FloHoops To Live Stream Les Schwab Invitational presented by Express Employment Professionals Dec. 27-30
Austin, TX (Dec. 16, 2015) – FloSports today announced the launch of FloHoops.com to bring a new level of basketball coverage to fans around the world. FloHoops will provide live streams and replays of elite basketball tournaments, breaking news and updates across all levels of the sport, original documentaries on elite teams and athletes, rankings, technique videos and more.
The launch of FloHoops marks FloSports’ 11th dedicated sports vertical, joining FloWrestling, FloGrappling, FloTrack, MileSplit, FloElite, FloBoxing, FloSoftball, FloGymnastics, FloCheer and FloMuscle.
“This is a historic day for FloSports as we add basketball to our network of sports sites,” FloSports co-founder and CEO Martin Floreani said. “Basketball is played and followed by rabid fans worldwide, but despite the sport’s popularity, only a fraction of the games played are available for fans to watch live outside of the venue. FloHoops aims to solve that problem while also providing authentic coverage that fans will love.”
FloHoops’ first live event will be the Les Schwab Invitational (LSI) Dec. 27-30 in Hillsboro, Oreg. Top high school boys’ teams competing include Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), Garfield (Seattle), and Jesuit (Portland). Oak Hill ranks No. 5 on the USA Today Sports’ Super 25 Expert Rankings, while DeMatha ranks No. 6, and Garfield ranks No. 14.
Each game of the tourney, as well as the dunk contest, will be available live and on-demand only on FloHoops.com.
“We started LSI in 1996 to showcase the best high school basketball talent in the nation to fans in Oregon, and we’re thrilled to work with FloSports this year to reach a worldwide audience on FloHoops.com,” LSI event director Reggie Walker said. “With the lineup of teams competing at LSI this year combined with this agreement, we expect attendance and viewership to reach all-time highs.”
To access the live event coverage and replays of LSI, users must sign up to become FloPRO subscribers on FloHoops.com. Monthly and annual FloPRO subscriptions on FloHoops are $20 and $150, respectively. Members get access to all live events and replays, upcoming original documentary content, technique videos and more.
For more information, visit FloHoops.com.
ABOUT FLOSPORTS
FloSports is an innovative sports media company based in Austin, Texas, that is unlocking a world of sports coverage that true fans have been waiting for.
Focused on three areas – live programming, original content, and owned and operated events – the company takes fragmented communities and provides them the platform to connect with the sports they love.
Through live streaming of premier events, original video programming, weekly studio shows, branded entertainment, and event creation and execution, FloSports is growing the sports, the athletes and the fans.
FloSports owns exclusive broadcast rights to in-demand events, and broadcasts more than 25,000 hours of live sporting events each year. FloSports has 1M+ videos in their library. FloSports features the #1 webcasts per sport, high-quality, in-depth documentary series and 5M+ athletes ranked within their respective sports.
Current verticals under the FloSports header are Wrestling, Grappling, Elite Fitness, Boxing, Softball, Bodybuilding, Gymnastics, Basketball, Cheerleading and Running, including MileSplit.com.
ABOUT LES SCHWAB INVITATIONAL
During the early 1990s, many of Oregon’s best high school boys basketball teams were traveling out-of-state to play in preseason holiday tournaments. While these tournaments provided players with the opportunity to play against other high caliber programs they denied local fans the chance to see Oregon’s basketball talent prior to the season. Preseason basketball media coverage was also limited due to Oregon’s five-week football playoff system which finishes up in mid-December.
To brighten basketball’s spotlight, legendary high school basketball coaches Barry Adams and Nick Robertson and the Oregon High School Coaches Association proposed a preseason tournament in which Oregon teams could play up to four games. These four games would then only count as two against their 22 game schedule maximum. This new arrangement would align Oregon’s competition rules with states like California and Nevada – and allow teams from other states to come to Oregon to play.
The proposal was made to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) and after two years of letters, phone calls, meetings and lobbying, the OSAA Delegate Assembly agreed to the proposed plan. In 1996, with the OSAA’s approval and financial assistance from local sponsors like Les Schwab, the first annual Oregon Holiday Invitational (OHI) was played.
In 2000, the tournament name changed from the Oregon Holiday Invitational to the Les Schwab Invitational to recognize Les Schwab’s continued support of the tournament. In 2001, Fred Meyer was added as the presenting sponsor, and in 2009, Express Employment Professionals replaced Fred Meyer as the presenting sponsor. In 2004, the tournament moved to Hillsboro’s Liberty High School to provide fans with easier access and an intimate, exciting basketball experience.