National Wheelchair               Poolplayer Association, Inc.

820 Coastal Beach Road, Henderson, NV  89015 * Phone / Fax: (702) 437-6792 * Website: www.nwpainc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – OCTOBER 12, 2006

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THE Paralyzed Veterans of America, in association with the NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR POOLPLAYER ASSOCIATION, INC.,

 establishes national wheelchair billiards tournament series

 

New Tournament Series to Offer Enhanced competitive opportunities for persons with disabilities

who play billiards from a seated position

WHEELCHAIR POOL PLAYERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND OVERSEAS FROM ARE ENCOURAGED TO COMPETE IN THESE EVENTS

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

NATIONAL SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE 

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October 12. 2006, Washington, DC – The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has engaged the National Wheelchair Poolplayers Association, Inc. (NWPA),

the National Governing Body of wheelchair billiards, to assist in the development of a unique series of billiard tournaments for persons who, due to disability,

need to compete from a seated position (i.e. wheelchair).  The tournament series will be called the

PVA/NWPA National Wheelchair Billiards Tournament Series (PVA/NWPA Tournament Series).

 

For nearly 60 years, PVA has made significant advances for its members and for all Americans with disabilities through its work in legislation, advocacy,

health policy, research, architecture and, of course, sports and recreation. 

 

In providing the advantages of sporting activities to P.V.A. members and all people with a disability, P.V.A. has been a supporter of such organizations as the NWPA,

American Wheelchair Bowling Association (AWBA), National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA), National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA),

and United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA).  

 

PVA also produces the PVA Bass Tour, a B.A.S.S Sanctioned Event and the PVA National Trapshoot Circuit. In addition,

PVA and the Department of Veterans Affairs sponsor the largest annual wheelchair sporting event in the country, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. 

 

The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a congressionally chartered veterans service organization founded in 1946, has developed a unique expertise on a

wide variety of issues involving the special needs of their members - veterans of the armed forces who have experienced spinal cord injury or dysfunction. 

PVA uses that expertise to be the leading advocate for:

  • Quality health care for their members.

  • Research and education addressing spinal cord injury and dysfunction.

  • Benefits available as a result of our members’ military service.

  • Civil rights and opportunities which maximize the independence of their members.

The NWPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging, developing and regulating wheelchair billiards. 

The NWPA is the official National Governing Body for wheelchair billiards through Wheelchair Sports U.S.A.

 and the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and is a member of the World Pool Association. 

The NWPA promotes wheelchair billiards to provide competition opportunities for persons with disabilities as the BCA promotes billiards for the general population. 

 

One of the goals of the NWPA is to encourage persons with disabilities, who are unable to play or compete from a standing position,

to become involved in playing pool from a seated position, by holding clinics, tournaments and fundraisers throughout the United States.  

 The NWPA actively seeks player members, associate members and sponsors, in order to achieve this goal.

 

The NWPA sanctions eight to twelve regional events, culminating with an annual National Championship and, in some years, an International Championship.

 In the past several years, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) has aired a number of NWPA National and International Championships.

 

Through its sanctioning program, the NWPA has an existing competitive tour for wheelchair pool players.  The PVA/NWPA Tournament Series will, however,

 be a significant enhancement to the NWPA’s existing tournament tour and sanctioning program. 

 

At a minimum, each PVA/NWPA Tournament Series event will have an open championship trophy event for all players, as well as a secondary trophy

event for those players who are at the recreational/novice level and/or for those players who are eliminated from early rounds of the championship event. 

 In addition to trophies, the championship and secondary events will offer cash and/or prizes to the top finishing players. 

Players will also accumulate ranking points for their participation in a PVA/NWPA Tournament Series event.  Players with the most qualifying ranking

 points at the end of the first year of the tournament series will receive special awards and prizes.   ]

 

Billiards has become a popular sport throughout the world, but especially for thousands of wheelchair players.  Pool is the perfect sport for many persons with disabilities,
because they can remain competitive with any other player of similar skill, regardless of whether their opponent plays from a standing or sitting position and
because age is not a factor. The PVA/NWPA Tournament Series will provide meaningful and rewarding competitive opportunities for PVA members and others who
enjoy playing billiards from a wheelchair. In addition, future expansion of the PVA/NWPA Tournament Series will include major events for both seated and standing pool players,
 incorporating side-by-side competition and receiving awards and prizes based on their own individual playing skills. 
 

The PVA and NWPA jointly offer an open invitation to all pool players who compete from a wheelchair, due to disability, to compete in the PVA/NWPA Tournament Series. 

Events will be open to all persons who meet the requisite disability requirements for competing in billiards from a seated position and who are otherwise in good standing

with the NWPA and/or PVA.  Many of the competitors who will be competing in these prestigious events will be PVA members and other disabled U.S. military veterans.

 

The inaugural PVA/NWPA Tournament Series event, the Mid-South PVA/Jillian’s Shootout, hosted locally by the Mid-South Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America,
will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on November 18-19, 2006 at Jillian’s Game Room, 150 North Peabody Place, Memphis, TN 38103. 
The first 32 paid entries received from qualified players will be accepted on a first come, first served basis for this event.  Contact Carl Flemons, Tournament Coordinator,
for more information about this specific tournament.  Mr. Flemons can be reached at (256) 778-0449 or (202) 255-3430 (Cell.) or by Email:  carlflemons@bellsouth.net
 
Announcements regarding upcoming PVA/NWPA Tournament Series events, which will be held in the 2006/2007 schedule, will be made in the coming weeks. 
 Billiard establishments or other parties interested in helping to develop a tournament series event in their area should contact
 NWPA President, Jeffrey Dolezal (contact information listed below).
 
National and local level sponsorship packages for the PVA/NWPA Tournament Series (minimum of 5 events in the first year) are available for interested corporations,
 organizations, and private individuals.   The PVA and NWPA welcome the support of community leaders.
 
Please read the NEW Relative
PVA / NWPA Points System

Contacts:

 For NWPA:

Jeffrey Dolezal – NWPA President.  (703) 817-1215  

jdolezal@cox.net   

 

For PVA:

Andy Kreiger, PVA Director of Sports and Recreation.  (202) 416-7757

AndyK@pva.org

 

 Material posted property of: NWPA., Inc. All Rights Reserved
©1994-2006 National Wheelchair Poolplayer Association, Inc.

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