fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Improvements for organizers
By: Jesper Kvist
Tags: Esports Market, Esport, Esports News, Tech, Announcements

Big or small, grassroots organizations or industry-leading brands, 2020 has seen a record number of new organizers on Challengermode. Throughout the year, we’ve been able to work closely with organizers to figure out what they need in order to grow their community and facilitate its needs. Our priority is always to give organizers the best possible tools available and that’s why we are excited to share that moving forward, organizers will have access to more advanced tournament features. We want organizers to be in full control of their own success by allowing them to fully customize their tournaments and how they’re played.

So, what‘s new?

Manual seeding

With manual seeding, we are giving organizers full control over the seeding of their tournament. You can now avoid having two strong teams knock each other out of the tournament in the first rounds.

Rescheduling

Scheduling matches for a tournament that spans multiple days can be tricky. We’ve streamlined the process by enabling rescheduling within a set timespan. This means that the teams themselves can decide on a time for their match in case they need to reschedule.

Formats

Organizers can now create a group stage for their tournament. By expanding bracket options, organizers can also combine a group stage with either a single or double elimination playoff bracket, all in the same tournament.

Coaches

We believe that coaches play an important part in the success of any esports team, that’s why we’re reserving a spot for them. Coaches have all the rights of a team captain so that they can edit the teams’ lineup and check them into tournaments.

Free agents

This feature was announced in more detail as The Tournament Team Matcher. Putting it simply, this means that an organizer can allow solo players and incomplete teams to sign up as free agents. This means that they’ll be automatically matched with other incomplete teams. From a player perspective, you’ll be notified about your new teammates right before the tournament starts.

Let us know what you think!

If you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas, we’d love to hear them! Let us know what you think on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

If you’re looking to host your own esports competitions — we’re happy to hear your ideas and get you set up using Challengermode. Send a brief introduction to esports@challengermode.com and our partnerships team will set up an introductory meeting with you.
Gamico Presents: Our Q&A Livestream!
Tags: Social Media, Esport, Videogames

Whoa boy! It’s been a crazy time at the Gamico office with the recent launch. We’d like to take the time to thank the roughly EIGHT THOUSAND of you who have made our Closed Beta such a success. We also know that you guys have had a ton of questions about everything with the Gamico Closed Beta, so we want to answer them. All of them.

Check us out on YouTube!

This Friday Tanner and Limbi will be answering your questions live on YouTube for everybody. From 7 P.M. to 8 P.M. Hong Kong Time you’ll have a chance to ask us your burning questions. Not sure about the how Gamico works? Encountered something you wanted clarification on? Want to know our favorite kind of sandwich? This is where you’ll find the answers to all your questions.

Where Do I ask My Questions?

Want to ask your questions ahead of time? Go to our Discord and ask away with #Q&A after your question. We’ll be sure to answer your question live along with all the other questions on YouTube.

Just enter your questions in the comment section and we’ll be sure to answer them as quick as possible. And if we don’t have enough time, we’ll be sure to answer you via DM after the show. Who knows, maybe we’ll go longer than just the hour!

Be sure to follow us on Social Media for all our latest news and announcements.

Facebook — www.facebook.com/GamicoGG

Twitter — www.twitter.com/gamicogg

Instagram — www.instagram.com/gamico.gg/

Discord — https://discord.gg/6fwHtP9
What Affects a CS:GO Skin’s Price?
Tags: Gaming, Esport

What Affects a CS:GO Skin’s Price?

The price of a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin depends on a few factors: its quality (float), rarity and StatTrak™ technology.

CS:GO skins

What is Float?

Every CS:GO skin can be of five different qualities: “Battle-Scarred”, “Well-Worn”, “Field-Tested”, “Minimal Wear”, and “Factory New”, which basically change the quality of an image on an item. A “Battle-Scarred” skin will have lots of scratches and an overall worse condition. However, the same skin with the “Factory New” quality will barely have any scratches at all. Consequently, it affects the price.

Every type of quality has its float value:

-Factory New (from 0.00 to 0.07)

-Minimal Wear (from 0.07 to 0.15)

-Field Tested (from 0.15 to 0.38)

-Well Worn (from 0.38 to 0.45)

-Battle Scared (from 0.45 to to 1.00)

You can find the exact float in-game or on cs.money

In our opinion, the most optimal quality is Field-Tested. Skins with this quality keep the most accurate image of a skin and still are relatively cheap unlike the Minimal Wear and Factory New ones. Especially if you find a skin with a minimum float of 0.15, which visually won’t look worse than Minimal Wear, while still being much cheaper.

It’s noteworthy that there are skins in CS:GO where the image has no scratches at all, but are either brighter or darker, depending on their quality. Examples of these skins are AK-47 | The Empress, AK-47 | Orbit, AWP | Worm God, AWP | Mortis etc. You can get these skins even in the “Battle-Scarred” conditions.

