[Nfbf-l] Article in the United States Association of Blind Athletes Weekly Newsletter, about our USBCA sending member to Grreece!

[Alan Dicey]

Dear USBCA Members, and List Members, and others,

For the second week in a row now, I am pleasantly surprised to read the article in the United States Association of Blind Athletes Weekly Newsletter, about our United States Braille Chess Association or just - USBCA and the fact we are sending a USBCA Member, to Greece to participate in the International Braille Chess Association Individual Tournament.

Below is the article and below that is the entire USABA Weekly Newsletter.

I am sure you are just as thrilled as I am to see we are finally letting the World know that here in the United States:

"Yes, Blind and Visually Impaired People Can, and Do Play Chess!"

We have not sent players to the International Braille Chess Association Tournaments in many, many years.

With Best Regards,
God Bless

Alan
Plantation, Florida
Alan Dicey, Vice President
United States Braille Chess Association - USBCA
"Yes, Blind and Visually Impaired People, Can, and Do, Play Chess!"
United States Braille Chess Association Home Page:  http://AmericanBlindChess.org

 

USBCA Article in the Weekly United States Association of Blind Athletes Newsletter

U.S. Braille Chess Association Set to Compete in May
The U.S. Braille Chess Association is raising funds and awareness to enhance competitive opportunities for blind chess players. Currently, they are fundraising to send Alex Barrasso to the World Championship for Blind Players in May and working to send a team to the 2016 Chess Olympiad for Blind Players. For more information or to help in their efforts, contact Al Pietrolungo, President of U.S. Braille Chess Association at ajpietrol at verizon.net.


USABA News and Notes from the Week

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014 3:45 PMFollow USABA on Facebook & Twitter 

Mobile Coach Launched - New Goalball Resource
In collaboration with the USOC and USA Men's and Women's National Goalball Teams, USABA is proud to announce the implementation of the Team USA Mobile Coach site. Team USA Mobile Coach provides access to drills and resources from USABA and the USOC, complete with diagrams and videos you can use on your desktop computer or ios device. Coaches and athletes of all levels will benefit from the Team USA Mobile Coach, and it is free with your USABA membership. Be sure to keep your membership active to continue using this great membership benefit at home, at practice and on the go! For more information about Mobile Coach, visit the USABA website.

Adaptive Rowing Camp - May 21-27 
In partnership with US Rowing and the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is pleased to host an adaptive rowing camp for rowers with physical disabilities and identify potential candidates for participation in the Paralympic Games. The camp will be held on May 21-27 at the Oklahoma City National High Performance Training Center. For more information and to register, visit the USABA Website. 

Registration Now Open for 2014 USABA Goalball National Championships
Registration is now open for the 2014 USABA Goalball National Championships, hosted by Iowa Adaptive Sports and being held in Ames Iowa, June 19-21. As a reminder, all players must qualify to compete in this tournament through participation at a 2014 USABA regional goalball tournament either as a member of a team or as a pool player. Click here for information and to register. For addition information, contact John Potts at jpotts at usaba.org.

Track & Field Classification Opportunities
U.S. Paralympics is hosting two international classification opportunities for Track & Field this year. They are the 2014 Desert Challenge Games, May 7-8 in Mesa, Arizona, and 2014 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships, June 18-19 with location to be determined. Register for either or both events by clicking on the links associated with each competition. Athletes are required to hold a current IPC License in order to request an international classification appointment. Classification forms must be submitted six weeks prior to the event. Instructions and forms can be found here. Also, a master list of classification status for IPC Athletes can be found here. Have questions? Contact Tina Kauffman-Cain at Tina.Kauffman-Cain at usoc.org. 

