The Junior National Championship, a sports and exercise program for children and teens with bleeding disorders presented by the National Hemophilia Foundation and ZLB Behring, announces regional winners from its competition in Albany, NY on September 23.
At the event last weekend, history was made—a girl won the baseball competition—the first time a girl has won at any regional championship since the Junior National Championships were first held five years ago.
BASEBALL
- Brianna Blazavich, Endicott, NY; 14. Brianna has von Willebrand disease. Brianna started playing softball at 9 years old. She plays shortstop and pitcher for her school and was voted MVP in 2005. Brianna is the first girl to win a regional championship in either sport.
GOLF
- Colby Jordan, Cohose, NY, 13. Colby has mild hemophilia A.
The teens and their parents won all-expense paid trips to NHF’s 58th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, on October 12-14, 2006. There they will be joined by the regional winners from the competitions held in August in Indianapolis, IN and Portland, OR; and from the final competition, which will be held September 30 in San Diego, CA.
At the Annual Meeting, the Junior National Champion in Baseball and Golf will be announced. The player with the highest score in baseball will receive a ZLB Behring bat bag with a bat, glove and baseball hat. The player with the lowest score in golf will win a ZLB Behring golf bag with a set of golf irons.
The regional championships afford children and teens with bleeding disorders who are between the ages of 7 and 18 the opportunity to meet professional athletes with bleeding disorders, receive coaching tips and compete for prizes.
PGA golf professional Perry Parker and semi-professional baseball player Jesse Schrader are conducting the sports clinics. Perry has mild hemophilia A (factor VIII deficiency); Jesse has moderate hemophilia A.
To sign up for the final JNC championship of the season on September 30, 2006 in San Diego, CA, contact: Teresa Ramirez, teresa@hasdc.org or 619.325.3570