Lausanne, Switzerland, December 7, 2015 - FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graca F° and his pioneering vision for the future of volleyball and beach volleyball have been recognised by the SportBusiness International 2015 Innovator of the Year awards, which are given to the sports executives who have made the most original business decisions over the past 12 months.
The SportBusiness International 2015 Innovator of the Year awards report pointed to the highly successful FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships The Netherlands 2015, which took place in the four Dutch cities of The Hague, Amsterdam, Apeldoorn and Rotterdam. It said 2015's solution to beach volleyball's lack of physical legacy had been to split the venue-hosting into four. At the heart of this creative new format was a floating 5,500-seater stadium built on the Hofvijver pond in The Hague, while Rotterdam's 2,000-seater had the SS Rotterdam cruise ship as its backdrop. Amsterdam's 2,000-seat temporary venue was constructed in Dam Square, while the market square was the location for Apeldoorn's 2,000-seater venue.
President Graça recently launched the FIVB's 9 Goals strategic plan to help direct the future work of the federation and ensure it realises the sport's huge global potential. The FIVB has experienced great success in the past couple of years, with record attendances at the World Championships in Poland and Italy last year, as well as one of the most memorable Beach Volleyball World Championships this year. Volleyball and beach volleyball continue to set the benchmark for dynamic and innovative family sport entertainment and the 9 Goals will ensure this upward trajectory of success is maintained.
The Sports Innovator of the Year 2015 ranking:
20. Michael Davies and Roger Bennett, BlazerCon co-creators
19. Bob Bowman, Major League Baseball Advanced Media CEO
18. Ary Graça, FIVB President
17. Mark Waller, NFL International Executive Vice President
16. Andrew Wilson, EA Sports CEO
15. Chris Burton, SAP former vice president of global sponsorships
14. Frank Leenders, FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General
13. Brett Gosper, World Rugby CEO
12. Ferran Soriano, City Football Group CEO
11. Nigel Melville, USA Rugby CEO
10. Ari Emanuel, WME-IMG Co Ceo
9. Hicham El Amrani, Confederation of African Football General Secretary
8. Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney General
7. Patrick Drahi, Altice Founder
6. Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee President
5. Simon Denyer, Perform CEO
4. Dana White, Ultimate Fighting Championship
3. Peter Hutton, Eurosport CEO
2. Javier Tebas, LaLiga President
1. Lei Zhenjian, LeTV Sports CEO
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