USABA Headlines
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2007
Contact: media@usaba.org, 719.630.0422
2d Annual Lakeshore Regional Youth Goalball Tournament
Concludes
(By Jen Armbruster, Lakeshore Foundation) The 2d annual Lakeshore Foundation Regional Youth Goalball Tournament was recently held in Birmingham, Alabama.
Boys and girls teams from Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia battled for top tournament honors.
In the bronze medal girl's match, teams from the South Carolina School for the Blind and the Georgia Academy for the Blind met in a contest that was amazingly close throughout most of the game, with the two team swapping the lead 7 times. However, in the final two minutes, South Carolina was able to capitalize on penatly shots scores while fending off Georgia's valiant scoring attempts, driving them on to victory by a 15-7 margin.
On the boy's side, South Carolina and a team from Pittsburgh, PA met in a match another match that was close until the end of regulation play. The young Pittsburgh team hung strong and kept up the fight up until the end, however the more experienced South Carolina boys were able to vary their ball speed and take advantage of penalty scoring on Pittsburgh penalties to bring the game to a close with a 16-10 win.
The crowd was in for a real treat when they witnessed the girl's championship match that pitted the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind against a tough Pittsburgh team. There was excitement in the air as both teams had chants coming from the stands as parents, boy's teams and teachers cheered for their favorite teams. In the end, Florida's experience was evident as they played an absolutely perfect defense that allowed no goals to be scored against them despite several close attempts by the Pittsburgh squad. In the end, Florida claimed the gold medal with a 5-0 win.
In the tournament's final match, the boys from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind met an Atlanta team who was ready for a win. The fans witnessed a very tight contest that ended in a 4-2 gold medal win for the Florida team.
The United States Association of Blind Athletes, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, which continually draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes. |