Contact: Jenni Brockman St. Margaret's School recently conducted its annual "Hoops For Heart" competition on Monday, February 21 in the school gymnasium. Ten 3-person teams and eighteen individuals put their basketball skills on display to raise money and increase community awareness of the need to support the fight against heart disease. Hoops For Heart is a program sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA) in order to fund critical research and educational programs about heart disease and stroke, promote healthy activities for school-age children, and educate young people about the serious threat posed by heart disease. AHA encourages individuals to live a healthy lifestyle by eating foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol content, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco use and controlling high blood pressure. The Hoops For Heart program is one of the AHA's primary means of conveying this message to students throughout the country. Hoops For Heart participants may compete in either (or both) of two divisions: "Hot Shot Blitz" and 3-on-3 team competition. Hot Shot Blitz is a shooting competition, won by the participant scoring the greatest number of points shooting from various "spots" marked on the court. Participants are awarded points (from 1-5), based on the level of difficulty, for shots made from the various spots. Contestants are allowed a total of one minute to attempt shots from all of the marked spots. Athletes are paired and compete against each other in "single-elimination" contests with the two participants shooting simultaneously, at opposite ends of the gym. The contestant with the highest score wins the round and advances to the next round of the event. The elimination process continues until only one pair of contestants remains and a winner is established in the final round. Year 2000 Hoops For Heart Hot Shot Blitz participants were: Brittany Alexander,
Tonia Arsala, Kristina Bethea, Dwann Cutler, Shannon Davis, Britt Erwin,
Catherine Farland, Sara Newman, Ann Kramer Osburn, Mary Burke Parker,
Maryama Tagoe, and Alison Wasserman. Sophomore Maryama Tagoe won the competition with an impressive final round score of 24 points. As an extra attraction, SMS staff basketball aficionados, Roger Golden and Hollis Duncan staged an exhibition Hot Shot Blitz shootout. Golden, a member of the school's maintenance staff, lost, 15-19, to publications staff member, Duncan. Crystal Webb and Olivia Dix served as scorers for the competition. The faculty team "Hoopin' It Real" played the student powerhouse squad "Team 10" in the 3-on-3 team competition. Team 10 featured varsity basketball players Kristina Bethea and Dwann Cutler along with sophomore Tonia Arsala. The Hoopin' It Real team was comprised of Duncan, Clarissa Roberts (SMS geography teacher and soccer/cross country coach), and Sue Saunders (SMS Athletic Director, physical education teacher and basketball/softball coach). The faculty team fell behind early as Team 10 gained the lead. Late in the game the faculty staged a comeback, hitting consecutive three-point baskets to close within 2 points with less than one minute remaining. Spreading the floor, Team 10 held on to win the contest, 10-8. "Both events were a lot of fun and it was nice to see the whole school community join in the fun," said Tonia Arsala. "Hoops For Heart was a great time for students to put together teams and engage in friendly competition to raise money for the American Heart Association. Even though my team lost in the [3-on-3] semifinals, I was happy to be a
part of the event and to beat the Aylett Patriots team…which was our team's main goal," added Sara Newman, a graduate of Chesapeake Academy. Athletic Director Sue Saunders summed it all up by saying, "The students and the American Heart Association were the real winners today…we look forward to raising money and awareness again next year."
Telephone: 804-443-3357(w/h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Raises Funds for the American Heart Association
Year 2000 Hoops For Heart Participants - St. Margaret's English teacher, Kary Fronk (l.), and athletic director, Sue Saunders.
