"Over 100 young athletes with physical disabilities will compete in this exciting three-day tournament which will include teams from around the country as well as our own Georgia Blazers," said Carol Mushett Johnson, executive director of BlazeSports America. "The tournament will provide youth an opportunity for high-level competition as these teams vie to be champions."

Wheelchair basketball is played by current NCAA rules with the following exceptions: a player must dribble the ball with every two pushes of the chair, four seconds are allowed in the lane and there is no double dribble infraction. For the prep division goals are set at a height of 8.5 feet and there are eight minute quarters with no shot clock. The National Prep Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will be a single elimination tournament and will conclude with the championship game on Feb. 24.

"I am excited to play in this tournament. I really love basketball and to compete for the championship with my teammates and play some of the best teams in the country is going to be great," said Christina Young, a member of the Georgia Blazers Prep Team and Kennesaw resident.

The Georgia Blazers wheelchair basketball team is just one of the competitive sports teams offered by BlazeSports America, the legacy organization of the 1996 Paralympic Games. BlazeSports provides sports training, competitions, summer camps, leadership training, and recreational opportunities for youth and adults who use wheelchairs, have a visual impairment, have an amputation, or who have a neurological disability such as cerebral palsy.

Local partners for the National Prep Wheelchair Basketball Tournament include the Georgia Beverage Association, Kennesaw State University, Kids on Wheels Magazine, Resurgens Orthopaedics and Sportaid. For more information, visit the BlazeSports America website at www.blazesports.org.