From the eldest former players to the youngest sports school members, Eczacıbaşı Sports Club family laid a wreath on Atatürk’s Mausoleum and stood in silence in the great leader’s presence.
In his address before the ceremony Club President Faruk Eczacıbaşı said, "Today we are here as four generations. We have aimed at achieving the best for 53 years. We wittnessed what we could achieve by supporting the Turkish women. Our efforts have been crowned by the World Trophy of IOC. We have brought the trophy to our great leader Atatürk today as a token of our appreciation" and then signed the Book of Honor, expressing his feelings as follows:
"Dear Atatürk, in the light of the target you set for us, we have been relentlessly struggling to raise the status of the Turkish women in the society higher and higher for 53 years. We are happy and proud to be in your presence today with the IOC’s Women and Sport World Trophy, crowning our efforts."
Eczacıbaşı Sports Club was awarded the IOC’s Women and Sports World Trophy on October 5, 2018 for being a pioneer in the world in women’s volleyball, offering thousands of young girls a chance of playing volleyball and spending efforts to increase the presence of women in sports.
The trophy, given by the IOC since 2000 as the most prestigious award in the field of women and sports, has been awarded to a Turkish nominee as well as being awarded to a sports club worldwide for the first time in its history.
IOC Women and Sports Award
The IOC Women and Sport Awards are presented every year to individuals or organizations who play a leading role in encouraging women to participate in the Olympic Games or take up a sport, support the promotion of women to managerial and leadership positions, and contribute to women’s development and empowerment in every area of sports. The award winners are chosen from nominees submitted by 206 National Olympic Committees, International Federations (Summer/Winter) on the Olympic program and their Continental Associations, and the IOC Women in Sport Commission.
About Eczacıbaşı Sports Club
The first club in Turkey dedicated solely to women’s volleyball, the Eczacıbaşı Sports Club is considered to be the pioneer of women’s volleyball in Turkey and one of the top three volleyball clubs worldwide. Every year, some 8 to 10 Club players are invited to play on Turkey’s national teams.
Through its volleyball development program, the Eczacıbaşı Sports Club has trained more than 11,000 licensed volleyball players and, by offering scholarships, made it possible for countless girls to pursue their high school and university education at the same time. In 2016, the Club launched a collaboration with ES Volleyball to introduce thousands of young girls aged 6 to 13 to volleyball. “Future Spike” as the program is called, currently has 10 campuses around Turkey training 3,000 girls annually, and the goal is to have 30 campuses in 11 cities training 5,000 girls annually by 2021.
Every month, some 200 girls in the Future Spike program are given the opportunity to test their skills and gain experience in Club tryouts. Every year, some 25 to 30 talented young players receive scholarships from the Club so that they can continue playing volleyball.
In addition to encouraging thousands of young girls to play volleyball, the Eczacıbaşı Sports Club aims to increase the representation of women in sports management. Currently, nine of the Club’s 19 managerial positions are held by women (47%), and 25 of the Club’s trainers and campus coordinators are women (45%).
