Team of Ukrainian students to compete in 28th International Physics Olympiad

SUDBURY, Ontario - The 28th International Physics Olympiad, a prestigious competition for high school students from around the globe, will be held in Sudbury, Ontario, on July 13-20. This event has been held annually since 1967. Teams from over 50 countries will participate this year, including a five-member group from Ukraine.

Ukraine has been taking part in the Physics Olympiad since 1992. Its members have done very well at these competitions, winning one gold, three silver and one bronze medal at the 1992 Helsinki competitions. The Ukrainian team was third in over-all standing behind China and Russia.

At the 1993 Physics Olympiad held in Williamsburg, Va., the Ukrainian team won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal, as well as a certificate of merit. It was seventh in over-all standings, just ahead of the team from the U.S.

Beijing was the venue for the 1994 Olympics. The Ukrainian team was sixth over all, two places ahead of Russia.

In 1995 Ukraine's team won one silver and two bronze medals in Canberra, Australia.

Only individual achievements, not team standings, have been acknowledged officially since 1995. The most recent competition was held in Oslo, Norway, in 1996. Competitors from Ukraine won one gold, one silver and one bronze medal, as well as two certificates of merit.

This year's Ukrainian participants have been chosen through country-wide competitions that were held during the past few months. The 1997 squad from Ukraine is made up of the following: Kostyantyn Zakharchenko, 17, from the town of Zhovti Vody (the site of Khmelnytsky's famous victory over Polish forces in 1648); Oleksander Solovyov, 17, from Kyiv; Bohdan Lozynskyj, 17, from Lviv; Andrij Didovych, 16, from Vinnytsia; and Oleh Miroshnychenko, 15, from Dniprodzerzhynsk.

They will be accompanied by three supervisors: Ihor Pinkevych, professor of physics at Kyiv State University; Oleksander Liashenko, professor of pedagogy at the same institution, and Borys Kreminskyi of Ukraine's Ministry of Education, who is an official observer at the Olympiad. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education is covering the cost of participants' airfare, while the Canadian organizing committee is responsible for local arrangements in Sudbury.

The five-man team and their supervisors will spend six days in the Toronto area, on July 21-26, immediately following the Sudbury Olympiad. Their stay in Toronto is being sponsored by the Canadian Friends of Ukraine, Toronto Branch.

Further information about the visit of the Ukrainian team may be obtained from Jurij Darewych at (905) 848-6997, or fax, (905) 270-1530.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 13, 1997, No. 28, Vol. LXV

| Home Page |