Amputees to Show off Stand-Up Basketball Skills in Dallas Mavericks Halftime Show Jan. 6

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Amp1, a team of stand-up (not wheelchair) amputee basketball players will kick off a tour of the Dallas-Fort Worth area with an exhibition during the halftime show at the Dallas Mavericks/Oklahoma City Thunder game on Jan. 6th at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

The Amp1 team of stand-up basketball players will demonstrate how, with the help of modern high-tech prosthetics from Freedom Innovations, sheer determination and their love of the sport, they have overcome lower limb amputations.  

The exhibition is part of a four-day tour of the Dallas-Fort Worth area where Amp1 players, including co-founder Scott Odom, will speak to local schools and play a charity game against able-bodied players benefitting the P.L.A.Y. Foundation, a financial resource for amputees who want to excel in the arts, education or sports.

Odom, who has been an amputee since he was 14, is also introducing his new book, Stand Up: I Lost My Leg to Cancer, Not My Dream, which he wrote to inspire other amputees to put adversity behind them and follow their dreams – that they can overcome whatever challenges they face in life.    

Odom and his Amp1 teammates all wear the Renegade prosthetic foot, designed by Freedom Innovations especially for highly active amputees. It features Freedom's patented all carbon fiber Z-Shock Technology, providing a smooth and normal gait for running, jumping or just walking. One of the players also utilizes the Plie 2.0 MPC Knee, which combines cutting-edge microprocessor and hydraulic technologies to provide the responsive movements and stability required in basketball.

The Texas tour, highlighted by the Mavericks exhibition on Thursday, will begin on Wednesday with appearances at Shelton Middle School and, on Friday, at the A.M. Pate Elementary School including a surprise visit to a fourth-grade amputee. Events will conclude on Saturday with the P.L.A.Y. Foundation charity game and Scott Odom book launch party, which will take place beginning at 5 p.m. at the Hockaday School in Dallas.

Freedom Innovations, which sponsors the team, supports the Amp1 mission to inspire, motivate, educate and provide hope to adults and children facing their own challenges.

About Freedom Innovations

Freedom Innovations, LLC engineers, manufactures, and markets advanced technology prosthetic devices that provide people with physical challenges the ability to reach their full potential. Based in Irvine, CA, Freedom's lower-limb prosthetics are distributed around the world. For more information, visit www.freedom-innovations.com.

About Amp1 Basketball

Founded by two amputees looking for a place to play competitive stand-up basketball, Amp1 has now evolved into a league of athletes and the only organized stand-up basketball team. In its games and presentations, Amp1 members demonstrate that "all you need is courage, motivation, determination and the heart, not just limbs, to follow your dreams… anything is possible." Learn more at http://www.amp1basketball.com/

About P.L.A.Y. Foundation

P.L.A.Y. (Positive Living for Active Youth) was developed by an amputee to allow the dreams and desires of other amputees to come true. We are a financial resource to allow growth in the arts, education and sports. Learn more at www.playfoundation.net 

SOURCE Freedom Innovations