FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Ruth Ruiz, (714) 765-5060 office, (714) 420-7797 cell
 

CITY OF ANAHEIM HOPES TO RELOCATE USA VOLLEYBALL WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM TO ANAHEIM THIS SPRING

 
ANAHEIM, Calif. (March 10, 2009) – The Anaheim City Council tonight took one step closer to bringing the USA Volleyball (USAV) Women’s National Team from Colorado Springs to Anaheim.  The City Council authorized City staff to negotiate an agreement with USAV that would relocate the U.S. Women’s National Team (Women’s Team) to train in Anaheim as early as this spring.  Once finalized, Anaheim would be designated as the Official Host City for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Volleyball Teams, potentially through 2016, and further promote Anaheim throughout the volleyball and Olympic sport communities.
 
During his 2009 State of the City address, Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle proposed that the Women’s Team should join the U.S. Men’s National Team (Men’s Team) in Anaheim as Southern California’s climate and Anaheim’s strong community support has proven successful for the Men’s Team.
 
“It would be a great move to have the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team relocate their training headquarters to Anaheim, and join their male counterparts,” said Mayor Pringle.  “Anaheim’s location, climate and facilities would help the women in their quest for a gold medal in 2012 and beyond.”
 
The Women’s Team claimed the silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and is currently ranked second in the world.  The Team finished 2008 with a record of 22-11.   The popularity of women’s volleyball is seen throughout the high school, collegiate and club levels.  More than 320 Division I universities throughout the country have women’s volleyball teams as part of their athletic programs.  In addition, nearly 406,000 participants from approximately 15,000 high schools around the country played girls’ high school volleyball in 2007.  Volleyball is the fourth largest girls’ high school sport after basketball, track & field and softball.
 
The Men’s Team relocated from Colorado Springs to Anaheim in 2006 and has been highly successful as evidenced by the Team’s recent gold medal victories at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the 2008 World League tournament.  Currently, the Men’s Team is ranked second internationally.  Hugh McCutcheon, head coach who led the Men’s Team to both the Olympic and World League gold medals, was recently named head coach for the Women’s Team.
 
City officials indicated that contract negotiations will still need to be finalized, but the specifics of the agreement have been defined.

###

ABOUT ANAHEIM –The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation’s premier municipalities and is California’s 10th most populous city.  Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 2,100 City employees.  The municipal corporation’s annual budget is $1.3 billion.  Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort.  Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, Anaheim Arsenal, and the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning USA Men's Volleyball team.  Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.  Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.
 
ABOUT USA VOLLEYBALL -- Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States.
 
USA Volleyball is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USA Volleyball has over 240,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,000 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $11 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and ParalympicTeams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success as evidenced by winning an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984 and capturing numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles.
 
USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans endeavoring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game.