24/12/2020 08:00
Lithuanian Volleyball family awarded as ‘Sports Federation of the Year’
News from the National Federations
Vilnius, Lithuania, December 24, 2020. The year 2020 was a very challenging one for the European Volleyball family, yet many members have showed much resilience and determination to step up and find the strength to deal with such an unprecedented crisis. This applies, among others, to the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation, which recently received the award for the ‘Sports Federation of the Year’ annually presented by the Union of Lithuanian Sports Federations. This award means a lot to the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation (LTF), whose management and staff worked very hard throughout such a hectic and difficult year as 2020.
LTF President Darius Čerka admitted that 2020 was full of challenges and disrupted plans, but against all odds, the LTF continued to work hard to grow the Volleyball game in Lithuania even further and to achieve quality results. “I am obviously very happy that the Union of Lithuanian Sports Federations has acknowledged and recognised such work and effort,” he said.
The highlight of the year was obviously the FIVB World Tour double-gender 1-Star event organised in Vilnius in early September. It was the first such event ever held in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian Volleyball Federation delivered in early September, despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the very first World Tour event ever held in the Baltic country
However, apart from this international highlight, the LTF worked hard to devise a plan to develop Volleyball in Lithuania – doing so with a clear vision, which takes into account the financial resources provided by the national authorities.
Moreover, the LTF has established a youth Volleyball group for boys based at the Vilnius Sports Gymnasium, with plans to introduce a similar programme for girls in the pipeline as well. On top of this, elite Beach Volleyball Italian coach Marco Solustri delivered a series of online classes for young Beach Volleyball coaches from the Baltic country to help grow the game and improve their knowledge with the help of the FIVB Development Platform. Finally, the LTF introduced an online licensing and Beach and Snow Volleyball competition management system. To wrap up a challenging, yet exciting year, the women’s team of TK KAUNAS VDU participated in the 8th Finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup for the first time in history, playing against an elite team from Turkey earlier this month in Istanbul.
Therefore, if the year 2020 may have confronted us with many unexpected challenges, the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation is another example of how the Volleyball family has been able to adapt and respond swiftly and effectively to such an unprecedented global health crisis.
Picture above: LTF President Darius Čerka (left), Project Manager Alisa Cesnuleviciute and Secretary General Andrius Gaidys with the award for the Sports Federation of the Year
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