IWBF - New leaders elected at IWBF Congress

INCHEON (IWBF) - In conjunction with the 2014 IWBF Men's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) held its sixth World Congress on July 13.

Representatives from 36 member countries from around the world were present to hear the progress made by the IWBF since 2010 and to elect a new president and executive council.

Maureen Orchard of Canada, the President of the IWBF since 2002, did not stand for reelection. She will continue to serve the IWBF as Secretary General, a role which she was appointed to by the new council.

Orchard has been involved with basketball, both standing and wheelchair, for 47 years. In 1994 she became a member of the IWBF Competitions Commission and then leader of that committee in 1998. She was first elected President of IWBF in 2002 at the World Congress in Japan, succeeding Sir Philip Craven, who is now the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). She was reelected in 2006 and 2010.

Previously serving the last four years as the IWBF Vice President, Ulf Mehrens of Germany was elected as the international federation's new President for the next four-year term.

The 59-year-old chairman of the German Wheelchair Sports Association (DRS) told the German Basketball Federation (DBB) that he has three main objectives over the next four years.

"Firstly, we need to build professional structures away from volunteerism, to improve communication internally and externally, and (lastly) to move our office to Germany to work more cooperatively here with FIBA," he said.

Along with Mehrens, the following officers were elected at the Congress: Steve Bach of Canada is now Vice President; Craig Moorgas of South Africa is now Treasurer; Francisca Ravestein of the Netherlands was elected Chairperson of the Committee for Legal Matters and Eligibility (CLME) and Charlie Bethel of Great Britain) Chairperson of Competition.

The meeting elected two new Members-at-large in Toufic Allouche from Lebanon and Demirhan Serefhan of Turkey.

Norbert Kucera of Germany and Don Perriman from Australia were re-elected to their same positions leading the Technical and Classification Commissions respectively for a further four-year term.

The Executive Council is completed by the Presidents of the four Zones - Hamid El Aouni (Morocco) IWBF Africa; Dick Bryant (USA) IWBF Americas; Kang In Duk (Korea) IWBF Asia Oceania; Jan Berteling (Netherlands) IWBF Europe.

The IWBF also recognized five new member nations, bringing the total to 98. The new members are Laos, Myanmar, North Korea, Senegal and Hungary.

FIBA