(Knoxville, TN) The Visit Knoxville Sports Commission is proud to announce that the ParaLong Drive Cup golf competition will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on July 11th. The competition will take place at the Mack and Jonnie Day Golf Facility featuring athletes that have overcome amputation, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, traumatic brain injury, and other impairments to step outside the original boundaries of golf.
The competition does not solely plant its roots in Knoxville, TN, but “the Volunteer State has produced many of the top stars in the sport- Jared Brentz (Knoxville), Tyler Bunn (Knoxville), Chris Osborne (Morristown), Kenny Green (Smyrna), Jordan Thomas (Chattanooga), and Dean Jarvis (Maryville),” says Cup Founder Dean Jarvis. “We welcome the community and encourage them to attend to see the amazing athletes overcoming obstacles and challenging the expectations of human performance.”
“This will be an amazing day on the tee box for the athletes as well as the spectators,” says Chad Culver, Senior Director for the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission.
Beginning in July of 2013, the event was created “with arm and leg amputee competitors and exhibitions by blind golf national champion, David Meador, and teen prosthetic inventor, Easton LaChappelle,” says Jarvis. The sport also possesses a unique mission and purpose: Jarvis explains, “The ParaLong Drive Cup is an upbeat, fast tempo, golf-related competition. It inherently solves many accessibility issues that enable a much wider range of athletes to participate in a facet of golf.”
The Cup hosts a diverse pool of athletes coming from various disabled golf associations and alliances such as National Amputee Golf Association, Salute Military Golf Association, Stand Up and Play Foundation, Operation Homeland Honor, North American One Armed Golfers Association, and United States Adaptive Golf Alliance. More history and details of the event can be found at www.amputeelongdrivechampionship.com
Schedule of Events:
9:15am - Opening Remarks
9:20am - Ceremonial 1st Ball
9:25am - Competition Begins
Free to the public.
Visit Knoxville (Knoxville Convention and Visitors Bureau) is the official CVB for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. Visit Knoxville is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, private company that works together with the community, business leaders and local and state government to further develop Knoxville as a premier leisure, meetings and travel destination
