Posted on 25 August, 2009

Courtesy: VJBL

The sponsorship is a first for Victoria’s prestigious basketball competition, which involves more than 8100 players and 950 teams from 54 associations — everyone’s favourite fruit will be adding plenty of colour and flavour to the season of 2010.

The sponsorship deal includes naming rights with the League, which will now be known as the Aussie Oranges Victorian Junior Basketball League, numerous promotions during the season and a competition where one junior boys team and one junior girls team from the VJBL will get the chance to train with an NBL or WNBL team!

Also, in a first for the VJBL, five associations will have the opportunity to receive $1,000 in return for spreading the Aussie Oranges flavour through some decal placements on their courts.

VJBL Chairman Niall Quinn is pleased to welcome Aussie Oranges on board.

“This is a fantastic sponsorship for the VJBL, and it comes with a healthy message and has a perfect synergy with young sportspeople,”  he said

“The League is very thankful to have Aussie Oranges as our major sponsor in 2010 and I trust that all associations will help promote oranges among their players and members. This sponsorship signals a significant step for the VJBL. The competition is healthy and vibrant, attracts plenty of support and involves thousands of passionate people every week,” said Quinn.

Basketball Victoria’s CEO, Wayne Bird is delighted with the announcement. “We welcome Aussie Oranges to the basketball family and to the biggest and best elite junior basketball league in Australia,” he said.

Associations interested in receiving the $1,000 sponsorship for their support of Aussie Oranges are asked to submit details to the VJBL by October 15, 2009. Artwork for the decals will be distributed shortly thereafter.

Although already looking forward to all associations supporting the sponsorship, Quinn also stressed the importance in encouraging and educating players to make oranges an important part of their routines before, during and after games, as well as a staple part of their daily diet.

Oranges are renowned for their Vitamin C content, however, other great nutritional properties include Vitamin B (for the extra energy boost), special antioxidants (to strengthen bones and joints) 1,2, polyphenol (to keep the brain active)3 and high dietary fibre. The best part is that it takes less than a minute to squeeze in all these nutrients into your daily diet – simply cut an Orange into quarters and eat away! Oranges are a great snack for energetic kids and has been a popular choice with players in a variety of sports, such as Australian Rules Football and Netball. To learn more about oranges and their benefits and for some recipes using Aussie Oranges, log on to www.oranges.com.au or www.oranges.com.au

References:
1. Grando-Lorencio, F. Seasonal variation of serum alpha- and beta-cryptoxanthin and 25-OH-viatmin D(3) in women with osteoporosis. Osteoprosos Int 19, 717-720 (2008).
2. Yamaguchi, M. Regulatory mechanism of food factors in bone metabolism and prevention
3. Heo, H. Effects of bananas, oranges and apples on oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. Journal of Food Science 73, H28-32 (2008)