President’s Message – YEAR IN REVIEW 2024

Dear World ParaVolley Community,

When the World ParaVolley Community gathers online for the General Assembly we will review the work of 2022-2023.  Before that, I would like to take this opportunity to send best wishes to all for this Holiday Season and to offer a summary of the year 2024 in review. 

A year ago, our previous President, Mr. Barry Couzner OAM (AUS), announced his early retirement from World ParaVolley. It was my honor to work alongside Barry since 2022 on the Board as Sport Director then Vice President, and for nearly 30 years before that in the world of volleyball and beach volleyball. Stepping into the role of President and accepting the responsibility meant taking a look back first and understanding how we got here before deciding how to move forward. 

Barry and the Board gathered one last time together  in December 2023. It was important to note that for nearly 20 years prior the work of World ParaVolley had largely been done by a small group of volunteer leaders, many who were retired or coming to the end of their service to the community.  Succession planning was a major need identifed to ensure more people with interest and expertise were given opportunities to serve and help lead World ParaVolley into the future. It is a great sign that so many are interested to serve and part of the challenge moving forward is providing the information, resources, and expertise to support the next 20 years with new leaders joining the effort alongside those whose work in the past has helped us reach this point. 

The goal of my short Presidency to this moment has been to “listen and learn” while identifying any areas of concern to ensure a smooth transition for the future. When you come inside with a specific agenda or platform this only serves one’s own purpose.  It is also ineffective to criticize without bringjng viable solutions forward for discussion and consideration. And when leading an international organization it is essential to balance the needs of ALL countries and consider carefully what will benefit the largest percentage of the membership. My wish is to let the members speak and help shape the goals for the future. Then I see my task is to find the ways to help support WPV as an organization and the people serving in leadership so these goals can be achieved. 

The following are highlights of 2024:

