EEVZA General Assembly held in Warsaw

This past Saturday, the General Assembly of the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) was held in Warsaw, Poland. The meeting was joined via video link by representatives of the National Federations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia – who could only attend remotely. The actual meeting was hosted by the Polish Volleyball Federation (PVF) at their very own headquarters in Warsaw, and the PVF highest authorities – President Sebastian Swiderski, Secretary General Jacek Sek, Board of Administration member Leszek Leo Wencel and Mr Hubert Tomaszewski, Director of the senior national teams – all joined the EEVZA General Assembly together with CEV Board of Administration member, Miroslaw Przedpelski. 

EEVZA President Mykhaylo Melnyk did officially open the meeting, with all attendees on site and connected from afar receiving a warm welcome from PVF President, Sebastian Swiderski. Mr Melnyk shared a comprehensive report and review of the activities organised by EEVZA since the last such gathering. Ms Alisa Cesnuleviciute, Secretary General of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation and EEVZA Beach Volleyball Coordinator, reviewed the Beach Volleyball competitions held in 2023 before opening the floor to discuss plans for 2024 and further ahead. The financial reports for the years 2022 and 2023 were presented and approved – whereas the budget for 2024 will be finalised in March after confirmation of the Beach Volleyball events scheduled for the upcoming season. 

After changes to the age limits resulting from adjustments made by the FIVB and CEV to their respective under-age championships, EEVZA confirmed that their zonal qualifiers for next year’s U16 European Championships will be held later this year in Poland and Estonia for girls and boys, respectively. 

To involve more National Federations and increase participation in EEVZA activities and competitions, it was proposed and agreed to establish commissions and working groups, which will be playing the role of advisory bodies towards the EEVZA leadership. A Sports Organising/Technical Commission will include Kristaps Čerņavskis (Latvia) and Oleksiy Skibitskyy (Ukraine), whereas the Beach Volleyball Commission will comprise of Edgars Zaiženijs (Latvia) and Aigars Birzulis (Latvia/Lithuania). Mr Arturs Vitkovskis (Latvia) is the chair of the EEVZA Development Working Group. Other National Federations have been asked to come forward and to propose the name of their own representatives to join such bodies – and more members from Poland, Estonia, and Azerbaijan are due to be appointed soon. 

The General Assembly ended with a session focussing on current areas where there is room for improvement and proposals for the future.