Gary Stewart has been confirmed in the newly created position as Chief Executive Officer of Volleyball Ireland.
The change in title from his previous role as General Manager comes about as part of an overall restructuring of management in the sport to account for the growth of recent years and the potential of the future.
Volleyball has been expanding rapidly in Ireland and a new staff structure has been deemed vital by the Board of Volleyball Ireland to support the current and projected growth of the sport.
Gary Stewart has been the General Manager of Volleyball Ireland for the past number of years and has been a key contributor to the organisation’s development with significant increases in participation, revenues and profile during his tenure.
He has overseen a rapid and consistent boost in participation figures, as well as a near doubling of annual revenues and grants.
Increase
Volleyball Ireland was the first sports organisation to win the Good Governance Annual Report Award in 2021. It has seen an increase in annual revenues from 320k to 540k per annum in the current strategic plan cycle.
In 2020 the sport rebranded in a competition run by Sport for Business in partnership with fellow member Branding Sport.
Along, with his appointment, the organisation has also created two new Senior roles of Development Manager and Operations Manager which have been held since the end of 2021 by Conor Flood and Simon Dyke respectively.
An additional role in the performance and education sphere will be created, as well as a further part-time administrative function to support an increase in planned competitions, events and education courses for coaches, referees and players.
Pivotal
“Gary has been pivotal in the shaping of volleyball in Ireland over the past few years,” said Volleyball Ireland President Clodagh Nic Canna.
“This is leading to increased demand to be involved in the sport. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of licensed players has grown a huge 40 per cent, and we have 30 per cent more teams in our Adult and Youth National Leagues.”
“These changes and more staff are key to meeting this new demand, supporting our clubs and continuing to serve our existing members. A new staff structure is crucial to our NGB and to our exciting and aggressive plans for the future of Volleyball in Ireland.”
“This change matches our ambition to establish volleyball beside other sports with higher participation and greater success at the Performance levels. In line with Sport Ireland’s good governance model we are ensuring with this change we have the right structure and people in place to manage our growing NGB successfully.”
“The support and reputation Volleyball Ireland now has within European Volleyball and Irish Sport is incredible, you can see this by the increase in financial support we’re receiving, and to be asked by the CEV (Confederation of European Volleyball) to present at the 2021 Annual Congress in Poland as the good practice Federation tells it all.”
“This doesn’t happen overnight and is testament to the work of the current and previous Board, as well as the staff led by Gary.”
Honour
“It’s an honour to serve the Volleyball Ireland community and I’d like to thank everyone for being so welcoming and supportive throughout my time in the sport here, said Stewart.
“We have a strong Board led by Clodagh, brilliant staff Conor, Simon, Amanda and Sophie who really give their all for the sport, and incredibly passionate Volunteers who are the driving force making it all happen.”
“I feel we’ve made great progress in the last few years to strengthen the foundation of the sport, which will put us in a position to really mushroom the growth of the Volleyball and continue to raise our standards. I’m really excited about the next few years and seeing Volleyball go to the next level.”
Sport for Business Perspective
This is deserved recognition for one of the most effective and personable individuals working within the Irish sporting ecosystem. The hosting of European tournaments and the creation of a winning culture across all areas of the sport have established a model for all challenger sports.
Sport for Business Partners
