The Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) and “IES-Basket” School Basketball league founded and organized by IES-Holding signed an agreement on cooperation on the 17th of October. The President of RBF Sergey Chernov and the manager of IES-Holding being also the president of “IES-Basket” League, Mikhail Slobodin took part in the signing ceremony.

RBF management was one of the first to support the initiative of the School Basketball league creation and expressed its intention of taking an active part in the league’s activity in the future. “IES-Basket” league was founded in 2007 on the base of the School Basketball league of Perm city supported by IES-Holding and Perm Regional Basketball Federation. 319 schools of the region with over 8 thousand participants took part in the league’s games in the season of 2007-2008.

In the new season of 2008-2009 the league will come out to the federal level. Beside Perm region, school children of 11 more regions of the Russian Federation will join the league with the general number of the participants increase to 70 thousand people. All schools taking part in the program will get a set of basketball balls from “IES-Basket” organizers and the winners of the district competitions will get a set of the professional basketball uniforms to the continue the competition for the first place in. Training seminars for the PE teachers and teachers of optional classes are planned as a part of the championship.

The winners of the championship of “IES-Basket” school Basketball League will travel to Berlin in May of 2009 for the “Final of the Four” of ULEB Euro league and will be able to watch the games of the best European teams. Besides, the winner of the league in the season of 2008-2009 will represent Russia in the Championship for school teams in Turkey in the following year.

“IES-Basket activity is undoubtedly successful, and the league has a big potential for development and exit to the Federal level. We hope that IES-Holding’s project on children’s basketball support will contribute to the strengthening of the health of the Russian school-age children and the development of the domestic sport”, stressed IES-Holding president, Mikhail Slobodin. He also expressed special gratitude for the support of the project to the RF President’s authorized representative in Privolzhsky Federal county Grigory Rapote, RF Minister of Justice, president of the Russian Students’ Basketball Association Alexander Konovalov, Olympic Champion, multiple World and Europe Champion, member of the Common’s Board of RF Sergey Belov, the chief of RF Federal State Organization “Central Sports Club of the Army” Sergey Kuschenko. These famous public representatives and the members of the “IES-Basket” League’s guardianship Board.