First virtual General Assembly a great success

On 6 December, World ParaVolley held the first ever virtual Biennial General Assembly with members attending online from all four Zones of the world.  The meeting was sponsored by ParaVolley equipment supplier QH, the Jiangsu Qianghuai Sporting Goods Co Ltd. from China, which have recently agreed to support World ParaVolley for another four years.

All Board Members demonstrated in their reports that 2018 and 2019 were incredibly successful years for World ParaVolley with developments in the areas of major events, athlete contribution, training and education, international relations, classification, anti-doping and governance.

Incumbent Barry Couzner OAM (AUS) was elected unopposed as President for another four years and Louise Ashcroft (CAN) won the position of Medical Director.  Dr. Ivana Pavic (CRO) was elected to the World ParaVolley Board for the first time as Development Director, replacing John Kessel (USA) who has retired after having held the position since 2012.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Barry Couzner OAM made a special announcement that a Sitting Volleyball Commemorative Booklet had been produced by the Chief Historian Dr. Kwok Ng to highlight the 40 years of history that sitting volleyball has been in the Paralympic Games from 1980 to 2020.

“I would like to congratulate World ParaVolley on 40 years of Paralympic sitting volleyball,” said founding president Pieter Joon on the latest publication. “It is a great achievement that I could only dream about in the past. The commemorative booklet is a fantastic retelling of history. The history and the sport that you have developed and something to be proud of.”