StatTrak™ Technology

Skins with the StatTrak™ technology are the most expensive skins in their category. This technology adds a counter that shows a number of enemies killed with this weapon. A StatTrak skin can be significantly more expensive. Also, these weapons have an orange frame in your Steam inventory.

Souvenir Skins

During CS:GO Majors, viewers can get souvenir cases while watching the streams. Inside these cases are the very same skins but with the “Souvenir” quality. These items have a yellow frame in your Steam inventory. The special feature of these skins is that they have four gold stickers: the first is the name of the tournament, during which you got the case; the second and third are the names of the teams that were playing; and the fourth is the MVP player of the round, in which you got the case. The most expensive souvenir skin at the moment is Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore.

Join Cs.money http://bit.ly/2AEIfzy
Hello everyone and welcome to our last update for this year!
By: Lurkit Gaming
Tags: Esports, Startup, Gaming, Streaming

Hello everyone and welcome to our last update for this year!

We hope that you’ve had a nice Christmas, that your waistline grew as expected and that you’ve had a nice time with family and friends. For us, December has been very busy. Here are some things that we’ve been up to:

Slush

We went to Slush in Helsinki, Finland. For those of you that are not familiar with the event — it’s one of the worlds biggest startup/investor meetup. A couple of hundred speakers also shared their startup stories and shared their best tips when it comes to product development and so on.

GLL Season 3

Our multitwitch feature powered the GLL finals.

GLL is based on a partnership between Swedish esports company G-Loot, and game publisher and developer PUBG Corporation. Since their first tournament in 2017, GLL established themselves as one of the most well-known tournament organizers in competitive PUBG.

The Grand Finals was live streamed to millions of viewers through Twitch.tv and via our multi-streaming platform. Coverage was also provided by Chinese esports organisation ImbaTV on DouyuTV.

New team member

We’ve glad to share the news that the Lurkit team is growing! From February another experienced developer will join our forces.

Create user account

A lot of the back-end work is coming together when it comes to this feature. We still have a little way to go but our hope is that we can give you a timeframe of expected release of this feature in January.

What’s coming?

In January we’ll be moving in to our new office, working full time together for the first time. We’re super excited to be able to pour all of our focus and energy into this project!

There’s more to write about but I’ll save that for the next post.

We wish you a Happy New Year!

/The Lurkit team
Theta + SamsungVR — The latest in a long line of VR breakthroughs for the Theta team
By: Theta Labs
Tags: Virtual Reality, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Esport, Samsung

If you haven’t heard the news, SamsungVR went live last month with a new channel powered by the Theta blockchain! SamsungVR’s initial deployment with Theta will stream SLIVER.tv esports content in virtual reality, the first in history to be livestreamed with blockchain. Any user that logs on can start sharing relaying 360 VR streams to other viewers, and the tokens they earn in return are all viewable on the Theta testnet blockchain. The deployment will start with desktop VR, with mobile and VR headset access to be added in the coming months.

While we’re proud of this recent milestone, many people don’t realize that the Theta team’s experience with VR content began long before the Theta project was launched. In fact, Mitch, Jieyi, and the rest of the Theta team actually pioneered VR livestreaming of esports in the early days of SLIVER.tv.

As early as September 2016, SLIVER.tv was creating the first-ever VR livestream of a major esports tournament at ESL One in partnership with Nvidia, live with 10,000 spectators at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

This is 360 spherical video! Try clicking and dragging your cursor to look around

Running on a cluster of NVIDIA GPUs the team was able to record multiple in-game 2D streams, render 360 VR images in real-time, then distribute the video to an estimated 50,000 viewers across the SLIVER.tv website, app, and VR app. All of this done live, with essentially zero lag!
Esports Business Review
By: Taylor Hurst
Tags: Esports, Videogames, Nike, Venture Capital, Sponsorship

Nike signs deal with first esports athlete

Credit: Nike

Nike Has Inked Their First Individual Esport Deal

The majority of sponsorship deals that have been coming out are between teams and brands. Nike has taken this a step further by sponsoring Royal Never Give Up’s Jian “Uzi” Zihauo to be part of Lebron James “Dribble &” series promotion. During the 2017–18 NBA season Lebron James was criticized for his outspokenness on political topics and was told to “Shut Up & Dribble” by Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Uzi will join LBJ and and Chinese actor Bai Jingting in this campaign. Uzi is arguably the best LoL of player in the world and has one of the largest Chinese followings in Esports. Royal Never Give Up is one of the most recognizable teams if you base this metric on sponsorship deals. Before this Nike deal with Uzi, they inked deals with KFC, and Mercedes-Benz.

Credit: QG Facebook

QG Raises $14.4M in Series A Funding

QG has continued to prove why they are such a strong organization. Partnerships include JingDong, Nike, and 361°. Now they have secured $14.4M in funding to build a headquarters in Shenzhen. The round was led by Toutoushidao Fund who has been making substantial investments in the entertainment industry and now continues to build their portfolio in the esports space. QG previously sold their League of Legends team to JingDong in May of 2017 and is also the owner of QG.happy, a mobile esports brand.

