BlazeSports America
Announces 2011 World Cup Team
BlazeSports America is proud to announce the selection of their 2011 National
Boccia Team which will compete at the 2011 World Cup. Scheduled to take
place August 18-27, 2011 in Belfast Ireland, the 2011 World Cup is the last major
international Boccia competition before the 2012 London Paralympic Games and
will include athletes from more then 30 countries.
The 2011 National Boccia Team members are:
BC1 Division
TJ Hawker
Luke Labas
Cornelius Oatis
Toledo, OH
Fort Wayne, IN
Columbus, OH
Individual and Team Play
Individual and Team Play
Individual and Team Play
Jennifer Jay
Pinellas, FL
Alternate
Columbus, OH
Chicago, IL
Individual and Team Play
Individual and Team Play
Austin Hanson
Lee Lobmeyer
Sam Williams
Topeka, KS
Topeka, KS
Elmhurst, IL
Individual and Pairs Play
Individual and Pairs Play
Individual and Pairs Play
Charlie Fleisch
Fawad Zakai
North Massapequa, NY
Stone Mountain, GA
BC2 Division
Marck Harrison
Chris Sandoval
BC3 Division
Alternate
Alternate
BC4 Division
Patrick Elliot
Peculiar, MO
Individual Play
“Boccia has been on the sport program of the Paralympic Games since 1984.
The Paralympic version is based on the game that originated in Italy and has
since spread worldwide,” said Carol Mushett Johnson, the Chief Executive
Officer for BlazeSports America. “We are very excited to announce this team of
talent athletes.”
One of the fastest growing Paralympic sports, boccia is played one-on-one, in
pairs or in teams of three and is contested an indoor hard court surface. The
object of the sport is to throw or roll game balls so that they land as close as
possible to the target ball called the jack. After all of the balls have been thrown,
the closest team receives the number of points equal to the number of balls that
they have closer to the jack than their opponent’s closest ball. The disability
sport community initially adopted boccia as a sport for athletes with cerebral
palsy but it is now open to all athletes with significant physical disabilities. The
sport is a test of concentration, accuracy and strategic ability.
About BlazeSports America
Boccia is just one of the competitive sports offered by BlazeSports America, the
legacy organization of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games. BlazeSports America
serves as the national governing body for boccia and is recognized by the United
States Olympic Committee as a member of its Multi-Sport Organizational Council
BlazeSports provides sports training, competitions, summer camps, leadership
training, and recreational opportunities for youth and adults who use wheelchairs,
have a visual impairment, have an amputation or who have a neurological
disability such as cerebral palsy. For more information, visit
www.blazesports.org or contact Jeff Jones at [email protected] or call 404270-2000.