North American Beyblade Champion to be Determined in Texas
Houston winner to enter final frontier against other regional winners for ultimate BEYBLADE supremacy at Space Center Houston on Saturday March 20, 2004
(Los Angeles), Calif.- February 24 2004 -3-2-1-, and the competition blasts off as hundreds of BEYBLADE fans in the Houston area will battle it out for the title of BEYBLADE Battle Association (BBA) Blader Jam Champion as part of the North American BBA Blader Jam Finals, presented by Corus Entertainment's Nelvana Ltd. (TSE:CJR.B), (NYSE:CJR) and d-rights. The Houston winner will square off at Space Center Houston against the East Coast and West Coast regional winners for the title of North American BEYBLADE Champion, as well as representing the U.S.A. at the BBA World Championships to be held later this year!
BEYBLADE is a global toy phenomenon and one of the hottest toys last holiday season. Currently, there are more than 15 million BEYBLADE tops in kids' hands in the U.S. alone, hit video games published by Atari, and it continues to be a top- rated anime series on ABC Family! On Saturday, February 14, the series began airing during the new Jetix programming block on both ABC Family and Toon Disney
The North American Championship will rip at Space Center Houston on Saturday, March 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The competition will begin at 10:00 a.m. as Houston-area kids battle with their tops, tournament style, until one winner is declared. That lucky blader will move on to the finals to compete against the other regional champions, with a final battle against the East and West Coast Champions for the reigning title of North American BEYBLADE champion.
BBA Blader Jam Championships are open to competitors ages 8-14 years, and due to an overwhelming demand from the BEYBLADE fan base, an exclusive 15 & over competitors zone will be included in this tournament. "We are excited to bring the BBA championships to a city that recently held another huge sporting event of epic proportions," states Tracy Ewing, Vice President of Marketing, Nelvana. "We are thrilled there are so many bladers of all ages wanting to participate and we are looking forward to another intense tournament with some of the top bladers in North America."
"Customization and strategy in competition is what BEYBLADE is all about, and the Bladerjam Championship Events are the ultimate battleground for our young fans," said Samantha Lomow, Vice President of Marketing for Hasbro's BEYBLADE line. "We are looking forward to seeing their skill in action as one of them is crowned North American BEYBLADE champion."
In addition to the battle zone, competitors and spectators can check out the latest BEYBLADE offerings from Atari and Hasbro, practice in the Free Play Zone, get a BEYBLADE "tattoo," and purchase BEYBLADE merchandise. The tournament is sponsored by Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), and Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) with the support of ABC Family.
Please visit www.Beyblade.com for Official BBA Rules of Play, Parents Q&A, detailed ticketing and event information. PLEASE NOTE: We anticipate this event selling out very quickly. Please purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment.
WHAT: North American BEYBLADE Blader Jam Championships
WHEN: Saturday, March 20th, 2004 8:00 a.m. Doors open-tickets available for purchase 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tournament times 5:30 p.m. North American finals
WHERE: Space Center Houston 1601 NASA Road 1 Houston, TX 77058 281-244-2100
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS: The cost is $15 for competitors. Advance competitor tickets will be available at www.Beyblade.com or by calling Christa DiLeva at The Regan Group, 323-735-8700 x263. Tickets can be purchased in-person starting March 6th or at 8AM on the day of the event. There will be limited tickets available to eligible competitors on the day of the event. All spectator tickets can only be purchased on the day of the event.
About Nelvana Limited
Nelvana Limited is one of the world's leading international producers and distributors of children's programming and products. Nelvana is owned by Corus Entertainment, a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in both specialty TV and Radio. The company's other interests include music, television broadcasting and advertising services. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) and New York (CJR) Exchanges. Corus' website can be found at www.corusentertainment.com.
About d-rights Inc.
d-rights is a 100% owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation handling entertainment content for a variety of media and currently focusing on production and licensing of animation. Mitsubishi Corporation is the world's biggest general trading company, whose turnover is US $110 billion and net profit is US $0.8 billion. d-rights is the company that produced and owns the animated series BEYBLADE and is taking care of all licensing related to the property.
