Record 200 SONC athletes will be in attendance

Event:                                Charlotte Bobcats Basketball Clinic for Special Olympics North Carolina Athletes

Date &Time:                         Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2013

                                             Media Availability: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Location:                         Time Warner Cable Arena,  Presbyterian Hospital Training Center (Practice Court),  333 East Trade Street,                           Charlotte, N.C. 28202

**Media attending the clinic should enter through the employee/media entrance on the Fifth Street side of Time Warner Cable Arena and proceed to the practice court.

Description:               For a ninth straight year, the Charlotte Bobcats will host a basketball clinic for more than 200 Special Olympics athletes from across North Carolina.  After enjoying lunch at Lowe’s Home Court, courtesy of Bojangle’s Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, the athletes will join the entire Bobcats team on the practice court to learn basketball tips from the pros.  Rotating through six different stations, the athletes will develop their dribbling, passing, shooting, defensive and rebounding skills.

The 208 Special Olympics North Carolina athletes attending the clinic will represent the following local programs: Brunswick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Forsyth, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Moore, Rowan, Stanley, Surry and Lincoln.  The attending athletes are currently practicing for the upcoming state-level competition- the 2013 Special Olympics North Carolina Basketball & Cheerleading Tournament, March 9 in Charlotte, Matthews and Indian Trail and March 16 in Johnston County (Kenly, Micro, Selma and Smithfield).

The NBA and Special Olympics just teamed up during the 2013 NBA All- Star Weekend, Feb. 16-17 in Houston, TX.  Twelve Special Olympics athletes from all over the world competed against NBA and WNBA players and legends in the NBA Cares/ Special Olympics Unified Sports Basketball Game. Krystle Bailey of Charlotte represented North Carolina in the Unified Sports Game and will attend the Bobcats clinic.

**Photos of the event will be available after the event on the Special Olympics NC flickr page.

On-site Contacts:       BJ Evans, Bobcats Vice President, Communications (704) 688-8865

                    Susan Doggett, Special Olympics NC Development Director, (704) 301-1253

About Special Olympic North Carolina
Special Olympics North Carolina offers year-round sports training and competition for more than 38,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. These athletes inspire greatness through their success and provide motivation to the thousands of coaches, sports officials, local program committee members and event organizers involved in Special Olympics statewide. SONC offers Olympic-type competition in 19 sports on local and state levels. Visit Special Olympics North Carolina at www.specialolympicsnc.com. Engage with us on http://twitter.com/sonc_beafan; http://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsNC and http://www.youtube.com/BeAFanSONC.