Title
To honor and recognize Cornelius Oatis, Marck Harrison, Jimmy Miranda, and Keaira Wilkey of the Columbus Jack Attack Boccia Team as medal winners at the 2013 Paralympic National Boccia Tournament.
Body
WHEREAS, these local athletes are members of the Columbus Paralympic Sport Club, part of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, which assists athletes with disabilities in their pursuit to compete at the next level in a variety of sports for people with disabilities, such as boccia, power soccer, swimming, wheelchair basketball and football, quad rugby, and goalball; and
WHEREAS, Boccia is a bocce ball-like activity that was introduced as a competitive sport at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York and is practiced in more than 50 countries, competition for which is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and the International Paralympic Committee; and
WHEREAS, these athletes play on the Columbus Jack Attack, which, due to the players' efforts and excellence in play, have become one of the premier boccia teams in the country and is recognized internationally for its elite players; and
WHEREAS, these athletes competed at the 2013 Paralympic National Boccia Tournament, held at Michigan State University on May 15-19, which serves as a deciding factor for entry to the US Boccia Team to compete internationally; and
WHEREAS, all four were medal winners at the Tournament - Wilkey with a gold medal in team play, Miranda with a bronze in pairs play, and Oatis and Harrison winning silver in individual match-ups; and
WHEREAS, Oatis and Harrison, two of the best American players and currently ranked 67th and 58th in the world by BISFed, respectively, have been selected to join the USA National Boccia Team and compete in the America's Cup International Boccia competition being held in Kansas City, Kansas on August 2-9, 2013; and
WHEREAS, all four of these athletes represent the best of Columbus and we are proud to have them representing us on the national stage of competitive boccia; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council honors and recognizes Cornelius Oatis, Marck Harrison, Jimmy Miranda, and Keaira Wilkey of the Columbus Jack Attack Boccia Team as medal winners at the 2013 Paralympic National Boccia Tournament and wishes them the best in representing Columbus and the United States in future competitions.