First-Ever ESCC Rated Tournament Announced

The Eastern Shore Community College, in conjunction with its chess club student group, the Melfa Monarchs, will hold a tournament on March 22 from 8:30 AM-6 PM. It will be a rated tournament under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation, thus giving locals the chance to earn a rating from the organization. This is the first such tournament ever held on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, with the aim of it becoming an annual event. It will take place in the Great Hall of the Workforce Development Building.

The competition will consist of three rounds in the “quad” format, meaning that players will be grouped into fours, with each competitor playing each of the other three. “Odd people out” will be accommodated. The prizes are: $50 for 1^st place in each quad and $25 for 2^nd place.

The entrance fee is $5 for ESVA residents and $20 for non-residents who pre-register. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, as there will be an additional $5 fee for on-site registration. ESCC Students, faculty, and staff may take part for free. All participants, including those paying no fee, should pre-register by emailing ESCC Chess Club coach Mark Nuckols at nuckols@hotmail.com or the club’s faculty sponsor, Christina Duffman, at cduffman@es.vccs.edu. Payments are to be made only in cash and only at the event registration, which will run from 8:30-9:20 AM that Saturday.

As this is a rated tournament, players will be required to notate their games. Games will be played on clocks with a G75d5 time control (75 minutes for each player with a 5-second delay). Some boards, clocks and notation sheets will be available, but players are encouraged to bring their own.

All players must be members of the USCF. One-year memberships can be purchased at new.uschess.org for $54 for adults, $48 for ages 65+, $33 for under age 24 at expiration, and $24 for under age 19. Participating ESCC students can have their dues covered by the sponsoring foundation with advanced notice. 

The Melfa Monarchs wish to thank the Community College administration and the Buildings and Grounds personnel for making the event possible. Additional gratitude goes to Eastern Shore Scholastic Chess, a private, non-profit initiative supporting chess programs in local schools, and its parent organization, the Landsberger Foundation, Inc.

BIC Tizon Dife University Tour Stop on March 19th

Eastern Shore Community College is excited to host the United Haitian American Alliance and their presentation of acclaimed international music artist, “BIC” Tizon Dife, on Wednesday, March 19^th at the Workforce Great Hall on campus in Melfa.

The performance will be from 6pm-8pm and tickets for the public are on sale through Eventbrite for $25.00 each. Students are admitted free to the performance but will still be required to obtain a ticket through the website. Those interested in attending are urged to secure their tickets now as space is limited.

Enjoying a successful 25 year career, BIC Tizon Dife has embarked on an international university tour that will bring him to ESCC between stops at MIT in Massachusetts and Virginia Wesleyan.

His music is a melding of vocals, rap and poetry, all reflecting his status as a master lyricist and a “conveyor of meaning and emotion”. 

For additional information please contact Bill LeCato at 757-789-1797 or wlecato@es.vccs.edu.

TICKETS

Your Eastern Shore Community College is proud to announce the hiring of Chase Baxa as the head coach of ESCC’s newly formed soccer program. Baxa begins in his role on February 3^rdand will proceed with student recruitment for the men’s and women’s teams.  This will include recruiting existing ESCC students and high school seniors from every high school on the Shore.  The college is extremely excited for the enthusiasm existing Shore-wide for these upcoming opportunities.

After a naming campaign held in the community and online last fall, final choices were posed to ESCC students in January.  With the final say for the team name, the campus spoke definitively and voted for the “ESCC-FC” (Eastern Shore Community College Football Club) with a nod to popular and dominating outfits worldwide. Logos and branding for ESCC-FC will be forthcoming.

A program budget was developed based on the experiences of other Virginia community colleges that have athletic programs and presented to the Accomack and Northampton Board of Supervisors.  Both boards, along with the ESCC Foundation, have provided funding to enable the launch of the program.

Coach Baxa is from Western Pennsylvania and moved to the Eastern Shore in 2021. A graduate of Geneva College, he played four years of Division III soccer there. He currently teaches science at Northampton High School and coaches the boys soccer program. He credits an incredible team and many coaches to help bring his overall coaching record to 43-14, including one state championship and one runner-up. 

Baxa also directs a travel soccer program, Shore FC, for players looking to play at a higher level. He says his passion for both science and soccer has led to incredible opportunities. At Northampton he has taught grades 9-12 including Environmental Science, Earth Science, Ecology, Anatomy, Marine Biology, and his specialty Physics.

He comments that “my goal for the men’s and women’s Eastern Shore Community College soccer teams is simple:  to showcase the talented and devoted student-athletes that come from the Eastern Shore and create a team that the entire community will be proud of.”

In the coming months there will be multiple opportunities to play soccer and showcase talents. This includes a student intramural league and weekend pick-up games starting in March. In April, the first ESCC Soccer ID Camp will be conducted to take a closer look at the students interested in continuing their soccer careers.

Open tryouts will then be held at the beginning of the fall semester to finalize the team before the season. Additional information and updates will be available on the ESCC website at esccdev.wpengine.com and through the college’s social media channels. Coach Baxa contact information is cbaxa@es.vccs.edu.