Powerlifting National Championships
USABA is pleased to announce that USA Powerlifting will feature a blind/visually impaired division in their 2014 National Championships. The event, held on July 17-20, will be held in Denver and will serve as the 2014 USABA National Championship as well as a qualifying event for the 2015 IBSA World Championships. Athletes must have a proof of performance from a USAPL sanctioned event after January 1, 2013 in order to be eligible for entry. Visit www.usaplnationals.com to apply and be sure to select that you are with USABA. Contact Coach Sampson at msampson56 at hotmail.com or (719) 687-0319 if you are planning to attend. 

U.S. Braille Chess Association Set to Compete in May
The U.S. Braille Chess Association is raising funds and awareness to enhance competitive opportunities for blind chess players. Currently, they are fundraising to send Alex Barrasso to the World Championship for Blind Players in May and working to send a team to the 2016 Chess Olympiad for Blind Players. For more information or to help in their efforts, contact Al Pietrolungo, President of U.S. Braille Chess Association at ajpietrol at verizon.net.

Call for Colorado Coaches
USABA will be hosting a goalball coaches clinic on April 18-19 for anyone in Colorado interested in improving their knowledge or starting from scratch. Teacher, parents and anyone else interested in developing the sport of goalball in Colorado is welcome to apply. Room accommodations on Friday, April 18 and meals will be provided. The clinic will run from 7:30 PM on Friday until 5:00 PM on Saturday. For more information or to submit your name for consideration, contact Matt Simpson at msimpson at usaba.org or by phone at (719) 866-3019.

VOTE! 
Mark Bathum and Cade Yamamoto, alpine skiing team from the Sochi Paralympic Games, have been nominated for Best of U.S. Male Paralympic Performance. You can cast a vote multiple times starting now through Friday, March 21. Click here to vote for them! Don't forget to vote for this well-deserved duo in winning two silver medals last week in the Winter Paralympic Games!

Important Goalball Rule Change
USABA recently approved a test, to be effective immediately and continuing through the remainder of the 2014 adult Goalball season, that permits the inclusion of one sighted athlete per registered Goalball program. This is an exciting change for the future of U.S. Goalball! For additional information, visit the USABA website. For questions, contact John Potts at jpotts at usaba.org.

Articles in Circulation & Fun Events
There have been some inspiring articles and news reports about athletes who are blind and visually impaired in circulation this week. We could not help but share a few with you. Enjoy reading and listening to the following stories.

1. Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) and Delta Gamma competed in a friendly goalball tournament. Congratulations to Goalballers for winning gold! Check out a picture of the group after competition.
2. Cal Berkeley starts goalball class for students and community. Be sure to watch this video about it!
3. Marla Runyan: Overcoming Obstacles. Read this Paralympian's incredible story here. 
4. Half-marathon runner is not your average athlete. Learn more about Erich Manser here.
5. Find out about this homeless man's journey to the Rock & Roll Marathon.

Mark your Calendar
Please visit the USABA website for additional information.
  a.. March 24-28: Veteran Goalball Development Camp in Lake Placid, New York 
  b.. December 7: USABA National Marathon Championships in Sacramento, California 
    a.. Contact Richard Hunter at rhunter988 at att.net for more information. 
  c.. May 1, 2015: IBSA World Championships and Games 
  d.. August 7-14, 2015: Parapan American Games in Toronto, Canada 
  e.. September 7-18, 2016: Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
  f.. August 28-September 1, 2014: UCI ParaCycling World Championships in Greenville, South Carolina\ 
Goalball Calendar
Please visit the USABA website for additional information.
  a.. April 12-13: 2014 ABANJ/USABA Northwest Regional Goalball Tournament in Westmont, New Jersey 
  b.. May 3-4: 2014 Cascade Classic Developmental Team Goalball Tournament in Vancouver, Washington 
  c.. May 16-17: 2014 USABA Western Regional Goalball Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah 
  d.. June 19-21: 2014 USABA Goalball National Championships in Ames, Iowa 
  e.. June 26-July 7: 2014 IBSA World Goalball Championships, Finland 


Address postal inquiries to:
United States Association of Blind Athletes
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909 
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