CEV BoA confirms solidarity and investing in sport as Europe’s top priorities

The members of the CEV Board of Administration reconvened on Saturday for their third plenary meeting of the year 2021 – this time run in conjunction with the highly successful EuroBeachVolley event held at the very heart of Austria’s capital, Vienna. The BoA members were especially impressed with witnessing and sharing the spine-tingling atmosphere felt at the ‘sandbox’ set up at the Heumarkt – which accounts for the return of Beach Volleyball of the highest level in Europe and for an experience that spreads much-needed positive vibes in these still challenging times.

The meeting in the Austrian capital was an opportunity to review and celebrate the outstanding results achieved by European teams at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – the most successful Olympic Games ever for Europe’s Volleyball family, with as many as six medals claimed by representatives of CEV member Federations. With two gold, two silver and two bronze medals across Volleyball and Beach Volleyball, Europe has further cemented its leading role on the international stage. France and Norway claimed gold in men’s Volleyball and Beach Volleyball, respectively, with Russian teams securing silver medals in the very same events, as Serbia and Switzerland contributed to the impressive European medal tally with bronze in women’s Volleyball and Beach Volleyball.

Despite such unprecedented achievements, it is certainly not the time to rest on our laurels! As the European Volleyball community continues to respond dynamically and swiftly to the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the BoA took a number of important decisions to help secure a bright future for all three disciplines.

These include the qualification criteria for the much-anticipated second edition of EuroSnowVolley – which is due to take place in 2022 after the highly successful inaugural event hosted in 2018 in Wagrain-Kleinarl and Flachau, Austria. Moreover, the BoA approved a contingency plan for the upcoming EuroVolley as well as for the 2022 edition of the European Cups to make sure that such competitions can go ahead even during the coronavirus pandemic with the safety and health of all involved as the primary concern and top priority.

In terms of long-term planning, a series of think tanks will continue to gather information and hold discussions in order to help the BoA define the future strategy to grow Beach Volleyball across Europe. Such high-level online discussions started earlier this year and the BoA reviewed the intermediate outcome as well as the contribution of all those involved. Other discussions revolved around the use of match-related data so as to follow the latest trends in the sports business and to capitalise on the extensive information gathered at CEV competitions for marketing, promotional and entertainment purposes.

What is most important, the CEV Board of Administration members confirmed their wish to support all stakeholders – as the CEV has done since the very beginning of the coronavirus crisis – as well as to invest in the sport to grow all three disciplines while fostering good governance, transparency and solidarity in the management of Volleyball activities throughout Europe.