Junior Suns host 4th Annual Arizona JV Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

On December 11-12, 2010 over fifty players and coaches came to compete in the 4th Annual Arizona Wheelchair Basketball Tournament for a weekend of competition in Mesa at the Broadway Recreation Center. Competing teams were your home town Banner Wheelchair Suns, BORP Bay Cruisers (Berkely, CA), Denver Junior Nuggets and Utah Junior Jazz. This tournament is sponsored by the Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association and hosted by Arizona Disabled Sports.

Now on to the action as the Jazz would play the Bay Cruisers in the first game. The Jazz won 46 – 39 with Blakley scoring 22 and Heslop adding 12 for the Jazz. James Bohnett had 21 for BORP. The Banner Wheelchair Suns played host to Denver Nuggets in game 2. The Nuggets easily handled the rebuilding Suns 45 – 29. Ryan had 23 and Dyuante with 12 for the Nuggets. Rachael Kroener had 16 and Stephen Binning added 13 in a losing effort. The 3rd game of the day the Suns played inspired basketball but fell to BORP 55 to 24. Stephen Binning and Rachael Kroener each had 10 points for the Suns. BORP was led by Rodriquez 22 and Bohnett 17. The afternoon 2 PM game the young Jazz handled the Nuggets 58 to 32. Blakley led the way for the Jazz with 22 points and Ryan had 18 for the Nuggets. Game 6 the Suns would face the Jazz. The Jazz Blakley led all scorers with 19 and Stephen Binning had 14 in a losing effort for the Sun. Jazz 61 Suns 26. The last game on Saturday the Nuggets faced the Bay Cruisers. The Cruisers started out strong and never looked back for a 45 to 26 victory. James Bohnett had 25 for BORP and Ryan had 18 for Denver.

Early Sunday morning play had Denver and Utah facing off. The game was close through out with the Jazz pulling away in the final minutes for a 49 to 40 victory. Blakley led the Jazz with 29 and Lindsay adding 10. Ryan had 21for the Nuggets. Sundays second game the Suns lost to the BORP Bay Cruisers 54 to 18. BORP was led by Rodriquez with 26 and Rachael Kroener had 10 for the Suns.

The last game Sunday was for the Championship between the Jazz and Bay Cruisers. This was the best game of the tournament as neither team could establish any kind of led. The score changed by the minute with the score tied at the end of regulation play. Five minutes were added to the clock and into overtime play continued. After four minutes and the score still tied it was apparent who had the ball last would win. This game did come down to the last seconds with the Jazz sinking the last basket for a 60 to 58 Championship win. The Champion Jazz was led in scoring by Tournament MVP Sam Blakley with 17. Second place BORP was led by James Bohnett with 36 points. Denver would finish in third place. The Junior Suns Chandler Goetz was voted the tournament Sportsmanship Award.

The Banner Wheelchair Suns would like to thank Arizona Disabled Sports and the Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association for their efforts to make this a truly great experience for all involved. Many of these players will one day receive college wheelchair basketball scholarships. This is possible because of tournaments like this to display and build these young athletes skills. THANK YOU!

Power Soccer Team Raises Funding by Selling Candles

The AZ Heat Power Soccer team participated in a group fundraising effort by selling Gold Canyon candles. A group of just twelve individuals were able to sell 102 candles which raised approximately $750.00 for the team. The team is currently raising funding to support travel expenses for the athletes when traveling to regional and national competitions. Gold Canyon Candles are a local company that generously participates in these fundraising efforts by donating 20% of total sales to the organization. The holiday scents were a hot item for the friends and family of the athletes. Congratulations to Stephanie Nedrow for selling the highest number of candles! Stephanie was rewarded with free registration for the 2011 winter-spring season. Look for the team to participate in another fundraiser with Gold Canyon this spring!

AzDS Represented at World Championships in New Zealand

Arizona Disabled Sports Executive Director, Lane Jeppesen has been invited to travel with Team USA for the Paralympic World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand this January. Lane will be the Assistant Team Leader for 52 athletes with physical disabilities on Team USA as they compete in track and field. Approximately 12 staff will travel with the group including medical, equipment and coaching staff.

The group of 64 individuals will travel to Sydney, Australia from January 6th to 14th for a training camp at Sydney Olympic Park. The group will then travel to Christchurch, New Zealand from January 15th to 31st for the World Championships in Track and Field.

IPC Athletics World Championships

Cycling Team does Tour de Tucson

Arizona Disabled Sports was represented by 11 athletes from the Arizona Heat cycling team at the 2010 El Tour de Tucson in Tucson, Arizona on November 20th. Congratulations to the following 8 athletes that completed the 40 mile event! Troy Davis - 2:54:51, Mike Tagliapietra - 3:02:34, Lamar Ryberg - 3:08:49, Stephen Binning - 3:54:08, Gavin Warren – 4:33:18, Ben Swanson – 4:35:23, Linden Aitken – 5:08:44, Travis Oldhouser – time not posted. Forty miles is no small feat, congratulations on a job well done! AzDS also had 3 athletes compete in the 6 mile race - congratulations to Austin Alcorn, Evie Boone and Maurice Valeriano!

Former Mesa Athlete, Edward Mathurin is a Referee

One of our former Mesa athletes, Edward Mathurin, has been training as a referee. Edward currently is an AIA basketball referee for the junior high school games in Mesa as well as volunteering as a referee for Arizona Disabled Sports and Special Olympics. Edward has become a trained US Power Soccer Association referee for our local competitions in power soccer and volunteers for the Special Olympics Floor Hockey and Soccer competitions. Congratulations to Edward Mathurin on his accomplishments as a referee.