Mikasa Sports
Encyclopedia
Mikasa Sports is a sports equipment
company
based in Hiroshima, Japan
.
Their football
, basketball
, volleyball
and handball are often used for official match
es, game
s and competition
s. Notably, Mikasa volleyballs are the official balls for all Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
worldwide competitions, and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America.
Mikasa volleyballs are the official ball for the 2012 London Olympics. Presently clubs, regions, high schools, colleges, and tournaments throughout the U.S. use Mikasa volleyballs.
, beach
and indoor volleyball, football, rugby union
, waterpolo, korfball
, american football
and rugby football
(the last two, only in the United States
).
(1970, 1979, 1981, 1983) Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
Volleyball World Championship
, Men's and Women's (1978,1982,1998) Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup
(1997) Volleyball World Cup
(1999) Athens Olympic Games
(2004) Beijing Olympic Games
(2008) Misty May-Treanor
Reid Priddy
Fédération Internationale de Natation (men and women) Beijing Olympic Games
(2008) London Olympic Games
(2012) CIF Southern Section
Tony Azevedo
National men
and women
teams NCAA
- volleyball and water polo (since 1979)
and has been accused of workplace brutality
and human rights
violations in some factories. The International Trade Union Confederation
, published a report alleging "systematic anti-union campaigns" by Mikasa. The report detailed various allegations:
Through such practices, the ITUC argued, Mikasa succeeded in either firing or forcing the resignation of the entire union committee (except the union president), essentially destroying the right of its workers to organize
.
A separate report, by the Thai Labor Campaign alleged that new Mikasa factory workers received only 173 baht per day ($4.36 per day) in 2006.
Sports equipment
Sports equipment is a general term for any object used for sport or exercise. Examples of sports equipment include:-Exercise equipment:Examples for exercise include swiss balls, weights, equipment for the gym...
company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
based in Hiroshima, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Their football
Football (ball)
A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...
, basketball
Basketball (ball)
A basketball is a spherical inflated ball used in the game of basketball. Basketballs typically range in size from very small promotional items only a few inches in diameter to extra large balls nearly a foot in diameter used in training exercises to increase the skill of players...
, volleyball
Volleyball (ball)
A volleyball is a ball used to play indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, or other less common variations of the sport. Volleyballs are round and traditionally consist of eighteen nearly rectangular panels of synthetic or genuine leather, arranged in six identical sections of three panels each,...
and handball are often used for official match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
es, game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s and competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s. Notably, Mikasa volleyballs are the official balls for all Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball , commonly known by the acronym FIVB, is the international governing body for the sport of indoor, beach and grass volleyball.. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and its current president is Wei Jizhong .- History :The FIVB was founded...
worldwide competitions, and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America.
Mikasa volleyballs are the official ball for the 2012 London Olympics. Presently clubs, regions, high schools, colleges, and tournaments throughout the U.S. use Mikasa volleyballs.
Products
Mikasa makes many different types of balls, including goods for basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, beach
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
and indoor volleyball, football, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, waterpolo, korfball
Korfball
Korfball is a mixed gender team sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. A team consists of eight players; four female and four male. A team also includes a coach. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1902 by Nico Broekhuysen. In the Netherlands there are around 580 clubs, and over a...
, american football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
(the last two, only in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
Sponsorships
Mikasa has been official ball provider of the following leagues and associations, as well as it has exclusive agreements with some prominent athletes:Volleyball
Volleyball Schools Cup - Junior, Senior, Honours European Volleyball ChampionshipEuropean Volleyball Championship
The European Volleyball Championship is a sport competition for national teams, currently held biannually and organized by the CEV, the European volleyball federation. There are both men's and women's competitions....
(1970, 1979, 1981, 1983) Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball , commonly known by the acronym FIVB, is the international governing body for the sport of indoor, beach and grass volleyball.. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and its current president is Wei Jizhong .- History :The FIVB was founded...
Volleyball World Championship
Volleyball World Championship
The FIVB World Championship is an international men's and women's indoor volleyball competition. It is the oldest and most important of all the international events organized by the FIVB and must not be confused with the FIVB World Cup or the FIVB World League/FIVB World Grand Prix.-Origins:The...
, Men's and Women's (1978,1982,1998) Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup
Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup
The FIVB World Grand Champions Cup is a men's and women's volleyball competition. Created in 1993, it is an international tournament that is played the year after the Olympic Games.-Origins:...
(1997) Volleyball World Cup
Volleyball World Cup
The FIVB World Cup is a men's and women's volleyball competition. Created in 1965 and 1973 , it is an international qualification event for the Olympic Games...
(1999) Athens Olympic Games
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
(2004) Beijing Olympic Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
(2008) Misty May-Treanor
Misty May-Treanor
Misty Erie May-Treanor is an American professional volleyball player. She has won more tournaments than any other female player with 107 career wins....
Reid Priddy
Waterpolo
Ligue Européenne de NatationLigue Européenne de Natation
Ligue Européenne de Natation or LEN is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to FINA—it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was founded in 1927 in Bologna, Italy....
Fédération Internationale de Natation (men and women) Beijing Olympic Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
(2008) London Olympic Games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
(2012) CIF Southern Section
CIF Southern Section
C.I.F. Southern Section is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation . Its membership includes most public and private high schools in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Mono and Inyo counties, as...
Tony Azevedo
Tony Azevedo
Anthony Lawrence Azevedo is an American water polo player and a graduate of Stanford University. Nicknamed "The Savior" at one point, he is considered to be one of the best American water polo players in recent memory...
National men
United States men's national water polo team
The United States men's national water polo team is the representative for the United States of America in international men's water polo.The team competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where they won silver medal in the final, losing to Hungary 14-10....
and women
United States women's national water polo team
The United States women's national water polo team represents the United States in international women's water polo competitions and friendly matches. It is one of the leading teams in the world since the late 1990s....
teams NCAA
Multi sports
UniversiadeUniversiade
The Universiade is an International multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation . The name is a combination of the words "University" and "olympiad"...
- volleyball and water polo (since 1979)
- Asian GamesAsian GamesThe Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...
- volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, football, handball, and water polo (1982, 1994, 1998)
Controversies
Mikasa manufactures products in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and has been accused of workplace brutality
Workplace bullying
Workplace bullying, like childhood bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behaviour against a co-worker or subordinate. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations in some factories. The International Trade Union Confederation
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
, published a report alleging "systematic anti-union campaigns" by Mikasa. The report detailed various allegations:
Through such practices, the ITUC argued, Mikasa succeeded in either firing or forcing the resignation of the entire union committee (except the union president), essentially destroying the right of its workers to organize
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
.
A separate report, by the Thai Labor Campaign alleged that new Mikasa factory workers received only 173 baht per day ($4.36 per day) in 2006.