Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain, Visit Lake Norman Sports Marketing Manager Travis Dancy, NWBA business development executive Colin Chura and Heather Valeri, owner of Flair Creative Group in Huntersville, were recognized by Bryant.

“The success of the International Tournament of Champions is due to the dedication, hard work and expertise of these individuals,” Bryant said. “They played a vital role in the planning of this event.”

The tournament was held Aug. 7-14 at a variety of venues across the Lake Norman region, including public school gymnasiums in Huntersville and Cornelius as well as the Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatics Center. Teams from Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and the Netherlands challenged the Americans, but in the end, it was the USA Women and the USA Blue Men teams who won their division championships.

The NWBA was founded in 1948 by World War II veterans who returned from the war with a variety of disabilities. Today, the league consists of men’s, women’s, intercollegiate and youth teams in both the U.S. and Canada totaling more than 200 teams. For more information, visit www.nwba.org.