30/11/2019 23:00
CEV President joins celebrations for 90 years of Volleyball in Lithuania
News from the CEV
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 30, 2019. A special gala took place on Friday night in Vilnius to celebrate 90 years of Volleyball in Lithuania. CEV President Aleksandar Boričić, CEV Vice-President Lubor Halanda, as well as EEVZA Vice-President Mykhaylo Melnyk were among those to attend the event together with many representatives of the Lithuanian Olympic Committee, Lithuanian Government, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Science and the Lithuanian Sports Federations Union. They joined the greatest stars of Lithuanian Volleyball, managers of Volleyball clubs, coaches, referees and many more people to celebrate 90 years since the introduction of the Volleyball game in Lithuania.
In conjunction with such a special anniversary, the CEV President travelled to Vilnius to share the moment with the President of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation, Mr Darius Čerka and the entire Lithuanian Volleyball family.
“I would like to congratulate the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation and to thank all the members of Lithuania’s Volleyball family for their contribution to the establishment and development of Volleyball in Lithuania, a process which continues up until these days. This is a historic achievement but we should look ahead as well. Volleyball is an outstanding sport – you can play it indoors, you can play it on the beach and now you can play it even on the snow. I am happy to celebrate this day together with you and to be able to discuss plans for the further development of Volleyball together with the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation,” the CEV President said.
The CEV President receiving the Olympic star from a member of the Lithuanian NOC Board of Administration, Mrs Agnė Vanagienė
The member of the National Olympic Committee’s Board of Administration, Mrs Agnė Vanagienė, presented the CEV President with an Olympic star to acknowledge his role towards the growth of this leading Olympic sport.
The President of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation Darius Čerka expressed his gratitude towards the many illustrious guests in attendance at the gala. “We feel like we are a part of the larger European Volleyball family and we are thankful for the good cooperation and eager to work together towards the further development of the Volleyball sport, while building a strong European Volleyball community,” he said.
The CEV President awarding Lithuanian Volleyball legend Vytautas Jankus together with CEV Vice-President Lubor Halanda (far left) and Lithuanian Volleyball Federation President Darius Čerka (far right)
The fathers of Lithuanian Volleyball, who created, developed and nurtured the sport in Lithuania, shared their memories and received deserved acknowledgements for their help in establishing and growing the game in the Baltic country. CEV President Aleksandar Boričić and Mr Čerka presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award the real ‘father’ of Lithuanian Volleyball, Mr Vytautas Jankus.
The history of Lithuanian Volleyball dates back to 1929, when teams representing Lithuania and neighbouring Latvia played a first Volleyball match in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas.
The most accomplished Lithuanian Volleyball player to date remains the late Vasilijus Matuševas, who claimed Olympic gold in 1968 in Mexico City with the national team of the Soviet Union.
A historic moment for Lithuania: teams from the Baltic country celebrate their gold and bronze-medal winning performances at the inaugural European Snow Volleyball Championships in March 2018 in Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria
Since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania’s players have achieved their most outstanding results in age-group Beach Volleyball championships, seizing a number of medals. Moreover, in 2018, Ieva Dumbauskaite/Monika Povilaityte-Paulikienė emerged as the first-ever European Snow Volleyball champions in Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria, where Lukas Kazdailis/Arnas Rumsevicius claimed the bronze medal from the men’s competition.
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