Viktor Jelenić is the New President of the Water Polo Association of Serbia

The news came from Vaterpolo Vesti, and the portal published an interview regarding Jelenić’s new position.

At yesterday’s Election Session of the VSS Assembly, Viktor Jelenić was unanimously elected as the new president of the federation. The Session was attended by 41 delegates (out of total 53) and the decorated former national player and an outstanding figure of water polo was the best choice.

Saša Vlaisavljević, vice-president of the “Nikola Tesla Airport Belgrade”, was chosen unanimously as President of the Assembly instead of Milan Krstić, who became a member of the Board of Directors. Also, ten members of the administrative board and supervisory board were elected.

Last year’s reports were accepted, as well as the report from the supervisory board and the financial plan for 2018. The most active club in the 2016-2017 season was Vojvodina, followed by Spartak Prozivka, while Crvena Zvezda and Radnički share the third place. The Special award for 25 years of successful work was handed over to Zemun.

President Milorad Krivokapić has submitted a work report covering all the segments since 2014 when he was elected as the first man of the organization.

He listed many great achievements, mentioning the Olympic gold medal in 2016 as the most significant one.

“The mandate would have been successful just by winning that. And this generation of players won everything there is to win, which is rarely seen not only in water polo but in the world of sports in general. We have done a lot in the development of women’s water polo and the junior selection. We have organized several events the best we could — the competition in Belgrade was the one we will remember for a long time. Also, we have done a lot in propagating matches across Serbia.

We helped the judges and coaches, with many local governments discussing how to help clubs. I am proud of the work the offices have done with the General Secretary Nemanja Marijan, and the Executive Director Zoran Avramović. Also, there are awards we received as an association, and those we got as a group of players and coaches — often proclaimed to be the best in the world. We relieved a lot of debts at the times when it was not easy. I wish a lot of success to the new President.”

Photo: M. Metlaš / RAS SRBIJA

Viktor Jelenić explained the most important points of his program:

“First of all, I want to thank Milorad Krivokapić for the work he has done. The results are unbeaten on the global level. The guys deserve the honor.

Now, the most important task is to win the gold in Tokyo. We want the next season to bring all our best players in the best shape before the Olympic year. We want the selectors watching over the players, and make them a visible role model for the new kids who want to enter water polo. They would be in several clubs, which would contribute to greater interest in water polo — with the media, sponsors, and wider audience.

In that sense, I also see the strengthening of the younger categories with unique methods developed by our best trainers. We need to popularize women’s water polo even more, making more clubs wherever we can.”

At this point, the weakest link are the clubs. Jelenić, as a leader of Crvena Zvezda, knows the working conditions of clubs too well:

“The cooperation with local governments is necessary in order to facilitate working conditions. In particular, I mean the terms of getting training opportunities at sports centers, where Belgrade clubs are in the most difficult situation.

The clubs with the best results should have additional benefits, as well as financial assistance in international competitions and the Regional League. In the Regional League, we have to talk to other federations to get the basics right, because our league is the priority.

We will try to provide each club with a sponsor so it can have a financial supplement and easier conditions for the competition. Additionally, we will continue to pay court and delegate fees.”

The members of the Board of Directors are:

• Danilo Ikodinović (vice-president)
• Darko Vukobratović (economist, owner of Kontango)
• Željko Drčelić (owner of Kokord Vest)
• Danilo Medić (economist, president of the Jewish municipality of Belgrade)
• Dušan Milosavljević (economist, director of wholesale at Idea Merkator)
• Zoran Skoko (economist, operative director of Belgrade Airport)
• Ivan Banjac (economist, owner of Skaj Multikom)
• Zoran Janković (manager, owner of Cermat)
• Miroslav Musolin (mechanical engineer, general manager of JAT Tehnika)
• Kolja Lazor (professor of physical culture, director of VK Vojvodina)
• Milan Krstić (economist, director of Fokus biro.)

The members of the Supervisory Board are:

• Dragan Popović (president, lawyer)
• Mile Samardžić (professor of economic sciences)
• Filip Dimitrov (professor of industrial management)

We are currently preparing an exclusive interview with Viktor Jelenić, so make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.