Over-the-top Handover Ceremony as FIVB Anoints New Leader

Jizhong Wei will serve as FIVB president until 2012. (ATR)(ATR) A ceremony marking a change of president for the global governing body of volleyball takes place in Beijing amid fanfare of the kind usually reserved for a visiting dignitary.

Known in the Olympics community for his largesse, FIVB president of 24 years Ruben Acosta officially handed the reins to Jizhong Wei of China, in a ceremony Sunday at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium.

Wei foreshadowed plans to change the rules of the sport, specifically to shorten the duration of matches to appease broadcasters, at a badly-planned media conference which kicked off more than an hour after the handover ceremony began.

“I’ll try to shorten the game time to make the match more attractive,” Wei told reporters.

“Secondly, I’ll try to enhance the volleyball level of those countries playing at the medium level and create more chances for them to compete with the strong powers in the world.

“Thirdly, I’ll help the underdeveloped countries improve their volleyball skills, especially in beach volleyball, for it needs less cost and [skills] can be improved quickly and effectively.”

He says statistics show the time playing the ball only accounts for 18 per cent of the whole game time, while the remaining game time can be attributed to “waiting, including timeout, exchange of courts, substitution and waiting for service. That is rarely seen in other sports.”

“If this problem is not solved, it is hard for the broadcasters to relay volleyball games in prime time,” he says.

Wei will serve out the presidency until a new election in 2012. Ruben Acosta’s 24-year rule over FIVB is over. (ATR)

Back on the issue of excessive time, guests at the ceremony were treated to a series of videos, complete with duplicated sections, for some 20 minutes of the total ceremony.

They featured Acosta and his wife Malu Acosta strolling the immaculately grassed area adjacent to Chateau Les Tourelles, the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne.

Guests were even treated to some statistics in the videos - played on the electronic scoreboards at the venue - on the number of workers now required to maintain the surrounding areas of the residence. The videos also offered a glimpse of the offices inside the building.

The video packages particularly focused on moments featuring International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and Acosta, taped during the unveiling of the headquarters, an event that also came with the same small-scale pageantry associated with Sunday’s The setup for the handover ceremony. (ATR)ceremony in Beijing.

The Beijing event had a red carpet and stands full of volunteers, a sort of ‘rent-a-crowd’. A large backdrop featured the words: “The Hand Over Ceremony For The FIVB Presidency”.

FIVB sponsor Adidas was featured on large signage on either side of the stage.

Few journalists attended the event.

A key sign the ceremony had gone on way too long came after about fifty minutes, when the usually-compliant Chinese volunteers expressed audible signs of restlessness after one of several parts of the ceremony was introduced.

Dozens of technical officials, dressed in their distinct blue blazers, were also among those drafted to fill seats.

Their attendance did not go unrewarded – they were each thanked by Acosta before he departed the ceremony with his wife, Ruben and Malu Acosta with Jizhong Wei in plenty of pomp for what should be a routine transfer of presidencies. (ATR)said to be the real driving force behind the FIVB presidency.

“I am retiring today from the presidency at the closing of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games so that a new era can unfold for the FIVB,” Mr. Acosta told the audience.

Acosta made official his previously-announced retirement at the 31st FIVB World Congress in Dubai earlier this year, where Wei was unanimously elected Acosta’s successor. The congress also approved an executive committee proposal to appoint Acosta honorary life president.

“The FIVB can be sure that I will continue the march in advance you initiated and try my best to reach the high expectations you put on us,” Wei told guests at the Beijing ceremony.

Acosta was first elected president of the FIVB at the 19th FIVB world congress in Long Beach, the United States, in 1984.

Under his leadership, FIVB member federations have increased from 154 to 220. But Acosta has also caught flack for an imperious style and the influence of spouse Malu, who some regarded as a shadow president, unelected, unappointed, yet all powerful. Acosta attracted scrutiny from the IOC Ethics Commission over the 10 percent commission he received for negotiating TV deals and sponsorship. A report from the commission suggested that money raised for sport should go to sport, but stopped short of criticizing Acosta, who had resigned his seat on the IOC a few months before.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos

For general comments or questions, click here