BVF President pleased with development and achievements of Bulgaria’s refereeing community

This past weekend, the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BVF) paid recognition to one of its best international referees - Ivaylo Ivanov, who, among other major achievements, whistled the gold medal match of the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championships contested last December in Bangalore, India, between Italy’s Sir Sicoma PERUGIA and Brazil’s Itambé Minas. 

Ivanov received a special award at the end of the three-day tournament organised for the Bulgarian Cup, which was held from January 19-21 at Levski Sofia sports hall in the Bulgarian capital city. The FIVB has shown its satisfaction with Ivanov’s performance, and he has already been appointed to officiate at four tournaments in this year’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL). 

BVF President Lubomir Ganev acknowledged the work done by Ivanov: “Being a first referee at the Final of the Men’s Club World Champs 2023 is a big success for Bulgarian refereeing, and for Ivaylo Ivanov personally as well. For us, the most important thing is that this nomination came in the pre-Olympic year. The fact that we had a Bulgarian to whistle this game, means that our refereeing is at a very high level,” Ganev said.

Furthermore, the President of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation put an emphasis on the work that has been done in recent years for the further development of Volleyball refereeing in Bulgaria:

For the governing body of Bulgarian Volleyball, it is very important to find the right balance between theory and practice at these seminars. “These lectors have come to share their wide knowledge with our referees during important local tournaments, such as the one for the Bulgarian Super Cup, for example. They observe the real-time action and give feedback to our referees.”

The BVF seeks to find the right tools for the referees’ development in the long term as well. “We also conduct courses with exams. If a referee does not pass the exam in the respective category, they cannot officiate. We want to be 100% sure that only the best prepared ones are on the court. And I think we are going in the right direction. One of the biggest signs confirming the achievements of Bulgarian refereeing are all the nominations that our referees are receiving for the European Cups. It means that the CEV appreciates all the efforts and qualities of our referees. I am, firstly, happy with this fact, and secondly, proud of what is happening - our referees see it is all worth it, and I wish them all the best. The case of Ivaylo, who is a construction engineer by profession, is just the ultimate proof of it,” Ganev commented.

The BVF President took the opportunity to show his satisfaction with the overall development of Bulgaria’s club Volleyball as well. “We had some great days at the Bulgarian Cup. We had a big interest shown by the fans - both in the arena, online or in front of the TV. We even spoke with the Chairman of the Bulgarian Volleyball League, Mr Zhivko Zhelev, that we hit a new attendance record. This all makes us extremely happy and shows that Volleyball continues to grow. We are pleased that there are more and more new fans, who are enjoying the game,” Ganev added.

“Bulgarian teams have developed quite a lot and almost all the games were extremely close, finishing in tiebreakers, with teams even coming back from 0-2. I am happy that we had a full house for the grand finale between Deya Sport BURGAS and Levski SOFIA, and, of course, congratulations to the Burgas team for winning their first ever Cup of Bulgaria,” the BVF President concluded.

The referees of the final match, Lyubomir Sirakov (first referee) and Atanas Varbanov (second referee) also received an award during the subsequent medal ceremony - in recognition for the excellent work done during the Final tournament.