Credit: Trust Esports

Trust Esports to Invest $23.1M in Esports

A new VC fund, Trust Esports, led by FIMALAC and Matthew Dallon will be deploying over $20M into 10–12 ventures. Dallon founded the Esports World Convention and Tournament. According to The Esports Observer, “ Trust Esport plans to support 10 to 12 businesses that have a focus on developing applications, modifications, and other services for esports titles. The fund will look for investment opportunities in companies aiming to improve the viewing esports experience, develop audience monetization, and create better, more optimized playing conditions for players.”

Credit: The Esport Observer

Fighting Esports Group Closes $15M in Funding

Fighting Esports Group, a Beijing based mobile esports company, has secured $15M from sequoia-backed VC firm, China Sports Capital. Other investors were SAIF Partners, and Sea of Stars Capital. According to gamesindustry.biz, rumors of this funding round are to “gear up for a partnership with Tencent to bring Honor of Kings’ largest esports competition, the King Pro League, to South Korea, where it will be referred to as the Korean King Pro League.”

If you have any questions, please reach out to our team:

general@konvoy.co
Why HotS failed..too little to late?
By: Keng Vang
Tags: Esports, Heroes Of The Storm, Dota 2

The hubris of Blizzard and the downfall of a gaming company.

If you are aware of the news HotS are closing up shop and telling the world it will not be hosting any more esport tournaments for this game. Many casuals on these news articles, are wondering why they are doing this? Obviously they aren’t playing the game on a daily basis nor are they aware of the slow decline in playerbase the last few years. HotS started out really bad, on par with AAA titles like Battlefield 5 and Mass Effect Andromeda. Full on of fluff and contempt from gamers. For those unaware, let’s go back to the beginning.

Back in 2007 during the World Cyber Games and other prolific LAN tournaments held around the world blizzard will not allow gamers to play dota-allstars, a custom map in warcraft 3 at any event blizzard event. This left players just playing casual dota during say Dreamhack without a real prizepool or media coverage.

A few years later it caused the creators of Dota to make their own game engine for Dota. In the name of 2 games, League of Legends with one of the famous developer Guinsoo and a gaming company to make Heroes of Newearth with Icefrog balancing both Dota 1 and HON. Even at the prestieous Dereamhack, HON was relegated to being a private off-stage even during the biggest european lan event. Fast forward a few years to Dota’s successful event having multiple million dollar tournaments and the success of League worlds. Blizzard tried to get back into these genres after failing massively at Diablo 3 and unpopular Starcraft 2 expansions. To the point they had to entice their playerbase to subscribe to wow annnually to get a few diablo 3 copy.

Heroes of the storm came in many revisions. From Blizzard All Stars to Blizzard Dota, which they fail to copyright the dota trademark, eventually setting on Heroes of the storm. They even promoted it during blizzcon 2010–2011. Eventually Heroes of the storm came out 2015, about 5 years after their promotion! HotS wasn’t marketed as a competitive alternative to League or Dota, but a casual game! Team shared exp, no last hitting/denying mechanics. No advance tactics or strategies nor laning phase etc… What was blizzard thinking? After media hype in the media such as ESPN with the “dorm” tournaments, those interested played and quickly uninstalled. Many went back to other MOBAs. Blizzard failed like Zerox did. They fail to innovate, they fail to realize a market. They fail to encourage and shape the gaming market they had for a decade. All to join the Magic the gathering trading card game genre and Monday Night Combat/CS FPS battle arena which are turning slowly into WOW/RPG elements such as The Division and Mass Effect.

Fast forward 2018 the top 45 richest esports players are all Dota 2 players.
Here’s what to see at TwitchCon 2018
Tags: Esports, Twitchcon, Twitch, Gaming, Live Streaming

Here’s what to see at TwitchCon 2018

Remember when the biggest gaming event of the year was that LAN party with, like, six dudes in your best friend’s cramped, musty basement?

How far we’ve come.

Video games have become a mainstream phenomenon, one best exemplified by the success of Twitch, the online platform known for hosting video game and eSports live streaming. Started in 2011, Twitch exploded in popularity as gamers and non-gamers alike discovered the thrill of watching charismatic streamers play and provide wry commentary on popular games. ESports, which combines the entertainment factor of video games with the competitive spirit of traditional sports, lended itself particularly well to streaming, and tens of millions of people around the world began tuning in to watch skilled gamers go head-to-head in nail-biting tournaments with lavish prize pools.

Twitch is not just a platform; it is a vibrant worldwide community of gamers of all stripes. But unlike the LAN parties of yore, Twitch is online. You can talk to your friends, and you can even see them if they have a webcam, but you’re still separated by distances great and small.

But that’s why the gaming gods blessed us with TwitchCon.

TwitchCon, Twitch’s flagship annual event, is a festive celebration of gaming, eSports, content creators, and all things nerd culture. TwitchCon 2018, which takes place at the end of October in sunny San Jose, promises countless panel discussions (on everything from women in gaming to making a career out of streaming), tournaments (you could earn tens of thousands of dollars playing Fortnite — if you’re good enough), and partying (especially if you enjoy cosplay).

