SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, December 21, 2023. – NORCECA held its 2023 Executive Committee and Board of Administration Virtual Meeting, where the working reports for the past two years (2022-2023) were discussed.
NORCECA President, Mr. Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz, delivered the welcoming remarks, highlighting a fruitful 2023 from all perspectives, “I am very pleased that we were able to complete the competition calendar, allowing NORCECA to rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing a marketing strategy and providing support to all the National Federations”.
The Executive Committee and Board of Administration members had the opportunity to review and discuss NORCECA’s annual activity report, which included two multi-sport competitions, the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. Additionally, the first editions of the Under-17 Continental Championships in both genders and the NORCECA Under-23 Beach Tour.
President Marte Hoffiz presented a proposal for the NORCECA classification system for the FIVB World Championship, which will be further analyzed for its approval.
In 2023, NORCECA established a historic long-term partnership for eight years (2023-2030) with MIKASA to be the official ball for Volleyball and Beach Volleyball competitions within the Confederation. The Under-19 Men’s Pan American Cup held in Guatemala in March was the first official event to use MIKASA.
The reports from all NORCECA working commissions were presented after a detailed discussion of its Financial Statements audited by the external firm Ernst & Young.
NORCECA has been a pioneer in volleyball development programs, a model adopted by the FIVB to create the Volleyball Empowerment program with a larger budget.
Regarding refereeing, NORCECA is the only Confederation simultaneously conducting refereeing courses for Volleyball and Beach Volleyball, aiming to maintain refereeing standards through an education program for the integration of new referees, along with refresher courses for the development of active referees.
Among the responsibilities of the sports organization committee, NORCECA conducted several inspections before the two multi-sport events held this year, leading to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the organizing committee and ensuring the success of both competitions.
According to the discussions during the working session, it was highlighted that time, patience, and a dedicated group of volleyball enthusiasts are required to achieve success, which will help National Federations must find ways to face various challenges to attain it.
NORCECA is in continuous growth, and there is a need to enhance its structure, leading to a subsequent session to analyze various proposals from the FIVB legal commission for constitutional changes which arose during the meeting.
An important change took place in 2023 with the implementation of the statistical software Volley Station, prompting various training sessions and an induction plan for the members of the VIS and Statistics commission and the Refereeing commission to adapt to the changes made in the e-score sheet.
A review of the 2024 Volleyball and Beach Volleyball competition calendar highlighted the classification system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The session concluded with the announcement of the XXVII NORCECA Congress, scheduled to be held in Punta Cana from July 6 to 7, 2024. The next NORCECA Board of Administration session is set for July 5.
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