Introduction
The Volleyball Australia organization hosted the World Championship qualification tournament and made a record of gaining a second round performance. It also provided a Beach Volleyball tour that entailed five in-house events. Changes were made with regard to the branding of the Australian Juniors, Australian Volleyball League, and Australian Volleyball School Cup. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the training changes and motivation factors that could have accounted for the great change in performance. The recent accomplishments, in addition to the one experienced in the World Championship tournament, were a win in the World League group 2 and the women’s indoor team moved from 100+ to 46 position in the world ranking.
Background
Initially, the Volleyball Australia was known as the Australian Volleyball Federation. It was established in the year 1963. The Australian Volleyball Federation is the peak body that oversees the administration of the volleyball sport in Australia. The establishment and daily running of the AVF aims to:
- Oversee that the volleyball sports take place successfully.
- Liaise with various member states or other organizations to support the volleyball sports members and the sport itself by enabling the conduct, encouragement, promotion and administration of the sport.
- Ensure that the quality and reputation of the volleyball federation are maintained and enhanced.
- Ensure a healthy relationship that is characterized by mutual trust and confidence between the Federation and the members.
- Represent the members and the volleyball sport.
- Ensure that the federation and each Member state maintain a solid economic base, and that autonomy is exercised and respected.
The Australian Volleyball Federation is made up of registered members from eight member states. It is run by a board which appoints various individuals for the administrative and operational high profile positions, for example, the chief executive manager and other functional managers, as represented in the figure below (Volleyball Australia 2015).
The organization consists of various volleyball activities for males and females at senior and junior levels. Volleyball activities entail both indoor and beach volleyball games. The year 2013/2014 was one year of great significance, and Volleyball Australia experienced a great momentum of success. It forms a base from where continued success can be experienced.
Critical Operational Area One
The organization has been grappling with a major financial setback that began in the year 2007/2008. However, the changes in appointment have been associated with a turn of events to the extent that a surplus of $39, 387 was realized in comparison with last year’s loss of $244, 595 (Volleyball Australia 2015).
The 2007/2008 report indicated that the financial position of the Federation as per the objectives highlighted above was not maintained as would have been expected. This compromised financial position was only realized after an annual audit was conducted. Apparently, the financial position is said to have been aggravated by an oversight of the FIVB Volleyball World Tour Event in S/Australia., and the demand for 1900 tonnes of new sand on the beach. Ensuring economic stability is one of the objectives of the AVF, but apparently this is threatened. When the financial position of any organization is upset, this jeopardizes the successful running of the organization unless corrective measures are implemented to remedy the situation.
The organization largely relies on sponsorship from various sectors, and when this support reduces, or the organization requires more finances, it is impossible to predict whether the organization will certainly get the intended support. The organization should either come up with income generating events or create more partnerships that will increase its financial base. In addition, proper planning is paramount to avoid unforeseen costs.
Critical Operational Area Two
I do not entirely attribute the success of the 2013/2014 Volleyball Australia achievement to the change in organizational structure of the organization. I believe that the spirit of the players was very crucial to the success of the organization. The hosting of the World Volleyball Championship tournament in Australia might have resulted in great changes of the playing conditions, and this might have led to increased encouragement of the players. It is noted that there was less viewership than would have been expected in reference to the world championship sport. This is a setback because Australians are not able to take pride in the success of one of their own.
External support is very important, and this cannot be achieved without actively involving the citizens in addition to the large corporations. This is an area that needs improvement, and it has been highlighted that the recent success was associated with great support from corporations, families and friends. This means that continued support would mean increased passion, commitment and tenacity by the members, which would ultimately lead to better performance and continued success. There should be applications that allow citizens to get a hint of the daily, quarterly and yearly activities of the organization, and how the public can get involved. It seems that the organization has not adequately embraced technology to increase media coverage of the volleyball sport in Australia. The website itself does not give a comprehensive list of the events that the different volleyball groups will be engaged in this year: 2015.
Recommendations
Remaining at the top in reference to the positive outcome experienced in the year 2013/2014 should remain the main goal of Volleyball Australia. I wish to support and reinforce some of the activities that were embraced by the organization and which contributed to the realized success, for example, liaison with other volleyball teams in the same way the organization was able to meet with Mrs. Gina Rinehart’s team (Volleyball Australia 2015). Friendly matches with other volleyball teams are important because they help a team to learn some lessons from its opponent. A team should never be content with what is within its possession.
In a bid to avoid mishaps that occurred in the previous years, the organization should create activities that will help kill two birds with the same stone. This will help to increase support from the homeland while at the same time increasing the financial position of the organization. The rebranding that occurred in this year, 2013/2014 was very important and beneficial because the new look and new strategies encouraged the players and created a new perception of the organization to outsiders.
Conclusion
Volleyball Australia is the main body in charge of all volleyball games in the country. It is comprised of various participants from eight member states. The organization always undergoes a change in the staff structure periodically, but this time round, the structural changes were accompanied by success changes. The organization experienced great improvements across the board.
Reference
Volleyball Australia 2015. Annual Reports. Web.