LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (01/18/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

NOC representative sets record straight

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC-Ukraine) I wish to refute and protest the statements made about the NOC-Ukraine published in The Ukrainian Weekly (December 7, 1997) in the article by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj headlined "Ukrainian World Congress presidium meets." All justification for withholding support from the NOC-Ukraine, which the article attributes to the Ukrainian World Congress Sports Commissioner Vsevolod Sokolyk, is misleading and therefore damaging to Ukraine's athletes.

I wish to emphasize that sports at the international competition level is the most consistently successful aspect of life in contemporary Ukraine. Ukraine's national and Olympic athletes excel because of individual talent and determination, and because of the dedication of knowledgeable teachers, coaches and specialists, despite shortages of funding, facilities and equipment, severe organizational difficulties, and incompetent and suffocating bureaucrats.

The article states that the final make-up of the Ukrainian delegation to the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano has been established; however, in fact, the final make-up will not be confirmed until January 15, which is after the completion of all trial events. As of December 20, 1997, there were only 56 athletes tentatively confirmed (of 90 who have qualified).

The size of the official Olympic Village delegation (coaches, medical personnel, equipment mechanics) for each team is governed by strict quotas set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and must be in direct proportion to the number of athletes; therefore, it is impossible for Ukraine to manipulate the number of non-athletes who will comprise the final delegation. It is unconscionable that the leadership of diaspora community organizations would attempt to discredit the NOC-Ukraine through misrepresentation of Olympic delegation numbers and characterization of all essential support personnel as bureaucrats.

As a rule, each athlete has a personal coach. Because IOC quotas do not permit most coaches to be members of the Olympic Village delegation, they attend the Olympic Games as extra-officials and are accredited only for pre-event training and for their specific sporting competitions. The extra-official delegation also includes members of academic, medical and research sport-institutes, and heads of major sports clubs and organizations.

In Nagano, there will be four NOC-Ukraine officials who are accredited as Olympic Family, including the president of the NOC-Ukraine, Valeriy Borzov, who, significantly, also serves as one of the 111 accredited members of the IOC. Additionally, there will be 20 to 25 accredited members of the press corps with a budget separate from the Olympic delegation. Any government officials attending will also travel on a separate budget.

The NOC-Ukraine is primarily responsible for funding the preparation and international competition schedule of its component teams. The UWC sports commissioner illogically concludes that the NOC-Ukraine does not merit financial support due to an individual's decision to spend $1 million buying and distributing tickets. To follow this reasoning, one could expect fabulously successful athletes in the United States and Canada to single-handedly fund their countries' Olympic committee budgets. In reality, successful Olympic committees are financed through broad-based financial structures. The NOC-Ukraine is creating such a structure in order to meet its obligations, striving for corporate sponsorship, government financing (from the local to national levels), marketing, endowment, individual contributions and diaspora support.

In Atlanta, the athletes of Ukraine were envied by those of other teams for the support provided by an expatriate community unified behind their team. If the leadership of diaspora organizations attempts to destroy this kind of support, it is abrogating its responsibility to the community it represents and creating an additional obstacle to Ukraine's athletes.

Our athletes are a precious resource. They bring pride and recognition to Ukraine and delight every one of us with their achievements. They deserve unqualified support. On behalf of the NOC-Ukraine, I respectively request that you print a correction and in the future request verification of information. The NOC-Ukraine will always provide it.

Laryssa Temple
Atlanta

Yearender ommited radio/TV network

Dear Editor:

Retrospective, yearend editions of newspapers offer their readers a thoughful, concise, useful and pleasant stroll down recent memory lane. The December 28, 1997, edition of The Ukrainian Weekly did just that: it reminded Ukrainian Americans and Canadians about important events in Ukraine, the United States, Canada and the Ukrainian diaspora in the four corners of the world.

However, in all humility, I would like to point out an omission in your review. I believe that the launching of the first all-day, everyday Ukrainian radio and television network that unites Ukrainians of all immigrations and generations in the United States, Canada and Ukraine is a historic event, worthy of being included in your yearend review.

Beginning in mid-1997 we advertised in Ukrainian community newspapers, including The Weekly, the impending formation of the Ukrainian American Broadcasting Co. and its satellite Ukrainian Radio Service and Ukrainian Television Service from Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora. An endeavor such as this was never undertaken in the community. We have lived up to our promise to deliver Ukrainian radio programs from Ukraine and North America in real time 24 hours a day. Today our listeners can regularly hear live broadcasts of sessions of the Verkhovna Rada, hourly news reports, news analyses, religious, youth, sports and other programs.

We are currently finalizing our satellite Ukrainian television service from Ukraine and the diaspora, and we will be listed as a premium channel with an American digital satellite television broadcaster. UABC is paying for the exclusive right to broadcast radio and television programs to Ukrainian North Americans and thus is a source of funds for state radio and television companies of Ukraine.

Then we advertised that we will launch "This Morning with Us," a five-day-a-week hourly morning radio program on WNJR 1430 AM. We have been broadcasting throughout December as listeners from central New Jersey to Brighton Beach, N.Y., will attest.

The Ukrainian American Broadcasting Co., a division of the Ethnic-American Broadcasting Co., appreciates its unique role in the Ukrainian North American community, without which we couldn't exist, and therefore offers legitimate Ukrainian civic organizations free announcements of community events and other incentives meant to preserve the community's infrastructure and activity now.

The Ukrainian American Broadcasting Co. is fulfilling its promise to the Ukrainian North American community.

A sentence's worth of recognition in your review issue would have made reading your impressive edition a sweeter experience.

Ihor Dlaboha
Fort Lee, N.J.

The writer is director of the Ukrainian American Broadcasting Co.

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