Home »

Connor Sport Court International Builds Its First Portable Basketball Court in Haiti

Local businessman builds Sport Court to help disadvantaged Haitian kids "get in the game." Will also use it to create Caribbean league play. Portable event surface is safer for kids to play on.

January 4, 2008 -- Connor Sport Court International has installed its first court in the Republic of Haiti.

Ryan Burke, International Business Manager of CSCI, supervised its installation in Port Au Prince, capital the Caribbean nation.

"This court is the result of the vision of Jasson Valbrun, a local businessman who has worked very hard to develop basketball leagues for the disadvantaged kids of Haiti, said Burke.

Valbrun has been instrumental in building local interest in basketball. Valbrun and his partners sought local sponsors who helped by ;investing in the court. His "dream court" was constructed on private property near the center of Port Au Prince, providing access to many of the urban capital's youngsters

Valbrun runs seasonal community basketball leagues and competitions. He wanted the kids of Port Au Prince to have a surface that was safer to play on than the acrylic painted/coated concrete they had been using, said Burke.

It is an outdoor basketball facility, and the Sport Court basketball surface is the only surface approved by the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) for outdoor competition. FIBA is the world's governing body for the sport of basketball.

Valbrun will get more use of this court because water drains through it. It can be played upon almost immediately following rain.

"The porosity of the Sport Court modular structure lends itself to wet, tropical countries," said Burke. "The free-floating Sport Court surface also hides much of the sub-base from the sun, creating a cooler top playing surface during the hottest parts of the day.

The Sport Court is portable, and Valbrun says he can move it to other parts of the island for competitions. Valbrun says he intends to use the court for possible international competition between Haiti and other Caribbean nations

Challenges to the installation on Dec. 15 include retrofitting on top of old, cracked sub-bases.

Connor Sport Court International is based in Salt Lake City. Sport Court® is a registered trade mark of Connor Sport Court International.

For more information:

Jeff Morton, 801 414 6459

Connor Sport Court International

939 S. 700 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Connor Sport Court International