Two teams battle it out to see who will become grand champions at the Human Foosball Tournament. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
Local non-profit Xtraordinary Joy led a human foosball tournament Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church to raise awareness of a rare chromosome disorder.
Amy Meacham, the founder of Xtraordinary Joy, and her husband, adopted two-year-old Moriah Joy Meacham in 2014, not knowing the journey they were about to take. Moriah was diagnosed with an extremely rare X-chromosome deletion disorder, which means that there are 46 missing genes in her X-chromosome.
Meacham decided to make a change. She founded Xtraordinary Joy to fund research for these unstudied disorders in hopes that one day there will be an understanding of how to treat it.
“It’s really been eye opening to see how many families in Alachua County that have children with rare, unstudied disorders like Moriah’s with a chunk of DNA missing,” Meacham said.
The Gator Women’s Soccer team participated in the tournament as “The Fairies,” and won the tournament after facing 27 other teams.
Moriah Joy Meacham’s brother, Isaac Meacham, plays an intense game of foosball with his friends. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
From left to right, Gator Women’s Soccer players Mayra Pelayo, Sara Wilson and Rachelle Smith enjoy their game. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
Two-year-old Moriah Joy Meacham plays with paint underneath the shade at the tournament. According to Amy Meacham, painting is one of her favorite activities. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
14-year-olds Devyn Boyett and Jason Meyerhofl sport their team’s tie dye shirts as they compete in the tournament. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
Moriah Joy’s mother, Amy Meacham, calls out the winners of the day’s raffle prizes. “We really like to fund the research in fun, joyous ways,” said Meacham. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
Two teams battle it out to see who will become the grand champions at the Human Foosball Tournament. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)
Team Fairies celebrates their tournament win by throwing confetti in the air. The team was comprised of Gator Women’s Soccer players. (Morgan Johnson/WUFT News)