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How to Buy an Indoor Volleyball Net System  - By Al Morel

INTRODUCTION
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
STEEL VS ALUMINUM
WHAT YOU WANT TO GET
THE DIFFERENCES IN THESE SYSTEMS
PICK A PRO TO INSTALL
HOW TO PRICE THE JOB
WEB PAGES
CAVEAT LECTOR
THE COMPANIES
AAI
BSN/MacGregor
Jaypro
Schelde
Senoh
SSI

INTRODUCTION

On several occasions I have been asked to obtain information on purchasing and installing indoor volleyball equipment for a local town, school or athletic facility. Rather than make a couple of off-hand recommendations, this time I did some research as to what was currently on the market. I started with a search on the web on the major volleyball lists that I knew of and came up empty. I then searched the web for the manufacturers that I could remember and also came up empty. Part of the problem seems to be that many of the products are sold by companies that go by several names. So, to make a long story short, I called a bunch of the companies and asked for quotes and information and spent a couple of evenings putting it together. Quotes from all but one (Porter) of the major manufacturers are included. Since I had a difficult time finding this information, I thought that it may be useful to put it up on the web.
 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

My own experience with this process goes back to 1985 or so when I was the volleyball coach at Holy Cross College and I bought and installed 3 net systems for the school. I bought Senoh because it was the best system that I knew of and information on other manufacturers was hard to come by. One of the problems that I encountered during my installation was that there was a gap of about 12 inches between the flooring and the sub-flooring. That meant that special sleeves had to be welded on to the standard sleeves and installed. This was not an insurmountable problem but these things have to be worked out up front, especially for budgeting purposes.

The other net system that I've worked with is a Schelde system at St. John’s Gym in Clinton, MA. This system has performed great and has been in use four nights a week and on weekend for over ten years now.

Which brings me to my next point:
 

STEEL vs ALUMINUM

There are two schools of thought here: poles that are made of steel or aluminum. I've used both: the steel system like the Senoh and the Schelde made of aluminum. The benefits of the steel seem to be the durability and the extra tension that you can put on the net. The drawback seems to be the weight of the poles. The benefits of aluminum are: it’s lighter weight. The downside is that it’s prone to breaking and does not get the same tension. (This has not been my experience on the aluminum system in Clinton.) Pricing is a little more expensive for the aluminum systems. The poles, or standards, for the steel weigh 50 –75 pounds and the aluminum is about 30 pounds.
 

WHAT YOU WANT TO GET

You will want to get: For liability issues, it just doesn’t pay to save money on not getting safety equipment. If this is going to be used for high school, college or USAV competition, free standing with safety padding will be mandated, if it hasn’t already.
 

THE DIFFERENCES IN THESE SYSTEMS

First, there is the steel vs aluminum systems. Even among the steel and aluminum systems, there is some variety. For example, the Senoh system has tensile steel and a hollow interior on the base for a lighter pole (about 50 pounds.) There are 3" and 4" aluminum poles – yada, yada, yada. The high end systems have telescopic vs non-telescopic poles and there are a variety of tightening devices for the net, which have long term maintenance implications. Perhaps I can do more research on this when I have more time but for now, you need to rely on the sellers of the equipment to compare and contrast their products.
 

PICK A PRO TO INSTALL

Buying the system is the easiest part. My recommendation is to get a specialist to install the system. Dave Reeves of B.R. Linwell Associates (800-258-8381) covers the whole east coast out to the Mississippi. He installs all the major brands and has seen it all. His prices are reasonable and it’s the only thing that he does. If you’re not on the ‘right coast" your manufacturer will be able to set you up with an installation specialist. When you have someone boring holes in your gym floor, you want it done right.

Pricing for installation:

1 pair ground floor (slab on grade) $500
Each additional sleeve $200
Travel $75-300 from Pennsylvania
Per diem (if it is more than a day) $150/day

Also be aware that this is on a first floor installation. Second floor pricing assumes the following:

HOW TO PRICE THE JOB

I gathered quotes from all the manufacturers and tried to get them to compare apples to apples. All the prices include a referees stand and padding for the poles. The pricing does not include (so you need to add):


Example pricing:
 
Senoh High Tensile Steel System (3" steel)
$4160.40
Shipping
$200.00
Installation
$450.00
Total
$4810.40

In this example, the shipping and installation is a close guess but you will be able to get hard numbers when you contact the manufacturer and installer for a quote.
 

WEB PAGES

I listed the web pages for these manufacturers but none of these companies are doing real business on the web yet. Only Jaypro had any pricing information and that was only for one system. The BMR page had no info on their volleyball equipment and Performance Sports did not have one at all. The sites were useful for basic product information. I would not exclude any company just because they did not have a web page. Most of them have plans in the future for web information and even ordering capabilities.
 

CAVEAT LECTOR

Let the reader beware! These are prices from December 1998 and they will change. This analysis does not endorse any of these products but is a place to start to gather information for those that want to install an indoor volleyball net system. Call these companies, get quotes and check local references. I hope this helps you on your search. –Al

The Companies


AAI

American Athletic, Inc.

800.247.3978

http://www.americanathletic.com

200 American Avenue Jefferson, Iowa 520129

IN BIZ: 15 years (were previously AMF)

EMPLOYEES: 150 ish

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN:USA

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED: Basketball, gymnastics, baseball, etc.

