Jayco Partners with Basketball's Opals

Leading Australian caravan and motor homes company Jayco has announced a long term sponsorship with the Opals, Australia's elite international basketball team.

Jayco has been the naming rights sponsor of the Dandenong Rangers Women's National Basketball Team since 1997 and is a prolific sponsor of Australian sport and sportspeople with a portfolio that includes cyclists Cadel Evans and Kathy Watt, the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, the Melbourne Storm NRL club, the Melbourne Marathon and the Australian Jockey Association.

Star Opals Lauren Jackson and Lizzie Cambage along with head coach Carrie Graf were on hand at Dandenong Basketball Stadium last week when Basketball Australia Chief Executive Larry Sengstock made the announcement.

Alongside Sengstock was John Maddock, a Director of the Basketball Australia Board and Chairman of BA's High Performance Commission, as well as Jayco founder Gerry Ryan, who explained that wasted no time when offered the three year sponsorship deal with the Opals, signing the agreement at his company's first opportunity.

Ryan stated "it would have to be one of the quickest signings of a contract in the history of sport as we had no hesitation and are very excited to be involved with the Opals, a truly iconic Australian sporting team, for the next three years.

"Jayco has been a strong supporter of Australian basketball for many years with investment from grassroots teams to the NBL and WNBL and we're thrilled to now take the next step and align our brand with the current World Champions to create the Jayco Opals.

"At Jayco we work closely as a team to succeed, as do the Opals. We are both proudly Australian and both set our sights high and work hard to achieve our goals, so we couldnât think of a better partner to align our brand with."

Sengstock expressed pride in the partnership which continues to strengthen BA's sponsorship portfolio on the back of recent major deals completed for the Australian Boomers and the National Basketball League, stating "this agreement between Jayco and the Opals brings together two iconic Australian brands, each with outstanding reputations, and we are confident that both parties will benefit greatly from the partnership.

"To say we're excited about having Jayco on board would be an understatement. The timing could not be better in the lead up to the World Championship defence.

"The Opals are a great Australian team and the partnership with Jayco gives us every chance of success at the Worlds in the Czech Republic and the Olympic Games in London."

While the three-year duration of the deal has been made public the monetary terms of the agreement will remain confidential.

Australia defeated Russia at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil to earn the title of World Champion and is highly favoured to contest the Gold Medal Match at the 2010 incarnation of the event next September.

The Opals will undergo tours to Europe and China next year as well as international matches on home soil in the lead up to the World Championship, with the 2010 program announced in detail at a later date.

OAM recipient Gerry Ryan founded Jayco in 1975. The company now employs 700 Australians and controls more than 50% of the market share in the recreational vehicle market in Australia.