MIES - Close to 50 partners were represented as the FIBA Equipment & Venue Centre held its first biennial Partners' meeting on 14-15 October at the House of Basketball.

Representatives from just about every possible equipment category - from flooring and scoreboards to backstop units and basketball, with seating systems and miscellaneous products in between - attended the day and a half meeting at FIBA's headquarters on the outskirts of Geneva.

While the meeting was centred around conversations about day-to-day activities linked to the homologation of products and advice on hall designs, it also touched on wider topics.

Presentations were given to explain the functioning of FIBA's new governance and new competition system - which will result in the construction and/or refurbishment of sports hall in many countries in years to come - as well as to illustrate the success of FIBA's 3x3 discipline and relive some of the highlights of the recently-concluded 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

FIBA Europe Secretary General Kamil Novak provided an insight into the zone's basketball activities to give a full picture of the different events - club competitions, EuroBasket Men and Women and 3x3 European Championships - organised on the continent that require year-round work, while Swiss Basketball Secretary General Jean-Luc Rouiller shared his first-hand experience in giving an overview of how a small/medium size national federation operates.

The visit also presented a majority of the Partners of the FIBA Equipment & Venue Centre with the chance to discover the House of Basketball for the first time.

The meeting also enabled important discussions and network-building to occur within groups of equipment belonging to the same category.

FIBA