Here’s a smattering of some of the coolest offerings to check out at TwitchCon 2018. This list is neither exhaustive nor arranged in any particular order or ranking, and you should check twitchcon.com for the complete agenda.
A pro gamer’s life after eSports
By: Community Buff
Tags: Esports, Games, Gamer, Earn Money, ICO

For most sports, your mid-20s are your prime. You’ve grown from an ambitious child into a fully capable adult and you’ve got years of tough training behind you. Physically and mentally, the pieces have all fallen into place. You’ll never be better than you can be for the next couple of years.

But not in eSports. In eSports, you can practically throw the promise of your 20s out the window. It’s happened to too many players to ignore: total burnout by about the age of 20. These figures alone should be enough to convince people that eSports isn’t just a child’s game; it’s a serious sport with high physical and mental demands. But that’s a conversation for another time.

Why are eSports pros getting worn out so fast? Rarely is it a lack of commitment or dedication. For American Nick Taber, it was more of a time issue. Nick got into competition at the age of 14 shortly after the release of StarCraft 2. This was this game and this was his dream! Few of us are lucky enough at 14 to know what we want to do with ourselves.

Nick was impressing audiences at age 15 and won the grand finals at the World Cyber Games, earning $1,000 dollars. Not bad for a 15-year-old who spends all his free time playing games. Nick was riding high, convinced that he had years of pro gaming ahead of him. As soon as he finished high school, he planned to dedicate himself to StarCraft domination full time.

But even for Nick Taber, one of the most promising talents in pro gaming, reality had to hit. During his senior year of high school, he began to realize he’d be at a huge disadvantage as soon as he got out. Too many other players — especially the growing number of Korean pro gamers — had already spent years as full-time pro gamers. He’d put on a good show as a part-timer, but realized that he wouldn’t be able to keep up. At 18, he was already past his prime.

For others, the reality hits when they realize how difficult it will actually be to make a living as a pro gamer. Many people dream to game for a living, but the number of people who actually earn a livable wage in competitions is very low. For these young players who hit the pro gaming wall, the letdown is difficult.

For Nick Taber, his young identity was closely intertwined with pro gaming. What would he do with his life if not gaming? Nick went to college, but even in his third year as an information technology major, he hasn’t found the kind of direction that pro gaming gave him.

Like every other sport and type of celebrity, pro gaming isn’t all glitz and glam. The industry has certainly grown over the past several years (at least a few people really can make a decent living as pro gamers) but the payoff isn’t always worth the investment and sometimes determination isn’t enough. Think you have what it takes to make it as a pro, or would you rather keep your hobby a hobby?
Virtual Roller Derby, Is The New Roller Champions Game Up To Derby?
By: Roller Dernews
Tags: Roller Derby, Esport

When doing some virtual roller derby keyword research for an article I came across a new trending keyword “roller champions” and I thought I had better check it out! It turns out, Ubisoft has been developing a new computer game. Not based purely on anyone existing sport but incorporating several sports together. It is sort of a Virtual Roller Derby Have you ever tried to explain what derby is and ended up saying “its rugby on skates!”? Well, that’s what roller champions look like to me?

What is this ball thing?

If you haven’t noticed, roller derby has balls, but no ball! Roller champions introduce the use of a ball into the rink! My head just exploded! Have you ever tried to explain what derby is and ended up saying “its rugby on skates!”? Well, that’s what roller champs looked like to me?

Roller Derby Champions Trailer

But could we learn something from this E-sport all be it in development?

What can roller derby teams do to improve in lockdown?

It occurred to me there is no reason why you could not use this game as a virtual derby tactics platform. Imagine when you can’t practice because its the holidays or there is a pandemic and the venue is shut. Zoom call anyone?… NAH! What about Discord and game environment with a bit of bashy bash with the team?

A Virtual Roller Derby environment to develop our game Strategy?

Now the Closed Alpha stage of testing has closed for roller champions but the Beta is due! I really want to get a look to see if this is a feasible tool for us Derbs! This could be another way for us to focus our heads on what we do in a game. Without having to replay a game video we can see the effect of losing your cool in real-time without losing our ranking! Without losing a game you can see how to form that wall better to stop those damn jukey jammers! with development, you could even start thinking about an augmented reality version! Oh, that sounds like the future!

Ok, so it is not a current solution but is it time we brought roller derby training into the 21st century? Could this be a new community that might grow interested in our sport? I think it is worth a look!

When I get the chance I will see if we can get some contact with Ubisoft and the Dev team. Until then you can check out roller champions here https://roller-champions.ubisoft.com/game/en-us/

Other Related News

You can keep up with Roller Derby News on our Facebook page or on Medium
We Dared to Dream. We had one heck of a journey.
By: Michael Moriarty
Tags: Esports

We Dared to Dream

We had one heck of a journey.

