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NATIONAL \ 1:;1 I WHIILCH .. IR IAlKnlALL fV\A.. ASSOCIATION OfFICIO' THI OAK ST • • STADIUM DR COM ..ISSIONI .. NEWSLETTER CHAMPAIGN. ILL 11110 VOLUME IX NOVEMBER 26, 1969 lUW!R I GREETINGS! The Commissioner's Office sends greetings to all teams, players, coaches, Conferences, Conference executives snd officials 8S the N.W.B.A. embarks on its 22nd season of competition. We look forward to another successful year in com~ petition snd continued growth of the sport througho~t the nation. ************** NEW TEAMS We have received information that no less than five new te8~B are currently being establiahed at colleges and universities in this country. The University of Washington in Seattle has organized a team which will play in the Northwest Conference in 1969-70. From the opposite coast we have had official word that Hofstra University will field a team which will play an exhibition schedule this sesson and enter the Eastern Conference in 1970. At Harshall. Hinnesota. a team has been formed by students at Southwest Minnesota State College and they are now playing games. Two other schools -- Wayne State University in Detroit snd Univer sity of Oklahoma at Norman, Oklahoma -- have sought information with the intention of establishing teams. New teams are alao kn~to be organized and playing against other wheelchair teams in Minneapolis, which met Des Moine. Rosdrunners twice last season; in San Jose, California which has scheduled games against Pacific Coast Conference teams last season and this; in Denver where a second team ia playing regularly against the older established Cowboys; and in Memphis. Tennessee. where a newly organized team is hoping to schedule exhibition games against all Southern Con~erence teemS this season. Congratulations to all these tesms! We wish you success as your plans materialize. ***************************************** NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCES NORTmEST CONFERENCE EXPANDING The Northwest Conference reports the addition of one team to its schedule this year. The University of Washington at Seattle will enter a team nick-naced the "Chargers". The Chargers were organized largely through the efforts of Steve Chess, former Illinois Gizz Kid and Seattle Flyer and currently president of the Northwest Conference. Continuing in Conference play will be the Seattle CWeah.) Plyers, U. of Washington Chargers, Tacoma CWash.) Wheels and Vancouver (B.C.) Powerglides. Another team in the Vancouver area is in the proces8 of formation and effort s are underway to include that team in next season 's schedule. -2- MllMEST CONFERENCE ADDS AN 1I0LDtI TEAM The Hidwest Conference, with the addition of St. Louis, will now have five teams: Illinois (Onlv.) Gizz Kids, Champaign-Urbana (Ill.) Black Knights, Kansas City (Kansas) Pioneers, Des Moines (la.) Roadrunners and St. Louis ~o.) Rams. The St. Louis Rams, one of the N.W.B .A. 's oldest teams have re-entered the Midwest Conference after a season of play in the Southern Conference . The Rams, under new sponsorship and management have reactivated several of their former players and will be coached by Jim Greenblatt, whom many of you will remember as an outstanding performer for the Rams for msny years. PACIFIC COAST CONFERENCE STRONG WITH POUR TEAMS The Pacific Coast Conference will have four teams again this season. The 1969~70 Conference schedule indicates that the Lakewood team is now the Los An· geles Stars. All other teams remain the same as last season: Orange County Bears. Long Beach Flying Wheels and San Fernando Valley Hawks, along with the Stars. MID-AMERICA CONFERENCE SET WITH FOUR TEAMS The Mid-America Conference will operate as a four team conference this year. The tHlmington (Ohio) Sternwheelers have suspended play in the Conference as a result of a loss of personnel. The Conference will line up with four strong teams contending for the championship: Chicago SideWinders, Detroit Sparks, Indianapolia Olympians. and Cleveland Comets. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE DOWN TO THREE TEAMS The Southern Conference approved the release of the St. Louis Rams to play in the Midwest Conference this season and approved the withdrawal of the Miami Broken Spokes who bad reported a serious shortage of players. Efforts are being made to introduce a team playing in Memphis into the Conference next aeason by playing a full schedule of exhibition games with them in 1969-70 . Nashville WheelcatB, Chattanooga Big Hheels and Atlanta Rolling 'Recks will line up in the Southern Conference. ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ALL • JACK LEONARD LEAVES DETROIT The Detroit Sparks bade a fond farewell to their fine coach and leader Jack Leonard this past August. Jack and his family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. The Sparks will certainly miss Jack as it was he who founded the team and built it into a model organization over a period of seven years. Jack ' s new address is 1726 63rd Avenue, St. Petersburg, Florida. We wish him every success in his new location, hoping he will continue to participate actively in wheelchair sports in that area. U.S. PAN AM TEAM TO ARGENTINA Good luck to all members of the U.S. Pan American Paraplegic Games Team. Ben Lipton has announced that a contingent of 46 men and women athletes will com~ pete with teams from more than 10 nations in the Western Hemisphere. The gamel are scheduled for Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 29 to December 8, 1969. -)- Th~ U.S. 7ea:n will visit Rio de Janeiro for several days before arriving back in the U.S. on December 14. He look for the U.S. athletes to bring back a horde of medals including the b.:lske tball crown. ROGER DAVIS JOINS INDIANAPOLIS OLYMPIANS Ua~hville Wheelcats of the Southern Conference have lost an outstanding player ..:n ~d tc£;:]. leader in Roger Davis who has been transferred by his company to Northern Kcnt,-:c:.cy. P.oger has decided to play this season with the Indianapolis Olympians oi the 1:Lid~f,:>! erica Conference, commuting the 150 mile distance for practices and gan:;es by car. ISRAEL wrns 1969 INTERNATIONAL TITLE Inracl retained the basketball championship in the annual Stoke-Handcville Game3 held in England in August of this year. The Israelis edged the undefeated U.S. tca~ in the semi~finals and took the title with a convincing win over a sur prisingly strong team representing France. On the U.S . roster were Denver Branum, of Detroit Sparks, Tony Levis of Philadelphia Easter Seal Paranauts, Alonzo Wilkins ar.d Xavier Paz of Bulova Watchmakers, Roman Ariel of Brooklyn Hhirlaways, Norm UcGcc of lianhville Wheelcats, ~.j'ayne Gablin of Chicago Sidewinders, Dave Williamson of SouthCrll Illinois University and Kim Pollock and Joe Arcese of Illinois Gizz Kids. ATTENT ION ALL CONFERENCE OFFICERS AND TEAM REPRESENTATIVES! All tec~s and Conferences should be 1n the process now of giving attention to tile! £ol1o;.;1og details: (1) Photographs of teams and key individuals should be in the process now £o~ U3e throughout the season and in preparation for Tournament promotion. (2) Player biographies and t eam histories should be compiled for use during the sencon and in preparation for the National Tourney. (3) Official Team Roster Forms should be completed in full and submitted nccording to instructions on the reverse side of the front cover of the pad. Dead line dcte is December 1. (/~) Off:l.c:ial Player Application and Certification Forms for new players nhould be prcperly completed and processed as indicated on the reverse side of the front cover of the pad. Particular attention to this is di rected to all ~ ~. (5) Annua l dues of $25.00 per team should be sent to the Treasurer, Wally Petro, cia Office of the CommiSSioner, Box 100, Rehabilitation~Education Center, Oak Street and Stadium Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820 . Wally will be away from. his home address for several weeks in November and December so dues should be chan neled through the Commissioner's Office. (6) Gi'.HE REFORT FORMS. A game report form should be sent immediately follow ir:3 every g~me. by the home team, to the respective conference office and to the Office of the Commissioner. Detailed instructions will be found on the inside of the Gace Report Form cover. Each team should have the special sized envelopes for the ~1mes Report Form, pre-addressed to the Office of the Commissioner and the ap propriate Conference. It is impossible for the Office of the Commissioner to get -4- out the weekly newsletter with game results, conference standings, interesting sta tistics snd highlights unless the Game Report Forms are properly handled by each team following each game. CONFERENCE ALT...~STAR TEAMS TO BE ANNOUNCED Announcement of the 1968~69 Conference All-Star Teams and Award winners has been received from the Mid-America and Midwest Conferences. We plan to publish these In upcoming Newsletters snd would like to include the same for other Con ferences. Those Conferences that have selected teamS and award winners for last season are requested to send the information to the Commissioncrls Office. MASTER SCHEDULES AND LISTINGS BEING COMPILED We are in the process of compiling copies of the 1969- 70 NWBA master schedules and a listing of all team representatives and Conference Officers to be distributed to all team representatives, coaches, officials and Conference and Executive Offi cers. To date we have received schedules and listings from the Eastern, Hid-America, Midwest. Southern, Pacific Coast and Nortrnlest Conferences. Still to submit 8 s:::bedule and listing is the Uid-Atlllntic Conference. We ask that the Conference officers submit their schedule and listings as soon as possible. EARLY SEASON SCORES EASTERN CONFERENCE November 3 Bulova 58, EPVA 17 llovember 9 Bulova 62, Central Penn 27 I1ID-ATLANTIC CONFERENCE November 1 Philadelphia 91, Central Penn 20 November 11 New Jersey 44, EPVA 29 November 15 Montco 51, Central Penn 37 MID-AMERICA CONFERENCE Novet:lber 15 Detroit 57, Indianapolis 51 Nove:':1.h er 16 Detroit 75, Indianapolis 63 .