIA standards I’m used to, it’s never been better. Sure, we don’t see AUSIA sizes akin to 2013 ACP, but armies aren’t afraid to host divisions of their own now.
I’m looking forward to seeing AUSIA as the focus of the community again. We don’t see AUSIA tournaments very often, so I hope this tournament signals a potential trend. Only one or two AUSIA tournaments per year is just abysmal. I’m also looking forward to how the matchups play out, we don’t get the opportunity to see how the community’s AUSIA divisions match against one another very often. It’s fair game and I think it’ll be exciting to watch.
2014: Continental Cup
One of the first tournaments to have an AUSIA element was the Continental Cup in 2014. Small Medium Army Community hosted the tournament and it spanned across every time zone over two weeks. It consisted of 10 armies, including the Chaos army, Redemption Force, and Water Ninjas. Each day three armies would face off against each other at a different time, including two AUSIA specific times. Additionally, armies then earned points for first and second place. The next round was the Divisional Round, to which all armies were invited to attend.
Similarly, in the Divisional Round, armies were split into two groups. Armies then faced off against the others in their group at either an AUSIA or US/UK time depending on the day. The top six armies then moved on to the Superior Six, and earned additional points based on size. Due to AUSIA divisions being smaller than US/UK, the size needed for points decreased by 5. The top three armies from this round subsequently moved to the final round. This consisted of a series of three battles across each division. The Smart Penguins, co-led by Superhero123, eventually surfaced as the winners of this historic tournament. I reached out to Superhero for an interview.
What was it like leading AUSIA time zone battles back in the original Club Penguin era?
Was very fun honestly! For someone like me who didn’t speak English well at the time the AUSIA community felt very welcoming because we were all struggling with the language together xD. SP at the time consisted of mainly people from India, who let me tell you are really based. Having a strong AUSIA division was (and still is to an extend) an extremely big advantage for your army, since it can lead to war victories or ties against armies who may have way more troops but lack people during those hours. SP utilized this to its full advantage multiple times throughout history, achieving success in wars against armies such as LT, RPF and DW.
What advice do you have for current leaders who want to win the AUSIA Arena tournament?
Honestly it’s the same with any other tournament. Recruit a lot, hype troops and make sure you can get everyone available to attend. The only difference is that since it’s an AUSIA tournament it’s a good idea to emphasize recruiting during AUSIA hours.
Continental Cup II and Aces of AUSIA
There was a second Continental Cup in 2015. This tournament resulted in the Shadow Reacon beating Dummy Suckers to win. More AUSIA tournaments followed such as SMAC AUSIA Bash. This created a trend of tournaments having AUSIA elements.
The CPPS era AUSIA community had their first big hoorah in 2020, with the formation of Club Penguin Army Hub. The unified league featured a huge boost for AUSIA events and battles, which greatly encouraged armies to exploit AUSIA events for more Top Ten points. Such encouragement in the golden year of recruitment proved to be like rocket fuel for the growth of the AUSIA community.
ACP vs HF in Aces of AUSIA finals
The first AUSIA tournament held in the CPPS era was the Aces of AUSIA, spearheaded by Mchappy and ACP in December 2020. The inaugural event of the tournament witnessed AUSIA troops gathering in Snow Forts, maxing over 100. This was one of the largest AUSIA gathering of CPPS era. In the finals of the tournament, HF faced off against ACP and won. This tournament thus ushered in a golden era of growth for AUSIA divisions in the CPPS era. I decided to interview McHappy regarding the experience of hosting this tournament.
What inspired you to put on the Aces of AUSIA tournament?
There were a few things that inspired the creation of Aces of AUSIA, but mostly I remember there being discussion in the community server about the importance of AUSIA. I believe it was AustinFraud, now a High Command of the Army of Club Penguin, that made passing mention of how he wishes there was more inclusivity during tournament season for AUSIA members.
I’ve wanted to try hosting a tournament again, and do something beneficial for the community, so it was then I started planning the Aces of AUSIA in November. It was a much larger success than I ever thought it could be.
How do well do you think the CPPS era of CPA has adapted and/or improved upon AUSIA divisions?
If I’m being honest with you, I am not sure much has been improved on. I think we see more tournaments for the AUSIA division, with the upcoming AUSIA Arena: Summer Edition being the third major one. Otherwise, I still think some armies do not view the AUSIA time zone as something worth investing in, unfortunately. However, we must keep reaffirming that all people from all over the world have a seat at the Club Penguin army table.
AUSIA Arena 2022
RPF vs IW in AUSIA Arena: Winter Edition 2022
The next AUSIA tournament, the “AUSIA Arena: Winter Edition,” occurred in January to February 2022. RPF faced off against their brother allies, the Ice Warriors, in the finals and took the trophy home. The special factor about this tournament was the creation of CP United Media to host this tournament. Club Penguin Army Headquarters and Club Penguin Army News were the two organizations that came together to collaborate with the intention of having a successful AUSIA tournament. I reached out to Rebel Commander Link3000 for an interview.
Why did RPF opt to stay out of this year’s AUSIA tournament despite being the previous champions?
The reason RPF is not participating in this year’s Ausia Arena is purely availability. About 85% of our HCOM will be having their finals weeks for majority of the tournament. Elex himelf and one of our Third in Commands have their dissertation deadlines/defences during the tournament and the rest of our HCOM have their own deadlines/exams/etc. If this tournament was a few weeks down the road we’d be very happy to participate and defend our title since it was a huge achievement for us, but our staff need to prioritise their work and school.
How do you think armies could prepare for the AUSIA tournament, other than recruiting and hyping their troops?
Well to be honest recruiting and hyping is even more important now during an AUSIA tournament when numbers are bound to be lower than a regular tournament but also finding what motivates the troops and utilising it and using it as incentives. Hyping will only get you so far if troops don’t feel like they’re earning something (some of them are not motivated just by the idea of winning yk).
Many armies are looking forward to the AUSIA Arena Summer edition, and it will be interesting to see who comes out victorious. Therefore, it is important for armies to appreciate the history of how our AUSIA divisions came to be to we can appreciate their bright futures.