Russell Athletic And Little League® Reveal New Custom Uniforms For The 2016 Little League® World Series Tournaments

BOWLING GREEN, Ky., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Russell Athletic and Little League^® unveiled new uniforms today for the 2016 Little League^® World Series tournaments. As a longstanding partner of Little League for more than 30 years, Russell Athletic will once again outfit all U.S. and international regional teams competing at each of this year's nine Little League World Series baseball and softball championships.  

The 2016 uniforms look to transform the past by bringing teams into the future through a modern geometric design. The new uniforms, featuring "Dazzle Camouflage" patterns inspired by patterns from the early 1900s, confidently position teams into the future with angled piping designs.  This one-of-a-kind feature looks to increase visibility for fans as well as television viewers with more prominent and bolder designs that appeal to youth and a younger generation.  The uniforms highlight today's uniform trends with a brand new look for Little League giving each team their own distinct color to represent their region.

"Russell Athletic continues our mission of being experts in team sports by delivering uniforms with design and premier performance," said Matt Murphy, Senior Vice President Marketing, Russell Athletic. "We're proud to exclusively outfit all Little League World Series players and coaches with best in class uniforms and apparel.  Russell Athletic wishes the best of luck to all the teams playing in this year's tournaments and congratulate them on their success this season."

The uniforms parallel the innovations and trends of college and professional team uniforms with superior performance and durability features. Designs and decorations have been fully printed into the jerseys, eliminating the weight associated with twill numbers and lettering. The jersey material is breathable, lightweight stretch fabric used by many Division I universities and Minor League teams. The official Little League Keystone patch will be sewn on the left sleeve of the jersey.

"The boys and girls competing in Little League World Series tournaments have proudly represented their communities along their tournament journeys," said Liz DiLullo Brown, Little League Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "When they take the field in their new World Series uniforms from Russell Athletic, they will be able to proudly take the field as a Regional Champion. Our longtime partnership with Russell Athletic allows all participants to feel a sense of pride, belonging, and accomplishment every time they pull their World Series uniform on."

Uniform Details

Jersey:

• Exclusive style for the 2016 Little League Baseball World Series – available for general public sale in 2017
• Lightweight, breathable stretch fabric used by many college and Minor League Baseball teams
• Fully sublimated decoration keeps jersey lighter and more breathable to enhance player performance
• "Dazzle Camouflage" design concept ties in the juxtaposition of past and present
• Unique color combinations for each region for increased visibility

Performance Undershirt:

• Performance undershirt made with Dri-Power® moisture wicking fabric
• ¾ length sleeves
• Fully sublimated design to match jersey

In addition to the Little League Baseball World Series, which runs from August 18 to 28 in Williamsport, Pa., Russell Athletic will provide uniforms for all Little League Baseball and Softball World Series events. Each division will sport similar uniform styles of those worn during the Little League Baseball World Series. More exclusive coverage of this year's 2016 Little League Uniforms can be seen at: littleleague.org/video/2016/07/06/2016+LLWS+Russell+Jersey+Reveal-wxOTNsNDE6

The additional events include:

• Big League Baseball (15-18-year-olds)
  • July 26 to Aug. 2 – Easley, S.C. (Easley Recreation Complex)
• Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball (11-13-year-olds)
  • July 31 to Aug. 6 – Livermore, Calif. (Max Baer Park)
• Senior League Softball (13-16-year-old girls)
  • July 31 to Aug. 6 – Lower Sussex, Del. (Little League Complex)
• Junior League Softball (13-14-year-old girls)
  • July 31 to Aug. 6 – Kirkland, Wash. (Everest Park)
• Senior League Baseball (14-16-year-olds)
  • July 31 to Aug. 6 – Bangor, Maine (Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium)
• Big League Softball (14-18-year-old girls)
  • July 31 to Aug. 7 – Lower Sussex, Del. (Little League Complex)
• Little League Softball® (11-12-year-old girls)
  • Aug. 14 to Aug. 21– Portland, Ore. (Alpenrose Stadium)
• Junior League Baseball (13-14-year-olds)
  • Aug. 18 to Aug. 28 – Taylor, Mich. (Heritage Park)

The tournaments conclude with the Little League Baseball® World Series Championship Game on Sunday, Aug. 28 in South Williamsport, PA.

About RUSSELL BRANDS, LLC     
For more than 100 years, Russell Brands, LLC, has supplied America's athletes and teams with the latest innovations to help them perform at their best and is a leading supplier of apparel and team uniforms at the high school, college and professional levels. Russell's collegiate licensed products and athletic wear are broadly distributed and marketed through department stores, sports specialty stores, retail chains and college bookstores. For more information, please visit www.RussellAthletic.com, Facebook and Twitter.

About Little League^®
Little League^® Baseball and Softball is the world's largest organized youth sports program, with 2.4 million players and one million adult volunteers in every U.S. state and more than 80 other countries. Founded in 1939, more than 35 million people around the world, from a U.S. president to community leaders to professional athletes, can call themselves Little League graduates. And every year, millions of people follow the hard work, dedication, and sportsmanship that the Little Leaguers display at our nine baseball and softball World Series events, the premier tournaments in youth sports. For more information, visit LittleLeague.org, or follow Little League on Facebook (facebook.com/LittleLeague), Twitter (twitter.com/LittleLeague), and Instagram (Instagram.com/LittleLeague). Follow all of the action from the nine Little League World Series at llbws.org or on social media at hashtag: #LLWS.

About LittleLeagueUniforms.com
Expanding upon their commitment to provide the highest quality uniforms for all ages and levels of play, Russell Athletic and Little League collaborated to introduce a new local league uniform ordering option, allowing leagues and coaches to customize regular season and tournament uniforms complete with the Little League Official Patch. This new purchasing option makes ordering and receiving Little League uniforms easier and more convenient than ever for coaches, parents and league administrators. LittleLeagueUniforms.com, is a one-stop-online shop for designing, customizing and purchasing group orders of Little League baseball and softball uniforms for the nearly 6,000 local programs in the United States. The website is also the only online uniform generator that offers officially-sanctioned Little League patches pre-sewn on each jersey as part of each order.

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SOURCE Russell Athletic