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Cincinnati, OH,
November 19, 2007 – The Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout began as a dream of Bob Rachal, who coached the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves during the 1977-78 season. Realizing the NCAA rules did not cover games played outside the contiguous 48 states, he organized a basketball tournament that has not only become a prestigious venue for pre-season basketball but helped place the fledgling UAA basketball team on the map. Rachal died of cancer in 1985 but his legacy remains a feature attraction for roundball fans nationwide. The “Shootout” holds the distinction of being the longest-running, pre-season Division I basketball tournament in the nation. Eight men’s and four women’s collegiate teams battle it out in Anchorage during the Thanksgiving weekend. Over the 29 year history of the tournament, the men's tournament field has included at least one team which would eventually qualify for the NCAA Division I tournament later in the season. The 1985 field included an event record six teams that would go on to be invited to the NCAA tournament. Five times the tournament field has included the defending NCAA Champion. The 2007 men's tournament (scheduled for November 20 through November 24) will feature Butler, Gonzaga, Michigan, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, and the host school, Alaska Anchorage. Bradley, Cleveland State, Santa Clara and defending champion Alaska Anchorage will comprise the 2007 women's field and will be played November 20 through 21, 2007. Thanks to Alaskan Industries, Robbins Authorized Dealer in Alaska and the surrounding area, the three venues hosting the “Shootout” all feature Robbins maple basketball floors. • Sullivan Arena - Robbins All-Star Portable basketball floor • Buckner Fieldhouse - Robbins Sportwood® Ultra Star • Wells Fargo Arena: Robbins Bio-Channel® Classic (with Sportwood® maple) Alaskan Industries, Inc. is operated by Jim Bagley and his wife Jamie. Jim is a lifelong Alaskan, while Jamie is a second generation Alaskan resident. Scott Weber, a 20 year veteran with Alaskan Industries, Inc. was the project manager for the installation of the Wells Fargo Arena project recently completed. According to Bagley, “Our main focus is now gym floors, both wood and synthetic. We have successfully installed over 200 gym floors in Alaska as well as several in the State of Washington. We pride ourselves in keeping abreast of this rapidly changing field and are routinely consulted by our suppliers about the unique conditions our long winters bring to bear particularly on the wood gym floors. We know from experience what works in Alaska and what does not.” The Bio-Channel Classic system installed by Alaskan Industries joins the ranks of other Division I schools including, Duke, Indiana, Colorado State, University of Maryland and Notre Dame. The Bio-Channel system is also found in 13 NBA training facilities across the country and hundreds of Division I, II and III campuses nationwide. Unlike the others, the Anchorage floor features Robbins’ Sportwood® maple parquet engineered to resist the low relative humidity found in the Arctic region. “Traditional maple strip flooring tends to shrink and have large gaps in the winter months,” says Bagley. “Sportwood is edge-grain and remains beautiful year-round.” * * * Robbins, Inc. is the premier supplier of high performance maple and synthetic sports flooring systems to the arena, education, religious and fitness markets. In more than 60 nations around the world athletes compete and practice on millions of square meters of Robbins’ Sport Surfaces. Professional and amateur alike know that when they play on a high performance Robbins’ system they’ll be able to play at peak levels, safely and comfortably. For more information, please call Robbins Sports Surfaces at 1-800-543-1913, email us at info@robbinsfloor.com, or visit www.robbinsfloor.com. For more information on Alaskan Industries, contact Jim Bagley at 1-907-376-2485 or 1-800-541-7623, email him at jim@akind.com, or visit www.akind.com. ###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ken Thomas
VP - Marketing
Robbins Sports Surfaces
800.543.1913
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