Fair-Court Rim Testing to End Era of Hidden Home-Court Edge

Fair-Court Rim Testing to End Era of Hidden Home-Court Edge BROADVIEW, Ill., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- This week's start of the NCAA men's Division I basketball season marks the demise of a hidden home-court advantage. A new National Collegiate Athletic Association rule signals the end of an era typified by moveable basketball rims that were either too forgiving or too tight -- which could provide the home team with a seldom-discussed competitive edge. For the first time, the NCAA has mandated rim testing at all Division I men's basketball competitive facilities once before the season and once before the post-season. Facilities must repair or replace rims that don't meet NCAA standards -- thereby re-establishing uniform rigidity and reboundability on all competition basketball courts. "More than 20 years ago, basketball leaders were concerned about safety when backboards shattered from slam dunks," said Ed Schroeder, vice president of Research, Development and Product Integrity for Porter Athletic Equipment Co. "The industry created direct-mount support systems to fix that problem. Now the concern is standardizing performance -- and fairness of playing conditions -- so that all rims will react similarly with regard to elasticity or rebound characteristics." For the current season, the first testing reports were due to the NCAA before Oct. 15. Rims at competition venues also must be tested after March 1, 2005, according the NCAA rule, if the court will host a post-season game. Prior to this new rule, rim testing has been required in recent years only for venues hosting NCAA Division I post-season tournaments. Results generated in recent years by the Fair-Court(R) rim-testing system of Porter Athletic Equipment Co. have shown many instances in which rims at major-college facilities needed to be swapped or adjusted because they were excessively loose, exceedingly stiff, or displaying remarkably different rebound characteristics at either end of the floor. The Fair-Court system is widely acknowledged by Division I conferences and individual teams as the leading method for testing the proper rebound elasticity of basketball rims. Using the Fair-Court(R) tester, evaluators can measure the energy absorption of the goal and backstop support system, which will determine how much a rim will flex on impact. Based in Broadview, Ill., Porter Athletic Equipment Co. is one of the world's leading manufacturers of equipment for indoor and outdoor sports such as basketball, volleyball, football, wrestling, soccer, tennis and badminton. More detailed information about Fair-Court rim testing -- including streaming video -- is available at http://www.porter-ath.com/catalogs.cfm?CFID=443930&CFTOKEN=62291696 . CONTACT: Jim Wisuri 708-366-9999 Source: Porter Athletic Equipment Co. CONTACT: Jim Wisuri for Porter Athletic Equipment Co., +1-708-366-9999 Web site: http://www.porter-ath.com/catalogs.cfm?CFID=443930&CFTOKEN=62291696 ------- Profile: International Entertainment