• Direct meetings and discussions were held with WPV commission leaders, starting with the Athletes Commission to prioritize involving more athletes in leadership to provide valuable learning and information gathering opportunities. We benefitted from the perspective of the 2 athelete representatives to the Board, Ms. Nicky Nieves PLY (USA) and Mr. Ivan Ćosić (CRO).  In an effort to involve more athlete voice, I invited Heidi Peters PLY (CAN) from the commission to attend Board Meetings as a guest and to serve in other areas of governance. 
• Feedback received from many nations about the need for more direct communication from the Board to them created opportunities for conversations where many misconceptions were corrected and misinformation that created trust issues was addressed.  As a best practice, I began inviting commission leaders, athletes, and relevant persons such as legal advisors and the Paralympic Technical Delegate to attend  Board Meetings to report directly on the activities in these areas and offer some additional transparency and clarity. 
• Attempts to identify the mechanisms to act upon member’s feedback was prioritized. Areas of consistency and professionalism of WPV operations were among the most frequently mentioned by members as being essential for the future.  As an organization comprised of a majority of volunteers and one independent contractor it is necessary to re-examine this model in order to achieve the professionalism the members desire for the future. 
• Preparation for the Paris 2024 Paralympics was supported by many additional persons and areas of focus to create a stronger team environment to reach a successful outcome. 
• Organizational leaders were further empowered to refresh, renew and change the way WPV approached operations in order to update our processes to better meet the concerns of the member’s feedback. 
• WPV Federation, Inc was successfully registered as a non-profit charitable corporation in the United States to further maximize business and financial opportunities for the future.  This completed a project started under the leadership of Past President Couzner. The next transition step to the new business operations must be completed after an auditing process and final closure of the previous business entity. 
• Marketing and Communications will continue to play an important role in the future as WPV adjusts its focus on creating revenue opportunities to support its strategic goals moving forward. WPV Marketing Director, Ms. Christine Shelby (USA), has re-positioned many areas of the marketing effort and is now engaged in all contracts including sponsors and suppliers. Working closely with Christine is Ms. Anna Tomas (PHI), WPV Communications Manager, who introduced a new strategy and content plan for social media in 2024 while continuing to rebuild the Communications Committee with working professionals. 
• Safeguarding and integrity oversight continued to make improvements. The process is ongoing and requires expertise from many contributors who are experienced in this field of study.  Ms. Laura Inlow (USA) and Mr. Sven Ritter (GER) and the Safeguarding Integrity Commission continue to manage this most complicated and sensitive area with a trauma-informed perspective.
• Under the direction of WPV Medical Director, Ms. Louise Ashcroft (CAN) and assistant Medical Director, Mr. Saro Kerestycian (CAN) the areas of anti-doping, classification, and research continues to maintain a high level of operations with contributions from commission leaders. 
• The efforts to support the emerging sport discipline of beach paravolley continues with a focus on the IPC’s application process to the sport program of the 2032 Brisbane Paralympics. A Beach ParaVolley World Championships was held in May for men’s teams in China. Many countries have shown interest in beach paravolley, including from potential new members who have not previously participated in paravolley. 
• Preparations for a full governance review and continuation of work towards the 2025-2032 strategic plan remains a key priority for the Board. The formation of the new Legal Commission is one important step and will be managed by Mr. Graham Arthur (GBR) who has served as WPV General Counsel for many years. Governance and all areas of operations continues to be supported by the WPV General Manager, Mr. Phil Allen (CAN), with support from WPV Treasurer, Mr. Benno Meijer (NED).
• A renewed strategy seeking collaboration is in development with key affiliate organizations including the FIVB and World Ability Sport.  Dr. Stephen Giugni OAM (AUS) and his assistant sport directors Ms. Chrissy Benz (CAN) for paravolley and Mr. David Cox (NOR) for beach paravolley, are already engaged in host bidding for 2025-2028 to hopefully provide more lead time for the confirmation of international events and the pathway to LA28. 
• Restructuring of the World ParaVolley Commissions and Committees started in 2024 with much more work needed. The restructuring will hopefully open more opportunities for interested persons with diverse experience and expertise to participate in leadership and continue to support a vibrant volunteer base. 
• Using personal relationships and networking we held important discussions and proactive meetings with LA28 and key organizations in Los Angeles. Meetings held in Paris during the Paralympics with LA28 and Brisbane 2032 will help us ensure we maximize opportunities to make our best efforts for the next 2 Paralympics. 
• The area of Development continues to make advancements under the direction of WPV Development Director, Mr. Anton Raimondo (RSA) with the introduction of new courses and educational opportunities and the internal management of the IPC grant funding which continues to support activities for our members. 
• Cooperation with the World ParaVolley Foundation continued during the year and at the Paris Paralympics where fundraising was successful by their Chairman, Jim Leask.  The Foundation is an independent non-profit charitable corporation based in the USA with its own Board of Directors and is preparing to announce a first round of grant recipients next week.  There are future plans for more grant programs and fundraising efforts continue.
• Activities in each zone are managed by the four Zone Presidents Mr. Ehab Hassanein (EGY) of ParaVolley Africa, Mr. Lu Cailliang (CHN) of ParaVolley Asia Oceania, Mr. Branko Mihorko (SLO) of ParaVolley Europe and Mr. joe Campbell (USA) of ParaVolley Pan America. The President’s are actively seeking opportunities that support the member nations in their respective zones. I was pleased to be able to visit at least one event in each zone during my short tjme as President, and to meet many leaders in person to hear directly from you, the members, what is really going on in your country and what your priorities are. That was very helpful towards finding solutions. 
• I have continued to prioritize international relations with productive and candid in person meetings with IPC President, Andrew Parsons, IPC CEO Mike Peters and members of the executive management team, the new FIVB President, Mr. Fabio Azevedo and key members of the FIVB management staff, the CEO of World Ability Sport, Ms. Charmaine Hooper, and remained an active member of the Association of Paralympic Sport Organizations (APSO) to further position World ParaVolley in a collaborative view with other international para sport federations.

The year 2024 was transitional and focused on gathering information. Getting a sense of the real condition of World ParaVolley and where more attention was needed. It was an endeavor that required humility to hear some information that can be hard to accept or determine how to fix. The work must continue and it takes everyone involved to commit. The year 2024 was also a moment to reflect, for all of us, the tremendous opportunity we have before us to take our collective input and evolve into a new era.

Sincerely,

LORI OKIMURA
World ParaVolley President