AAASP Wheelchair Basketball Championship Set for March 7
American Association of adaptedSPORTSTM Programs Features Varsity Championship on March 7, Junior Varsity Title Game on March 1

ATLANTA, (FEB. 28, 2008) – A week of championships featuring wheelchair basketball teams from across Georgia opens this weekend and culminates March 7 with a varsity championship game held alongside the Georgia High School Association’s State Basketball Championship at The Arena at Gwinnett.

   The wheelchair basketball games, which also include a junior varsity championship and varsity semi-finals on March 1, are the 12th consecutive year of the state championships sanctioned by the American Association of adapted SPORTSTM Programs (AAASP). Varsity teams competing include the Atlanta Wolfpack, Clayton Eagles, DeKalb Silver Streaks, Muscogee Lions, Richmond Dream Team and West Georgia Wolverines. Junior varsity teams include Atlanta Thunder Cats, DeKalb Eagles, Henry County Hurricanes and North Fulton YMCA Mustangs.

   “We commend the teams advancing to the state championships,” says Bev Vaughn, executive director of AAASP. “The varsity teams who will compete at the Gwinnett Arena in a combined tournament format with the GHSA championships will highlight their accomplishments and put an exclamation point on an outstanding season.”

   The state championships mark the end of the season for the teams, who opened their season in late November.

   The varsity championship game coincides with GHSA title games for the fifth consecutive year, highlighting the partnership between AAASP and GHSA as well as the state’s distinction as the first to provide interscholastic adapted athletics through a dual-governing partnership between the two organizations. Struck in 2001, the partnership designates AAASP as the governing body and athletic association for sports programs serving students with physical disabilities in grades one through 12.

   “Once again GHSA is excited about partnering with AAASP in basketball,” says Ralph Swearngin, GHSA’s executive director. “The athletic abilities and the hard work of the wheelchair players will be on display and we hope that fans will make the effort to see this championship game along with the GHSA games.”

   AAASP also works alongside the Georgia Department of Education to provide equitable access to interscholastic athletics for students with physical or visual impairments and fully engage those students in adapted athletics.

   “Athletics are a great tool for keeping our students motivated to learn, engaged in the school community and stressing the importance of collaboration and teamwork,” says state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. “Our partnership with AAASP is part of an ongoing effort to make sure that all students have access to the power of athletic competition. I hope all the teams involved in the upcoming tournaments have a great time.”

   Wheelchair basketball is one of six sports offered by AAASP. Others include wheelchair handball (formerly indoor wheelchair soccer), power soccer, wheelchair football, track and field and beep baseball. Teams are structured to accommodate several physical disability groups, allowing for a maximum number of participants, and each sport is an adaptation of existing adult sports governed by national organizations.

   Founded in 1996, the award-winning AAASP is a national organization based in Atlanta addressing the need for standardized interscholastic adapted sports. AAASP is the nation’s first interscholastic athletic association to operate exclusively for students with physical or visual impairments who attend grades one through 12.