POSTED ON 9/8/10 | Sport Court® will become an official Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Partner in Development at a signing ceremony on Wednesday, September 8th at the 2010 World Congress in Rome, Italy.
“The FIVB Development Fund was established to satisfy the needs of less developed national federations with projects and to assist the FIVB Continental Confederations with their development priorities,” said Mr Jizhong Wei, President of FIVB. “The support offered by FIVB and its partners, such as Sport Court allows developing countries to receive qualified instructors, manuals and volleyball equipment, many of which are things these countries would never have the means to provide for themselves.”
This long-awaited partnership was incited by FIVB President Mr Jizhong Wei as a way to help volleyball grow in the world’s developing nations. “Sport Court is committed to the growth and development of volleyball internationally, and we are proud that our affiliations as the official playing surface of USA Volleyball and the NORCECA region of FIVB made this partnership with FIVB possible,” said Ron Cerny, President and CEO of Connor Sport Court International, parent company of Sport Court.
For many developing countries, indoor climate-controlled gyms don’t exist and sports such as volleyball are played on outdoor concrete or asphalt courts, both of which can be very hard on athletes’ shins, lower back joints when playing volleyball.
As a FIVB Development Partner, Sport Court will be installing its new surface product SportBase™ as an alternative to the concrete courts these developing countries are currently playing volleyball on. The new product will dramatically improve shock absorption and safety for their volleyball players, while being environmentally-responsible.
“We are excited that FIVB has chosen Sport Court to be a Development Partner, and we look forward to working together in the continued advancement and promotion of volleyball around the world,” said Cerny. “With SportBase™ we are taking indoor gym performance to outdoor courts and providing unprecedented levels of safety and shock absorption to outdoor facilities.”
He added that Sport Court has been the world’s leader in outdoor courts for decades. The surfaces have been approved for outdoor competition by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) since 1994, International Handball Federation (IHF) since 1999, as well as other sporting federations.
Sport Court has been the official volleyball Court of USA Volleyball since 1989 and all USA National Team games, US Open and Junior National Championships in the USA have been played on Sport Court volleyball courts since then. NORCECA, a member of the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) has used the Sport Court surfaces successfully since 1991.
About FIVB 2010 World Congress
As FIVB's basic platform and comprising all affiliated National Federations, the World Congress is the supreme authority. Convened every two years, the Congress elects the President and members of the Board. The FIVB President is personally accountable before the Congress and the Board of Administration whose decisions he is responsible for executing and is supported by the General Manager and the Executive Committee members.
The venue for the 2010 FIVB World Congress will be the Rome Marriott Park Hotel, Italy.