Travelling back from London on Monday, I intended to write this and have it up that day. Instead, I broke down and cried. It was the first time where I was alone since the semi-final, and only one word could really describe it:

Since then, other things have kept me busy and I didn’t want to write this, but I felt it was time to get this done at least. Taking part in season four of the Gfinity Elite Series has been fantastic. I had a few home/life problems at the start of the season (some of those closer to me would be aware I had a “not smooth” house move recently) and having somewhere I could escape to on a Saturday was a lifesaver, mixing with a people who I knew and got to know as well as having a small impact helped my mental state too.

We were always moving forward this season. Watching the team 3–0 Envy in the first week (from the stands, for my sins) was a particular highlight, before two difficult weeks where the org’s unbeaten streak was ended to two relatively decent teams. The final week of the regular season was levels and levels of stress that I never want to feel again, but the elation at the end of the day when playoffs were secured was fantastic — as was the quarterfinal display against Nordavind.

I’m glad to Blanks for letting me back in Reason so I could do this, and Shakahron, Pugsay and Calix for giving me the OK to stand behind them like a flailing moron in an attempt at keeping morale high. All three players are utterly talented and I genuinely hope they go as far as they can — keep an eye on them in the upcoming Rocket League calendar, they’ll all be a blast. I wish I could’ve done more for them this season but alas, it wasn’t to be.

We came into the season with little to no expectations, but week after week we started aiming higher and dreaming bigger. We dared to dream a fairytale ending that would be nigh on impossible to replicate at any point in the future, but right as our dreams were merging into the reality we got bit. That hurt so, so much. So much that we wished we never got so far, but I’m glad we did. We have to be happy that we were allowed this dream. This team proved so much; proved that with a little teamwork, dedication and belief you can do pretty much anything. So take that and run with it.
Congressman Tom MacArthur introduces act to posthumously award Congressional gold medal to Alice Paul
Tags: Headlines, Politics, Congressional

Congressman Tom MacArthur introduces act to posthumously award Congressional gold medal to Alice Paul Admin Follow Dec 18, 2015 · 2 min read

Congressman Tom MacArthur recently announced that he had introduced H.R. 4204, the Alice Paul Congressional Gold Medal Act, to posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Alice Paul, in recognition of her role in the women’s suffrage movement and in advancing equal rights for women.

Paul was born on Jan., 11, 1885, in Mt. Laurel, and died on July 9, 1977.

Paul dedicated her life to securing suffrage and equal rights for all women and, as founder of the National Woman’s Party, she was instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“Few residents of South Jersey have had a greater impact on American history than Alice Paul,” MacArthur said. “Alice Paul’s tireless dedication and courage paved the way for future generations guaranteeing all American women the right to vote. Alice Paul is an example to all Americans of what one individual can do to make a difference for millions of people. I am proud to recognize her tireless efforts to give a voice to women in our democracy and abroad.”

“On behalf of Sewall-Belmont, I’m very proud that this legislation has been introduced to honor a true American hero,” said Page Harrington, executive director of Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, is a historic house and museum of the U.S. women’s suffrage and equal rights movements located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

“Too often women’s history is forgotten, and the women who contributed to further perfecting our democracy are left out of the history books,” Harrington said. “I believe this Congressional Medal will help us to elevate the status of Alice Paul, the National Woman’s Party, and the tireless work of so many women who contributed to women’s suffrage and equal rights progress, returning her memory and that of others back into the public conversation.”

Lucienne Beard, executive director of the Alice Paul Institute based at Paul’s birthplace in New Jersey, remarked, “HR 4204, the Alice Paul Congressional Gold Medal Act, is a fitting tribute to Alice Paul’s lifelong work for legal equality for all Americans. She is truly a champion of the rights expressed in our Constitution.”
Sustainable Moorestown Green Team receives award for sustainability
Tags: Headlines, Politics, Award, Green Team

Sustainable Moorestown Green Team receives award for sustainability

Sustainable Jersey representatives announced on Nov. 30 that Moorestown has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey Silver Award certification for the second consecutive year. Moorestown is one of only 10 New Jersey municipalities that have attained certification at the silver-level in 2015 and only 33 townships have received the Silver Award since 2009. Moorestown was honored at the Sustainable Jersey Awards Luncheon held on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in Atlantic City with Township Manager Scott Carew and members of the Sustainable Moorestown Green Team accepting the award.

To become Sustainable Jersey certified at the silver-level, Moorestown submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, exceeding the minimum of 350 action points by achieving approved action points of 405 points. In addition to reaching a minimum of 350 points, each community had to create a green team and select at least three out of 11 priority action options. Moorestown did six of the eleven priority actions by completing actions for 1) energy tracking and management, 2) inventory and upgrade all buildings, 3) fleet inventory, 4) sustainable land use pledge, 5) natural resource inventory, and 6) prescription drug safety and disposal.

