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Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) Announces First Annual Power Soccer Fundraiser Bay Cruisers, The Power Soccer Wheelchair Team Of Northern California Open Their Doors For A Night Of No-Limit Texas Holdem Poker.

Spenger's Grotto will be transformed into a Vegas-style casino, complete with dealers, poker tables, entertainment, prizes and special guests. The Poker Slam is open to the public and can accommodate nearly 150 players. For a $100 donation, each player receives a sumptuous dinner, a seat at one of the many tables and the opportunity to compete for donated prizes. The grand prize is a paid vacation to Las Vegas.

Turn poker chips into gold and help athletes with disabilities. Shawna Mitchell, from CBS' Survivor series will be hosting this night of excitement and fun.

This texas holdem poker tournament is the first of what will be an annual event. Poker Slam, is intended to raise money for the Bay Cruisers, BORP's power soccer team. The Cruisers are part of a multinational team sports consortium designed for persons with severe mobility disabilities. The players, ranging in age from 10 to 60, are spirited, competitive, enormously talented and skilled. They recently played in the 2004 Power Soccer World Invitational in Indianapolis. While not winning the tournament, the team had the chance to meet and play teams from Japan, France and across the United States.

Power Soccer is a unique sport, designed to provide recreation and physical fitness to people in power wheelchairs. Power soccer athletes have a variety of conditions or disabilities that require them to use motorized wheelchairs for mobility. For instance, the Bay Cruiser's team consists of players with cerebral palsy, emphysema, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. There is no other sport that is designed to incorporate power wheelchairs with team participation.

BORP was founded in 1976 by and for people with disabilities to create access to the outdoors, fitness, sports and recreation for a population who'd previously been left out. In the 1970s, there were simply no recreation programs in California established specifically for people with disabilities. BORP initiated a wide variety of sports, outdoor adventure, and family outings programs that were the first of their kind in the state. Every October, BORP's annual fundraiser, The Revolution in the Vineyards celebrates the beauties of cycling, the joys of wine, the pleasure of eating and drinking with friends and the accomplishments, determination and achievements of disabled athletes.