Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Youth athletes with disabilities prepare for National Junior Disability Championships in July

In the picture from TampaBay.com,

Heather Haynie, 17, of Zephyrhills, Fla., winds up for a discus throw at All People's Life Center in Tampa.

The double amputee will compete in the National Junior Disability Championships in St. Charles, Missouri, July 25 - August 2.

Haynie has competed in the national championships several times and also represented the United States in the International Wheelchair and Amputee Games. Her personal best is 21.74 meters.

Her coach Andy Chasanoff belives she could qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Here's information about the National Junior Disability Championships: NJDC began in July 1984 as a small meet sanctioned by Wheelchair Sports, USA for wheelchair athletes ages six to twenty-one.

Since that time, the NJDC has grown to include over 250 athletes with cerebral palsy, visual impairments, spinal cord insult, and limb deficiencies from all over the United States and several foreign countries.

The NJDC is sanctioned by Wheelchair Sports, USA and is recognized by Disabled Sports USA and the United States Association for Blind Athletes. Previous locations for the championships include New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, California and Alabama.

At each National Junior Disability Championships, competitions are held in Olympic-style events including track, field, pentathlon, swimming, archery, table tennis, 3-on-3 basketball, and weightlifting.