“Becoming Sustainable Jersey certified is a significant achievement, especially at the silver-level,” said Randall Solomon, co-director of Sustainable Jersey. “The 191 Sustainable Jersey certified towns demonstrate leadership and are a testament to how much we can accomplish toward the long-term goal of a sustainable New Jersey.”
The Department of Parks and Rec Column
Tags: Families, Headlines, Entertainment, Sports

Each year, the Department of Parks and Recreation hosts a “beat the winter blues” day for individuals with Special Needs and their families. This year the Family Support Outing — “Everybody Wins” Indoor Field Day will be held at the Moorestown Upper Elementary School on Sunday, Jan. 3 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The “Everybody Wins” projects are held periodically throughout the year to provide camaraderie and support to individuals with Special Needs and their families. This particular event is an opportunity to get out of the house on a winter day and have your child participate in a variety of fun activities such as basketball, bean bag toss, bowling and more! Children can choose to participate in one event or all events! The goal is to offer opportunities to individuals with Special Needs in ways that make these sports and activities accessible for each child! In conjunction with Community Partner MooreKids, water, snacks and gifts will be provided for every child who registers before Dec. 28. Parents or Guardians must stay for the duration of the event.

This event is a latest in a series of special needs events held throughout the year. Each event is held in collaboration with one or more Community Partners. The Special Needs Holiday party, held in December was supported by the Elderberry Foundation. The Elderberry Foundation, Inc. (EFI) was formed in August of 2002 in the State of New Jersey for the purpose of helping and supporting children with Developmental Disabilities. At present, EFI uses its budget to sponsor benefit programs in support of children with disabilities. It is the experience and belief of EFI and its founders that fostering individual attention to disabled children helps to foster mental and emotional development. The Elderberry Foundation provided gifts for every child at the party and supported the annual endeavor.

The upcoming “Everybody Wins” Indoor Field Day promises to be another day filled with fun! Under the direction of volunteer Al Panzarella and the MooreKids Teen Leaders, individuals with special needs will receive specific instruction in a variety of different sports while offering them a social outlet among friends. The cost for this program is free. Individuals whoregister on or before Dec. 28 will receive a free gift for their child at the indoor field day.

For more information please contact the Department of Parks and Recreation or visit the Department’s website at http://www.moorestown.nj.us/365/Winter-Special-Needs-Programs and register today. For questions or to volunteer please contact Al Panzarella at Al@Moorekids.org or Darlene Altschuler at (856) 235–7076 or salt27@comcast.net.
Sun Editorial: Let’s resolve to give back in 2016
Tags: 2016, Headlines, Editorial, Give

Sun Editorial: Let’s resolve to give back in 2016

Most of us are lucky enough to spend the holidays with our loved ones. Most of us are lucky enough to be able to give and receive presents, to put a home-cooked meal on the table and to sit back, relax and enjoy what’s important in life.

There are many, though, living right here in our state who are not as lucky as we are. And these are the people who need our help the most.

So as we are about to put 2015 behind us and enter a New Year, let’s all resolve to give back more in 2016.

We like to think of ourselves as giving people, but compared to the rest

of the country, that’s just not the

A study released recently by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship found that 22.5 percent of New Jersey residents volunteered their time in 2014.

That ranked us near the bottom, 45th, in the nation. Utah topped the list at 46 percent.

The study found that 1.61 million residents volunteered a total of more than 225.5 million hours of service. The stats counted only non-paid work as volunteering.

These numbers did get better since 2013, even if New Jersey’s overall ranking did not, as 1.45 million residents volunteered a total of more than 206 million hours of service that year.

The good news is it doesn’t take much to change this trend. Volunteering doesn’t have to take up all of one’s free time, and it doesn’t have to include big monetary donations.

Volunteering can be as simple as pitching in at a soup kitchen, coaching a Little League team or collecting trash at a public park. Doing a little can go a long way. What may seem as not much to most of us can have a huge impact to someone else.

So while you’re compiling your list of To Do’s for 2016, add giving back to the community by volunteering. You’ll be surprised at the impact you can have.
Evesham Education Foundation thanks Oak Mortgage Company for support
Tags: Families, Headlines, Foundation, Company, For

[caption id=”attachment_54692" align=”alignleft” width=”300"]

Evesham Education Foundation has saluted Oak Mortgage Company for its support of the Evesham Education Foundation and its Wine, Dine and Win! Event. Foundation board members recently presented Bill Gelernt , president of Oak Mortgage Company a plaque signifying the Foundation’s sincere appreciation. Pictured from left: EEF board members Dave Scott, Bobbi Jo Grace, Gelernt, and EEF board members John Cipollone and Karl Eckstrom.[/caption]

Evesham Education Foundation ( EEF ) board members presented Bill Gelernt , president of Oak Mortgage Company a plaque signifying the foundation’s sincere appreciation for Oak’s ongoing generous support. Oak Mortgage has supported the Evesham Education Foundations Wine, Dine and Win! event for the last two years. They will also be the event sponsor again in 2016 along with Wineworks Marlton.

