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LAUSANNE, August 18,
2008 - With his inaugural year at the helm of
the FIVB quickly coming to a close, President
Jizhong Wei has recapped the first 12 months of
his four-year term in an annual report sent to
all affiliated National Federations.
President Wei began
his report by detailing the many accomplishments
of his predecessor, Dr. Ruben Acosta, including
some of his more illustrious achievements such
as bringing Beach Volleyball to the Olympic
Games, developing the game at both the
grassroots level and the professional, and
instituting a specialized administrative and
technical team at the FIVB.
Such a legacy led Mr. Wei to administer the FIVB
in the "spirit of continuation and evolution."
Mr. Wei said that his term would be
characterized by transparency and openness,
democracy and decentralization, and control and
supervision.
The president
restated his promises to remain in office for a
single term only and to ensure that all
commissions made are funneled back into the
FIVB, in keeping with the Olympic practice that
"money coming from sports should be used for
sports."
With that in mind,
National Federations are already receiving more
assistance than in past years as the FIVB
continues to nurture the game around the world.
The National Federations are also being given a
greater say in the governing of the sport, and
greater communication and coordination between
the FIVB and such bodies has resulted.
President Wei has
been adamant about strengthening ties with the
IOC and other sports federations, which is
already starting to bear fruit in the financing
of an FIVB development project.
As for the management of the FIVB's own finances
and investment portfolio, a more conservative
approach has been implemented to offset any
effects of the world financial crisis. Feasible
measures and stricter budgets are in place for
development projects and transparent
negotiations are under way with potential
organizers for competitions after 2012.
On the event front,
Mr. Wei outlined a number of exciting new
changes, including new reforms in Beach
Volleyball, the beginning of the FIVB World Club
Championship for men in 2009, and the
introduction of the 2-libero system at the Grand
Champions competition in Japan this year.
There have also been
a number of changes at the FIVB Secretariat, Mr.
Wei said, including more frequent meetings, a
greater number of staff members, an improved
FIVB website and more detailed and transparent
administrative regulations.
Finally, in the
spirit of teamwork, President Wei thanked his
colleagues for all their support during his
first year, in particular First Executive
Vice-President Cristobal Marte, Second Executive
Vice-President Theofanis Tsiokris, and Executive
Vice-President and Treasurer Andre Meyer.
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