Alkalay, Szczepanik, and Liarommatis were elected to the Executive Board by the Federation Members during the General Congress 2024 taking place in Benalmádena, Málaga (Spain).
Youri Alkalay (BUL) has been elected as the Baseball5 Vice President. Alkalay's ascendancy to this position comes after serving as the interim Vice President for one year. His candidacy prevailed over the two candidates Andrew Bajo (MLT) and Nahit Şahin (TUR), securing an absolute majority in the first round with 51 votes.
The position of Baseball5 Vice President was established in February 2023 following the approval of amendments to the Statutes, which incorporated Baseball5 as one of the three sports of the Confederation.
Pawel Szczepanik (POL) was elected for the position of Member at Large for Baseball after a tight election. Competing against Rainer Husty (AUT) and Ludo Peeters (BEL), Szczepanik's journey to victory extended to the third round, with Peeters withdrawing after the second round. Ultimately, Szczepanik secured a simple majority in the third round, securing 19 votes to Husty's 15.
The WBSC Europe Members then elected Konstantinos Liarommatis (GRE) as the Member at Large for Softball. Facing off against Andrew Bajo (MLT), Liarommatis secured the victory with a vote tally of 20-13.
Following the conclusion of the elections, President Kruno Karin extended his congratulations to the newly elected members during the inaugural meeting of the newly completed Executive Board.
The WBSC Executive Board is comprised of Krunoslav Karin as President, Ami Baran as Secretary General, Petr Ditrich as Vice President Baseball, Gabriel Waage as Vice President Softball, and Youri Alkalay as Vice President Baseball5.
François Collet, Jürgen Elsishans, and Pawel Szczepanik serve as Members at Large for Baseball, while Mette Nissen Jakobsen, Kostis Liarommatis, and Kristian Pälviä hold positions as Members at Large for Softball. Jorge Balboa represents athletes as the Athlete Representative for Baseball and Martina Lackner-Keil fulfills the role of Athlete Representative for Softball.
Cover photo by Kristina Uroić