“Our corporate philosophy values reinvestment in our community,” Gelernt said. “Our ongoing participation with the EEF enables us to touch the lives of many students in the Evesham Township school district. We are proud to offer our support.”

The next Wine, Dine and Win! Event will be held on Feb. 5 at The Mansion on Main Street Voorhees. The event will feature a tasting of hundreds of wines and spirits from around the world provided through the courtesy of Wineworks Marlton as well as culinary samplings provided by the executive chefs at the Mansion as well as local restaurants including Flemings, Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant, Good Foods To Go, Classic Cake, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Brio, and Carabba’s and ShopeRite — A La Cart, Allora and Marcello’s . In addition there will be casino games offering participants the opportunity to win over 65 gift baskets and prizes.

Committee co-chair Bobbi Jo Grace also stated “Our Wine, Dine & Win! Event has become one of the marquee social events in Evesham Township with over 450 participants annualy. The funds raised go to support several programs in the school district that would have otherwise been discontinued without the financial support of the EEF.”

For more information on the event please go to www.eveshameducationfoundation.org.
Rowan College at Burlington County soccer players pick up postseason awards
Tags: Headlines, Schools, Sports

Rowan College at Burlington County soccer players pick up postseason awards

Following the end of their first season as Rowan College at Burlington County, the Barons picked up postseason awards from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the National Junior College Athletic Association, including an All-American player for the third consecutive season.

This year, Midfielder Jack Hoey, of London, England, became the third RCBC player from Europe in the last three seasons to earn the NJCAA Division I Soccer All-American honor. Hoey follows Charlie Macaskill, also of London, who was awarded the honor last year and Jack Verth, of Edinburgh, Scotland, who became the first Baron to earn the All-American distinction in 17 years in 2013. Hoey was one of only two New Jersey players to make the All-American teams. He earned a spot on the Third Team of 2015’s Division I Men’s Soccer All-Americans.

Both Hoey and Macaskill also earned spots on the NSCAA Junior College Division I Men’s All-East Region. First Team honors went to Macaskill, along with teammate and forward Orlando Neto, of Fairview. Hoey was named to the Second Team.

In addition to being named the Player of the Year for the Region and Division, Lady Baron, Joan Logan, a forward from Jobstown, was named to the NSCAA Junior College Division I Women’s All-Northeast Region. Midfielder Allison Paonessa, of West Berlin, was also awarded the same honor.

The Lady Barons (12–5) ended their regular season as conference champions while the men’s team finished atop of the conference with a record of 12–3–1.
Sun Editorial: Let’s resolve to give back in 2016
Tags: Headlines, Voices, Editorial

Most of us are lucky enough to spend the holidays with our loved ones. Most of us are lucky enough to be able to give and receive presents, to put a home-cooked meal on the table and to sit back, relax and enjoy what’s important in life.

There are many, though, living right here in our state who are not as lucky as we are. And these are the people who need our help the most.

So as we are about to put 2015 behind us and enter a New Year, let’s all resolve to give back more in 2016.

We like to think of ourselves as giving people, but compared to the rest

of the country, that’s just not the

A study released recently by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship found that 22.5 percent of New Jersey residents volunteered their time in 2014.

That ranked us near the bottom, 45th, in the nation. Utah topped the list at 46 percent.

The study found that 1.61 million residents volunteered a total of more than 225.5 million hours of service. The stats counted only non-paid work as volunteering.

These numbers did get better since 2013, even if New Jersey’s overall ranking did not, as 1.45 million residents volunteered a total of more than 206 million hours of service that year.

The good news is it doesn’t take much to change this trend. Volunteering doesn’t have to take up all of one’s free time, and it doesn’t have to include big monetary donations.

Volunteering can be as simple as pitching in at a soup kitchen, coaching a Little League team or collecting trash at a public park. Doing a little can go a long way. What may seem as not much to most of us can have a huge impact to someone else.

So while you’re compiling your list of To Do’s for 2016, add giving back to the community by volunteering. You’ll be surprised at the impact you can have.
Haddonfield First Night is Dec. 31
Tags: Families, Entertainment, Headlines

Haddonfield First Night is Dec. 31

Music, magic, comedy, and fireworks in Haddonfield on New Year’s Eve

Organizers of this year’s First Night celebration of the arts in Haddonfield promise a fun-filled evening of world-class entertainment for adults, families and children alike.

More than 30 performances have been scheduled from 6 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 31 at 15 indoor venues along the Kings Highway “spine” from Haddonfield Memorial High School to beyond the PATCO Hi-Speedline.

Headliners include: Tommy Cash, with a musical tribute to his brother, Johnny; the Grammy Award-winning Trammps of “Disco Inferno” fame; the Tartan Terrors with Celtic musical mayhem; the Incredible Boris, an international hypnotist/comedian; and the Spencers, winner of the prestigious International Magician of the Year award. A spectacular 15-minute fireworks display will follow the countdown to 9 p.m., “mini-midnight,” at the Town Clock.