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 5

TERMS: Prepay; 1-2 weeks delivery; shipping FOB Jefferson, Iowa

PRICING:

I. Steel Net System 408385 (3" steel)
 
(2) Standards
$897
PV Floor sleeve pair
219
Supported referee platform
389
Platform pads
192
PVS pads-pair
204
36" net
206
Total
$2107

II. Elite Aluminum PVS System 408485 (3" aluminum)
 
(2) Standards
$1425
PV Floor sleeve pair
219
Free standing referee platform

(system requires a free standing ref platform)
407
Free standing pads
317
PVS pads-pair
204
36" net
206
Total
$2778

BSN/MacGregor

Passon’s Sports

800.523.1557

http://www.bsnsports.com/

PO Box 49 Jenkintown, PA 19046
 

IN BIZ: 17 years

EMPLOYEES:

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN: USA

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED: Owns trademarks for Huffy, Voit, etc.

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 4

TERMS: Shipping: add 12%

PRICING:

I. MacGregor International MSYBISWJ (3" aluminum)
 
Telescopic aluminum volleyball system with judges stand. Includes padding and sleeves. $1746

I. MacGregor Propower steel MSVBSETS (3" steel)
 
Telescopic aluminum volleyball system with judges stand. Includes padding and sleeves.
$1369

Jaypro

Jaypro Sports, Inc.

800.243.0533

http://www.jaypro.com/

976 Hartford Turnpike Waterford, CT 06385
 

IN BIZ: 12 years in current management

EMPLOYEES: 80 ish

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN: USA

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED: Football, soccer goals, new construction, etc.

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 4

TERMS: Shipping FOB Waterford, CT

PRICING:

I. Powerlight International System: PWB-7000 (3.5" luminum)
 
(2) Standards
$1440
(2) Floor sleeves
330
Net
240
Standard pads
250
Antennae/net tapes
130
Cable/buckle pads
46
Referee stand
400
Referee stand pads
190
Total
$3026

II. Steel International Net System PVB-6000 (3" steel and aluminum)
 
(2) Standards
$1330
(2) Floor sleeves
330
Net
240
Standard pads
250
Antennae/net tapes
130
Cable/buckle pads
46
Referee stand
400
Referee stand pads
190
Total
$2916

Schelde

Schelde North America

800.823.0182

http://www.scheldesports.com/

4180-C 44th St. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49512
 

IN BIZ: 2 years as Schelde North America

EMPLOYEES: 15 ish

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN: Holland

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED:

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 8

TERMS: Shipping is $170 for the collegiate and $203 for the telescopic.

PRICING:

I. Collegiate 2000 One court system (4" aluminum)
 
(1) Upright
$325
(1) Upright w/ winch
700
Floor sleeves pair
110
Floor cover pair
240
Net w/ pulley tensioner
265
Antennas and sideline markers
65
Safety pad pairs
330
(4) cable covers
35
Attachable referee stand with pads 

(substitute free standing referee stand for $725)
755
Total
$2825

II. Collegiate 2000 telescopic system (4" aluminum)
 
(1) Upright
$585
(1) Upright w/ winch
990
Floor sleeves pair
110
Floor cover pair
240
Net w/ pulley tensioner
265
Antennas and sideline markers
65
Safety pad pairs
330
(4) cable covers
35
Attachable referee stand with pads 

(substitute free standing referee stand for $725)
755
Total
$3375

Senoh

Sports Imports Inc.

800.556.3198

http://www.sportsimports.com/

PO Box 21040 Columbus, OH 43221

IN BIZ: 23 years

EMPLOYEES:

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN: Steel system Japan; aluminum USA

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED:Tennis, badmitton, etc

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 8

TERMS: Net 30; shipping FOB ; delivery 14 days after receipt of order

PRICING:

I. High Tensile Steel System (3" steel)
 
(2) Standards
$1632.40
(2) Floorplates and sleeves
413.40
Technora net
286.20
Antennae
106.00
Standards safety pads (top line pads available for $588)
450.50
International Official Stand (folding official stand available for $832 with pads)
636.00
International Official Stand Padding
636.00
Total
$4106.40

II. Extruded aluminum system (3" aluminum)
 
(2) Standards
$1325.40
(2) Floorplates and sleeves
413.40
Technora net
286.20
Antennae
106.00
Standards safety pads (top line pads available for $588)
450.50
International Official Stand (folding official stand available for $832 with pads)
636.00
International Official Stand Padding
636.00
Total
3853.50

SSI Volleyball

Performance Sports Systems

800.968.7745

No web page

PO Box 227 Pendleton, IN 46064
 

IN BIZ: 3 years plus 7 with another manufacturer

EMPLOYEES: 25 ish

PRODUCT MANUFACTURED IN: USA

OTHER PRODUCTS CARRIED: Basketball, curtain dividers

OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING: 7

TERMS: TBD; shipping FOB IN; delivery 2-3 weeks

PRICING:

All systems are 4" aluminum and include sleeves and covers. The difference is the internal telescopic mechanism and winch/gear devices.

I. International Telescopic One court system
 
Includes all standards, padding, net antennas and sleeves
$3440
Referee platform
460
Referee platform pads
250
Total
$4250

II. Master Telescopic One court system
 
Includes all standards, padding, net antennas and sleeves
$2550
Referee platform
460
Referee platform pads
250
Total
$3260

III. Collegiate One court system
 
Includes all standards, padding, net antennas and sleeves
$1995
Referee platform
460
Referee platform pads
250
Total
$2705

Al's Volleyball Page * How to Buy an Indoor System * Cushing Academy
Saint John's High School  * Straight Down Volleyball Club, SDVC *  Email Al Morel