The Zonal Volleyball Association of the Western European countries celebrated on Friday its General Assembly, a meeting that certified the successful first year of existence of the union of nations.
The Kempinski Hotel in Turkish city of Antalya held the plenary meeting that analyzed the accomplishments achieved during the season and prepared the association for the upcoming months. All the decisions were taken by unanimously, in a representation of the unity of the members of the union of national federations, towards the development of Volleyball in their countries.
The meeting started with the inauguration and welcome by president of the association, Agustin Martin Santos. The head of the Spanish Volleyball Federation highlighted in his activity report the efforts that were required to create the association, and the complicated endeavor in the constitution of the zonal union of nations, which crystallized the September 26, 2013 in Danish city of Copenhagen. Martin Santos also stated the numerous meetings celebrated this year in order to implement the organization and reviewed the successful tournaments held during this season. “The technical level (of the competitions) was very high and we are very proud for the organizational level of the tournaments. We all look forward to improve even more in the future”, commented Spanish president.
Martin Santos reminded the importance of the establishment of new competitions foreseen to star next year, as well as the creation of different actions aiming to extend development among the member countries. “We are very excited and motivated to work for the zonal development and offer our contribution not only to our countries but all the European volleyball family. The WEVZA is here”, stated WEVZA president. The report of the activities presented by the President deserved unanimous recognition as well as for the Executive Committee in their efforts to implement the Association.
The main decisions were the following:
• Approval of the minutes of the previous meetings of the Assembly 2013 and ratification of the minutes of the Executive Committee meetings.
• Approval of the amendement of the Statute regarding the acronym (WEVZA), and modification of article 2.3, at the request of the CEV, adding a paragraph concerning the necessity that Association focuses in the development of under age categories.
• the design and use of the logo and its different versions were approved, according to the guidelines presented.
• Approval of the financial management, report income and expenses for 2014, as well as the draft budget for 2015. The members pointed out that the 2015 budget doubles the amount destinated for 2014 and that a significant drop or cancelation of fees (membership, participation, organization) has been implemented.
• Analysis of the 2014 competitions report. Also, the competition schedule for 2015 was approved, in which the creation of a new category of volleyball for competitions Under16 and Under 17 stands out. In addition to this, another new category for Under 17 is created for beach volleyball, together with the creation of a senior Clubs Cup to be played in preseason.
• Ratification of the continuation and strengthening of the coaches and referees articles to be published in the section of the website together with the organization in 2015 of the first International Technical Workshop.
• In the communication area, members of the Assembly expressed its satisfaction with the Website, and an explanation of its structure and functionality was presented.
• The 2015 meeting schedule was established, comprised by two workshops and a working group in the first quarter, two Executive Committee meetings (one in each semester ), and two sessions of the General Assembly, one regular meeting in the first half and special meeting in conjunction with the Congress of the CEV.
The WEVZA president closed the meeting by thanking especially to all national federations that have contributed to the organization of competitions and meetings, and to the Vice-Presidents, Vicente Araujo from Portugal and Hans Nieukerke from The Netherlands, for their support and outstanding work.
At the end of the meeting, all the members congratulated the success of the association in the first season and showed their enthusiasm for the second year of the organization.