Admission buttons for the event are just $15 and are available now. Buttons may be purchased at a dozen outlets throughout Haddonfield, including the Information Center in Kings Court. The Sunoco station on Haddon Avenue does a brisk business selling buttons to drivers while they fill up. Admission buttons purchased online will be mailed through Dec. 11 or held after that date at the Information Center.

The evening will get started, appropriately, with music and magic for the youngest revelers. KidZone, at the Middle School, will feature the Paisley Pickles, a popular local group, supported by magician Brian Richards, a perennial kid favorite. Designed to appeal to children to age 9, KidZone will swing into action at 6 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m., giving families ample time to make their way to Kings Highway for the countdown and fireworks.

The variety of entertainment at First Night is quite extraordinary. In addition to the headliners and the KidZone entertainers, featured performers include: a classical opera singer, Cody Austin; a Sinatra tribute singer, Marty Babitz; a cello quartet; a close-harmony, Andrews Sisters-style trio, Hotsy Totsy; a female barbershop choir Jersey Sound Chorus; a John Denver-style singer-songwriter, Christopher Westfall; a popular late-night-TV comedian, Andy Pitz; Haddonfield Plays & Players with a tribute to Broadway; Haddonfield School of Music, featuring teachers and students in its studios near the speedline; and the Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra, which is worth the price of admission all by itself.

Off the highway, the Markeim Arts Center will offer an art activity for children from 5 p.m. From 7 p.m., a musical duo will entertain visitors to “Diamonds are Forever,” an art exhibit celebrating the art center’s 60th anniversary in 2016.

Detailed information about all aspects of the event is available online at www.FirstNightHaddonfield.org. To keep current with developing First Night Haddonfield news, check Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
AAA South Jersey donates toys and money to ‘Toys for Tots’
Tags: Headlines, Aaa, And, Jersey

AAA South Jersey members and employees recently donated over 250 toys to the Camden County chapter of U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation.

As part of the campaign, employees could also “buy” the right to wear jeans during the month of the December by paying $1 per day. Employees “paid” $400 for this privilege, with the club matching the employee donation, resulting in an $800 check for Toys for Tots to purchase additional toys and supplies.

All of the toys collected will be distributed to boys and girls in the Camden County area.

The toys and check were presented by AAA South Jersey CEO Carol Scott and COO David Antrilli to Desmond Newbill, the Camden County Coordinator for Toys for Tots, during a ceremony at the AAA South Jersey headquarters in Voorhees.

“We were thrilled by the response from AAA and employees to this campaign,” said Carol Scott, CEO of AAA South Jersey. “Everyone was extremely generous with their donations, and it showed by how much we were able to give to Toys for Tots. Through the generosity of AAA employees, members and the community, Christmas will be much happier for numerous local children.”

Additionally, two AAA South Jersey offices in Gloucester County and one office in Cumberland County also collected for Toys for Tots. Those three offices combined to collect an additional 50 toys, which will be distributed to needy children in their local communities.

The primary goal of the Toys for Tots program is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate children that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive and patriotic citizens. Since the inception of Toys for Tots, more than 400 million toys have been distributed to more than 188 million needy children.

The Toys for Tots program was founded in 1947 by U.S. Marine Corps Maj. William L. Hendricks, when Hendricks and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles first collected and distributed 5,000 toys to children. The following year, the Marine Corps Reserve adopted the concept and made it a national endeavor.
Sun Editorial: Let’s resolve to give back in 2016
Tags: Headlines, Voices, Editorial

Sun Editorial: Let’s resolve to give back in 2016

Most of us are lucky enough to spend the holidays with our loved ones. Most of us are lucky enough to be able to give and receive presents, to put a home-cooked meal on the table and to sit back, relax and enjoy what’s important in life.

There are many, though, living right here in our state who are not as lucky as we are. And these are the people who need our help the most.

So as we are about to put 2015 behind us and enter a New Year, let’s all resolve to give back more in 2016.

We like to think of ourselves as giving people, but compared to the rest

of the country, that’s just not the

A study released recently by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship found that 22.5 percent of New Jersey residents volunteered their time in 2014.

That ranked us near the bottom, 45th, in the nation. Utah topped the list at 46 percent.

The study found that 1.61 million residents volunteered a total of more than 225.5 million hours of service. The stats counted only non-paid work as volunteering.

These numbers did get better since 2013, even if New Jersey’s overall ranking did not, as 1.45 million residents volunteered a total of more than 206 million hours of service that year.

The good news is it doesn’t take much to change this trend. Volunteering doesn’t have to take up all of one’s free time, and it doesn’t have to include big monetary donations.

Volunteering can be as simple as pitching in at a soup kitchen, coaching a Little League team or collecting trash at a public park. Doing a little can go a long way. What may seem as not much to most of us can have a huge impact to someone else.

So while you’re compiling your list of To Do’s for 2016, add giving back to the community by volunteering. You’ll be surprised at the impact you can have.