High school basketball players will spend a day shooting hoops in scrimmage games, while the event organizers hope the players will score big time by helping to inform the community about prematurity awareness. The 3rd annual Shelby Zoe Smith Hoops for Preemies is Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Webb School of Knoxville.

The event features two scrimmage games each hour. Donations will benefit the private-room Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The University of Tennessee Medical Center. The NICU staff members care for approximately 800 premature and critically ill babies every year. The event is named for Shelby Zoe Smith, who was born three months premature in October 2006 and spent the first 100 days of her life in the NICU at UT Medical Center.

“After the premature birth of Shelby, our family is so fortunate to have a healthy little girl, and we just want to raise prematurity awareness and be able to give back to the community,” said Seth Smith, Shelby’s father. Smith and his wife, Millicent, created Hoops for Preemies in 2007. “It is incredibly important for people wanting to have a baby to be aware of the causes of premature birth. We actually had no idea about some potential warning signs when Millicent was pregnant with Shelby.”

Staff members from UT Medical Center’s NICU and Center for Women & Children’s Health will be on hand providing information about prematurity. Some key facts to be aware of include:

• Prematurity is the leading cause of infant death
• One in eight babies is born prematurely in the United States
• In Tennessee, the prematurity rate is one in seven babies

While many premature births, like Shelby’s, may not be preventable, there are several causes of prematurity that are known. These causes include poor maternal health, smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy and lack of prenatal care. The Smith family wants every family to know the information that can help lead to lower incidences of premature births.

“We just want as many families as possible to deliver happy, healthy babies,” Smith said. “Shelby had many challenges while she was in the NICU, and it was a challenging time. We’re so thankful for the care and compassion provided by the nurses, doctors and other staff members at UT Medical Center and we want to do everything we can to help provide donations to the NICU to assist them in their care of premature babies. We hope everyone comes out for a good day of basketball that benefits an outstanding medical team.”

High schools participating in Hoops for Preemies this year include Carter, Cleveland, Fulton, Karns, Maryville, Meigs County, Science Hill and Webb. The schedule for games is as follows:

At Lee Athletic Center 

• 9 a.m. – Webb vs. Cleveland (girls)
• 10 a.m. – Karns vs. Fulton (boys)
• 11 a.m. – Webb vs. Maryville (girls)
• Noon – Webb vs. Carter (boys)
• 1 p.m. – Fulton vs. Karns (girls)
• 2 p.m. – Science Hill vs. Webb (boys)

At Upper School Gym

• 9 a.m. – Karns vs. Carter (boys)
• 10 a.m. – Cleveland vs. Fulton (girls)
• 11 a.m. – Fulton vs. Science Hill (boys)
• Noon – Meigs County vs. Karns (girls)
• 1 p.m. – Meigs County vs. Maryville (girls)