World ParaVolley holds General Assembly in China

World ParaVolley held its General Assembly in Anji, China on March 14th in conjunction with the 2016 Intercontinental Sitting Volleyball Championship.

World ParaVolley is governed by a biennial General Assembly, usually held in conjunction with a major international competition.  This year’s General Assembly was attended by more than 75% of the members of World ParaVolley.  Action at the 2016 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball Intercontinental began on March 17th featuring 13 women’s teams and 15 men’s teams competing in 4 divisions. Six women’s teams will compete for a final spot in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games while nine men’s teams will also battle for a final slot at the Games.

Highlights at the General Assembly included the acclamation of Mr. Barry Couzner from Australia as the President of the organization for the next 4 years as well as the election of Mr John Kessel from the United States as the Development Director for the next 4 years.  Mr. Jim Leask of the United States was also introduced as the Marketing Director for Commercialization, a newly created position on the Board of Directors.  Reports from the various members of the Board of Directors, the Sport Department, Development Department, Marketing Department and the four Zones which comprise Wold ParaVolley were also presented to the delegates.

Mr. Phil Allen, the General Manager of World ParaVolley presented a comprehensive financial report to the delegates at the General Assembly.  This included a Statement of Operations for 2014-2015 which showed a modest surplus for the most recent fiscal year and budget projections for the next two years showing projected surpluses.  Increases in revenues in part have been a result of increased activities in sponsorship and homologation agreements with organizations such as QH (equipment supplier), HJF Sports (sports clothing supplier), Al Qamra (holding group of companies), Gerflor (Volleyball floor supplier), and Blue Mountains Natural Spring Water.

Changes to the World ParaVolley Constitution and changes to the membership fee structure were presented to the delegates and approved.  The new fee structure will go into effect in 2017.

Barry Couzner, the President of World ParaVolley, commented on the General Assembly; “It is most encouraging to see the active participation of so many of our members in this important gathering.  World ParaVolley has made considerable progress to our governance and our financial position since our last General Assembly in 2014 and we look to the future with considerable optimism as we work to provide the best possible opportunities for our athletes to participate and excel in our sport.”

A highlight of the General Assembly was a presentation from the Netherlands Volleyball Federation (NeVoBo) on their plans as host of the 2018 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championships.  Exiting plans for this event include not only Sitting Volleyball but also a Standing Beach Volleyball event as well. The next General Assembly for World ParaVolley will be held in conjunction with the 2018 World Championships.

World ParaVolley is a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and is recognized by the IPC as the sole International Federation responsible for athletes with a physical impairment.

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For more information:

Phil Allen, General Manager
Generalmanager@worldparavolley.org
Or
Wayne Hellquist, Vice President
Vicepresident@worldparavolley.org