Intrepid Sportswear Sponsors Rucker Park League

&&codeblock4&&SEATTLE – Monday, May 21, 2012 – Intrepid Sportswear Founder/President Rob Grabow announced today that the Seattle-based sportswear company and the Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC) Rucker Park Basketball League have agreed on an apparel sponsorship deal for the 2012 EBC season. Intrepid Sportswear will provide 300 custom-designed basketball uniforms for all men’s teams in the EBC for the 2012 season at Rucker Park.
 
“The history, culture, and stories engrained in Rucker Park and the EBC make it one of the biggest draws in the world for anyone with a passion for the game of basketball,” said Grabow, a 2011 alumnus of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “As an up-and-coming player in the sportswear industry, we are incredibly thrilled to have this opportunity to outfit EBC teams.”
 
The iconic Harlem outdoor basketball court that has hosted some of basketball’s greatest stars is the home of the EBC during its summer tournament. This includes the upcoming season from June 18 to August 16, 2012, which is expected to again feature some of the best players in the world.
 
In 2011, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant scored 66 points in a sizzling summer performance that made national headlines. Previous players and spectators have included Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, former President Bill Clinton, NBA Commissioner David Stern, and hip hop legends Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
 
“I am looking forward to a very special 31st year, particularly seeing the manufacturing partnership we’ve established with Intrepid Sportswear evolve,” said Gregory Marius, Founder and CEO of the Entertainers Basketball Classic. Marius founded the EBC in 1980 as a community basketball tournament, and since then, the summer basketball tournament has exploded into a global phenomenon.
 
In some ways paralleling the rise of the EBC, Intrepid Sportswear has bucked the trend of commercial sportswear companies since 2002 by eliminating expensive mark up costs, and in true underdog fashion, created an effective business model aimed directly at serving high school and college teams nationwide, performing remarkably well despite a sluggish economy.
 
After generating nearly $2 million in sales in 2011, Intrepid Sportswear has continued growing its national and international presence, bringing its total number of teams outfitted to over 6,000 in the US and Europe, most recently sponsoring teams in Norway and Ireland, which both recently won major championships. With this summer’s uniform sponsorship of the EBC at Rucker Park, Intrepid anticipates a growth in its New York market in the near future.