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Branko Lovrić was emotional when he received a special gift from ICF President Thomas Konietzko along with fellow outgoing Board member Jovana Stanojević. Lovrić, ECA Secretary General, will retire at the end of the month after more than 20 years of service for the European Canoe Association. He joined ECA Board of Directors in 1999 and took over the role of the Secretary General in 2001. Four years later he became an ICF Board Member. The same year his hometown Zagreb hosted the Canoe Sprint World Championships.

 

Before joining the ECA and the ICF, Branko Lovrić was involved in Croatian Canoe Federation, where he spent the last 33 years as the Secretary General. During this time Croatia hosted several major canoeing competitions and championships, including European and World Championships in Canoe Sprint and Canoe Marathon.

 

Following the recognition at the ICF Board of Directors’ meeting in Hangzhou, Branko Lovrić said: “It was very emotional. I have been working for the ECA for over 20 years and have been working with Thomas Konietzko for a long time. During my 20 years with the ICF, I have made a lot of good friends and really enjoyed my period working with the international organisation. I am very proud to be part of the organisation of some big events in Croatia, like the 1999 Junior Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 2005 Canoe Sprint World Championships and last year’s Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metković. It was the right time to leave and look forward to other challenges.”

 

Jovana Stanojević also took part at her last Board of Directors’ meeting in the role of the ECA representative. She has been a member of the ECA Canoe Sprint Committee since 2017 and joined the ICF Board of Directors as a continental representative in 2019. She is stepping down as the ECA Board member after being appointed ECA Sport and Event.

 

After the recognition she said: “My first six years were just an exploration to see how everything works but it feels nice to be recognised. I feel that there are more deserving Board members than me to receive this. When I say there are more deserving people on the Board, I first and foremost think of Branko. Today belongs to him rather than both of us.”

 

Speaking at the ICF Board of Directors’ meeting, ICF president Thomas Konietzko said: “It's very emotional to say farewell two Board members. One is still young and I’m sure will come back in the future, but the other is very experienced and will not come back into this position. Branko enjoyed 20 years as an ICF Board member which is a fantastic performance. As the ECA Secretary General, he was always a great advisor and simply a brilliant people person who gave a lot to our sport and we will all miss him here.”

 

The 17th Ordinary Congress of the European Canoe Association will be held on 29^th March in Budapest, where new ECA Board members and ECA representatives in the ICF will be elected, while the ECA is retiring the role of Secretary General.