BVA Tour Enters Agreement With Mikasa For Official Ball Sponsorship
10/17/2000
BVA Tour Enters Agreement With Mikasa For Official Ball Sponsorship
by Mike Kantor, BVA Marketing Services Director (858-486-8659, ext. 350)

POWAY, Calif. (October 17, 2000) --- Beach Volleyball America (BVA), the official national circuit for beach volleyball in the United States, announced today that MIKASA will continue as the Official Volleyball of the BVA Tour through the 2004 season in preparation for the Athens Olympic Games. Terms of the deal, which involves increased financial and product support, were not disclosed.

The patented MIKASA "Beach Champ" volleyball, with its distinctive tri-color design, will continue as the official ball of all BVA Tour events and BVA properties. MIKASA is also the official volleyball of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) World Tour, the official Olympic Qualification Tour for beach volleyball worldwide. The BVA's top ranked teams represent the United States on the FIVB World Tour and in major international and Olympic competitions.

MIKASA gained worldwide recognition in the recent 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, where the company provided the official game balls for the sports of beach volleyball, volleyball and water polo. Beach volleyball was one of the most popular sports in the 2000 Olympic Programme, attracting the attention of celebrities such as Chelsea Clinton, Bill Gates and IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. FIVB officials estimate crowd attendance at 20,000 per day for the duration of the beach volleyball competition.

"The BVA is the future of beach volleyball," said Richard L. McCoy, President of MIKASA SPORTS in Irvine, Calif. "The BVA Tour has produced exciting events with some of the best female beach volleyball athletes in the world, and has a serious plan of developing the United States athletes for Olympic competition. We're happy to continue our strong partnership with Beach Volleyball America as part of MIKASA's commitment to the sport of beach volleyball worldwide."

MIKASA is the official ball of the FIVB World Tour, and has provided official match equipment to the FIVB since 1964, including all indoor and beach volleyball Olympic competitions. Beach volleyball became an official Olympic sport at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In anticipation of the Games in Atlanta, MIKASA introduced the world's first tri-colored beach volleyball in 1994, developed in partnership with Dr. Ruben Acosta, President of the FIVB, with the intention of enhancing visibility for the athletes and spectators alike. Today, the MIKASA FIVB Olympic Beach Volleyball (Model "VLS200") is the best selling beach volleyball in the world, and is the ball of choice for all five continental confederations of the FIVB, governing over 218 national volleyball governing bodies worldwide.

The renewal of the MIKASA sponsorship for the 2001-2004 quadrennial reaffirms the BVA Tour's mission of developing U.S. athletes for major international and Olympic competition by providing them with an opportunity to compete on American soil in preparation for competition in major international and Olympic competitions.

"It's no surprise that we're working closely with MIKASA," said Charlie Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of the BVA Tour. "Besides the fact that they make high quality products, the MIKASA ball is the ball that will be used in international and Olympic competition and we want to be in synchronization with that."

Beach Volleyball America is the official U.S. women's professional organization for beach volleyball, as sanctioned by USA Volleyball, the sport's national governing body. The 2000 BVA Tour included seven tournaments offering over $500,000 in prize money. The top United States beach volleyball teams participated on the BVA Tour, including 2000 U.S. Olympians Annett Davis (Tarzana, Calif.)/Jennifer Johnson Jordan (Tarzana, Calif.) and Misty May (Costa Mesa, Calif.)/Holly McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). Other top-ranked United States athletes on the BVA Tour include former Olympians Liz Masakayan (San Diego, Calif.), Elaine Youngs (Encinitas, Calif.), Barbra Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), and BVA stars Lisa Arce (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Nancy Mason (Belleville, Ill.), Leanne Schuster (Mesa, Ariz.), Jennifer Meredith (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Stephanie Cox (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Katy Eldridge (Los Gatos, Calif.), Carrie Busch (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Ali Wood (Long Beach, Calif.), Danalee Bragado (Honolulu, Hi.), Karrie Poppinga (Honolulu, Hi.) and Rachel Wacholder (Laguna Beach, Calif.) among others.

MIKASA SPORTS in the United States is located in Irvine, Calif. and is the official North American distributor of the MIKASA brand athletic ball line in the United States, Canada and Mexico. MIKASA is proud of its strict worldwide efforts to regulate and monitor the highest ethical labor practices in the manufacturing of all athletic ball products.

In addition to MIKASA, the BVA Tour is sponsored by John Paul Mitchell Systems, SPEEDO, Oldsmobile, Jamba Juice, Outpost.com, and Volleyhut.com among other regional tour sponsors. The BVA Tour is televised on the Fox Sports Net to over 70 million viewers nationwide via the Fox Sports Net regional affiliates.

For further information on the BVA Tour, please contact Mike Kantor at (858) 486-8659, ext. 350, or via email at [email protected]. Detailed information on the BVA Tour is also available online at bvatour.com or www.volleycentral.com.

For further information on MIKASA, please contact Richard McCoy at (949) 863-1588 or via email at [email protected]. Detailed information on MIKASA and the Official Ball of the BVA Tour can be found online at www.MikasaSports.com.

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