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driver(tm), Enter the Matrix(tm), Neverwinter Nights(tm), Stuntman(tm), Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2003, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard Sports(tm), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(tm) and Dora the Explorer(tm), Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
(Los Angeles), Calif.- February 24 2004 -3-2-1-, and the competition blasts off as hundreds of BEYBLADE fans in the Houston area will battle it out for the title of BEYBLADE Battle Association (BBA) Blader Jam Champion as part of the North American BBA Blader Jam Finals, presented by Corus Entertainment's Nelvana Ltd. (TSE:CJR.B), (NYSE:CJR) and d-rights. The Houston winner will square off at Space Center Houston against the East Coast and West Coast regional winners for the title of North American BEYBLADE Champion, as well as representing the U.S.A. at the BBA World Championships to be held later this year!
BEYBLADE is a global toy phenomenon and one of the hottest toys last holiday season. Currently, there are more than 15 million BEYBLADE tops in kids' hands in the U.S. alone, hit video games published by Atari, and it continues to be a top- rated anime series on ABC Family! On Saturday, February 14, the series began airing during the new Jetix programming block on both ABC Family and Toon Disney
The North American Championship will rip at Space Center Houston on Saturday, March 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The competition will begin at 10:00 a.m. as Houston-area kids battle with their tops, tournament style, until one winner is declared. That lucky blader will move on to the finals to compete against the other regional champions, with a final battle against the East and West Coast Champions for the reigning title of North American BEYBLADE champion.
BBA Blader Jam Championships are open to competitors ages 8-14 years, and due to an overwhelming demand from the BEYBLADE fan base, an exclusive 15 & over competitors zone will be included in this tournament. "We are excited to bring the BBA championships to a city that recently held another huge sporting event of epic proportions," states Tracy Ewing, Vice President of Marketing, Nelvana. "We are thrilled there are so many bladers of all ages wanting to participate and we are looking forward to another intense tournament with some of the top bladers in North America."
"Customization and strategy in competition is what BEYBLADE is all about, and the Bladerjam Championship Events are the ultimate battleground for our young fans," said Samantha Lomow, Vice President of Marketing for Hasbro's BEYBLADE line. "We are looking forward to seeing their skill in action as one of them is crowned North American BEYBLADE champion."
In addition to the battle zone, competitors and spectators can check out the latest BEYBLADE offerings from Atari and Hasbro, practice in the Free Play Zone, get a BEYBLADE "tattoo," and purchase BEYBLADE merchandise. The tournament is sponsored by Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), and Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) with the support of ABC Family.
Please visit www.Beyblade.com for Official BBA Rules of Play, Parents Q&A, detailed ticketing and event information. PLEASE NOTE: We anticipate this event selling out very quickly. Please purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment.
WHAT: North American BEYBLADE Blader Jam Championships
WHEN: Saturday, March 20th, 2004 8:00 a.m. Doors open-tickets available for purchase 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tournament times 5:30 p.m. North American finals
WHERE: Space Center Houston 1601 NASA Road 1 Houston, TX 77058 281-244-2100
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS: The cost is $15 for competitors. Advance competitor tickets will be available at www.Beyblade.com or by calling Christa DiLeva at The Regan Group, 323-735-8700 x263. Tickets can be purchased in-person starting March 6th or at 8AM on the day of the event. There will be limited tickets available to eligible competitors on the day of the event. All spectator tickets can only be purchased on the day of the event.
About Nelvana Limited
Nelvana Limited is one of the world's leading international producers and distributors of children's programming and products. Nelvana is owned by Corus Entertainment, a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in both specialty TV and Radio. The company's other interests include music, television broadcasting and advertising services. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) and New York (CJR) Exchanges. Corus' website can be found at www.corusentertainment.com.
About d-rights Inc.
d-rights is a 100% owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation handling entertainment content for a variety of media and currently focusing on production and licensing of animation. Mitsubishi Corporation is the world's biggest general trading company, whose turnover is US $110 billion and net profit is US $0.8 billion. d-rights is the company that produced and owns the animated series BEYBLADE and is taking care of all licensing related to the property.
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driver(tm), Enter the Matrix(tm), Neverwinter Nights(tm), Stuntman(tm), Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2003, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard Sports(tm), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(tm) and Dora the Explorer(tm), Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
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