BEIJING, AUGUST 29, 2005 -- The National Basketball Association and Amway, makers of Nutrilite health products, have formed a new multi-year marketing partnership in China that will bring the league’s Jr. NBA program to middle school students and their families across China starting in September. The formation of the Jr. NBA in China marks the first formal NBA grassroots competition and first NBA-themed school program in China. The partnership was announced today at a press conference featuring retired NBA player Robert Reid.

The Jr. NBA presented by Amway/Nutrilite will feature program elements designed to deliver fun, informative and healthy basketball activities to the growing number of young NBA fans in China. (NBA China)

The Jr. NBA presented by Amway/Nutrilite will feature program elements designed to deliver fun, informative and healthy basketball activities to the growing number of young NBA fans in China. As an official marketing partner of the NBA in China, Amway’s Nutrilite brand will bring an expertise in educating young people about the importance of physical fitness, good nutrition, and wellness.

The NBA and Amway will partner with the Ministry of Education’s China School Sports Federation(CSSF) to bring the program into 120 schools in 15 Chinese cities. The students will experience youth basketball training clinics, health seminars conducted by Nutrilite experts, skills challenges for individuals and the entire family, and a national middle school basketball tournament.

The 120 schools involved in the first year of the program will participate in a tournament that will begin with a citywide competition in each of the 15 markets, followed by three regional competitions featuring the winning schools from the 15 cities. The tournament will culminate with a six-team national championship featuring a Training Camp with Reid, who has been appointed as special advisor to Jr. NBA – China. The winning team will receive a trip to the NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, Texas in February 2006.

“The combination of the NBA’s tremendous appeal to young people in China and basketball’s high energy game provides us with a natural opportunity to communicate the health benefits of Nutrilite products in a relevant environment,” said Audie Wong, President of Amway (China) Co. Ltd.

“Amway’s commitment to families and their support of the NBA will help bring the Jr. NBA program and its basketball events to China, providing youth with the opportunity to develop their basketball skills, learn about good health and nutrition and compete on the national level,” said Mark Fischer, Managing Director, NBA China. “We are delighted to work with the Ministry of Education to bring this groundbreaking national basketball training and competition program to middle schools here for the first time.”

 In addition to supporting the Jr. NBA program in China, Amway will conduct NBA-themed marketing and sponsors NBA games and other programming on CCTV and 14 regional broadcasters. The Amway relationship marks the NBA’s sixth new marketing partnership in China this year.

An estimated 300 million people play basketball in China. In recent surveys, 75 percent of Chinese males ages 15-24 said they were NBA fans, more than 40 percent stated that basketball is their favorite sport to play and four of their top five athletes are NBA players. This past regular season, NBA games were watched by more than 30 million viewers per week. NBA.com/China, launched in 2002, averages more than three million page-views per day. NBA merchandise is available in more than 20,000 retail locations throughout the region.

Entering its fifth season in the U.S., the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA is a network of recreational youth basketball leagues that provide access to a variety of membership programs and instructional materials for players, parents, coaches and officials. The instructional materials include guidelines for skill development, sportsmanship and physical fitness. By stressing fundamental skill development, teamwork, sportsmanship and positive adult participation, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA aims to develop a life-long passion for the game of basketball by providing a support structure that not only encourages participation, but also makes the game fun and rewarding for players, coaches, officials and parents. This season, the program will reach approximately 750,000 players, 1.5 million parents, 75,000 coaches, and 35,000 officials through 1,500 youth basketball leagues across the US, Canada and abroad.