The future development of volleyball and beach volleyball is one of the main focus points of this year's Congress, with technology playing a key part
Lausanne, Switzerland, October 27, 2014 – A collective review of the dynamic modernisation of global volleyball over the past two years and how that success can be built upon for the continued betterment of the sport will be at the heart of the 34th FIVB Congress which begins in Cagliari, Italy on Friday.
The biennial meeting, which will be preceded by a one-day workshop for national federations in categories 1 and 2, will bring together 200 national federations and give them the chance to discuss the FIVB’s activities over the last two years and offer their thoughts on the future of the organisation.
Innovation for the future
The 2012 FIVB Congress in Anaheim, USA saw Dr. Ary S. Graça F° elected as the fourth FIVB President. Under the leadership of President Graça the organisation has seen rapid growth in the development of technological innovations which are now in use today.
However, whilst the last two years have set the pace for this evolution, the FIVB is continuing to make strides into new areas to constantly improve the sport. It is with this in mind that innovations such as the state-of-the-art LED net – recently on show at the Men’s and Women’s World Championship – are important to build upon.
The 2014 edition will not be an electoral one, with attention also focused on reports from all of the FIVB’s properties as well as ratifying decisions made by the Board of Administration and Executive Committee.
A dialogue for national federations
The Congress will be preceded by a one-day workshop for national federations in categories 1 and 2 with the theme “From vision to action”. The aim is to create an open dialogue between all member federations through collaboration.
The previous workshop at the 2012 Congress included 159 participants from 146 countries and the goal for the 2014 edition is to better that number.
Key items on the proposed agenda include:
• Global development report overview from last two years.
• National Federation Strategic Report – opportunities and challenges.
• Development of competitions.
• Digital and social media
• Managing innovation and change
• Working with government in schools
• Commercial aspirations and investment for the future
Sardinia and Volleyball
Whilst it may not be known for its volleyball history, Sardinia has been the starting point for many of today’s global stars.
Club side Tiscali Cagliari has seen some of the world’s top players compete on its court. In the past their roster has included accomplished players such as Paolo Torre, Puerto Rico's Hector Soto and a young Jan Stokr of the Czech Republic, the latter going on to win the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship later in his career for Trentino Volley.
The island has also hosted its fair share of tournaments, most recently a leg of the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix in the northern city of Sassari. Cagliari also welcomed the CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final earlier this year and has also hosted three FIVB Beach Volleyball challenger events in 1999, 2005 and 2006.
