conclusion of a congress at the French Karate Federation.
Twenty-six delegates from Belgium , Germany , Italy , England ,
Rumania , Switzerland , Denmark , Spain , and France attended the
congress. Poland and Belarus were absent but nominated Germany
as their proxy.
An executive board comprising seven
members was elected. Francis Didier, the head of the French federation,
was named the president while Masters Juan Cid of Spain , Tran Dai
Chieu of Germany, and Florin Macovei of Rumania were chosen vice
presidents.
Master Victtorio Cera of Italy is the
general secretary and Thanh Nha Berrier of England , the deputy
general secretary.
EVVF will organise technical and
referee classes as well as the first European Vovinam Championship in
the Tenerife Islands in Spain next month.
Milan (early 2012), Paris (2013), and Bucharest (2014) will host the next championships.
France will organise the third World Vovinam Championship in July 2013.
HCM City will host the previous edition in July next year.
The martial art was founded in 1938 in Hanoi by late Grand Master Nguyen Loc.
It is practised in 40 countries and has more than 100,000
practitioners. It is popular in France , Italy and the US .
The traditional Vietnamese martial art will feature at the 26th
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 2011 in Indonesia as a competitive sport
for the first time, according to the SEA Sports Council.
Vovinam's inclusion in the games will help promote the sport, which
has gained recognition internationally in recent years, especially after
the success of the first WVVF World Vovinam Championship in HCM
City and the third Asian Indoor Games last year./.
