Ukrainians in Australia prepare for 2000 Olympics (07/11/99)

Ukrainians in Australia prepare for 2000 Olympics

by Peter Shmigel

NORTH PARRAMATTA, Australia - Preparations for assisting Ukraine's athletes at the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games moved forward with the launch of the Ukrainian Australian community's official support fund.

The Australian Ukrainian Sports Foundation was launched at a public meeting with more than 100 people in attendance at Lidcombe's Ukrainian Youth Hall, located less than three kilometers from Olympic Park in Homebush Bay.

The meeting was briefed by the chairman of Australian Friends of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (AFNOCU), Roman Dechnicz, about the purpose of the fund as well as the AFNOCU's accomplishments to date and its plans for the year leading up to the Games in September 2000.

"The Sydney 2000 Games are a major milestone for Ukraine's further development as a proud Olympic nation. Our community is committed to ensuring that Ukraine's athletes get all the support that we can muster. As Australians, we are equally committed to contributing to Sydney being the best Games ever," Mr. Dechnicz said.

"Funds raised through our newly launched foundation will go toward essential sporting needs, such as equipment and technology, as well as for providing scholarships for promising athletes in Ukraine," he added.

Mr. Dechnicz, who is also the official attaché to the Ukrainian Olympic Team, reported that the AFNOCU's relationship with the Sydney Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (SOCOG) is excellent as the Ukrainian community was generally the first to start mobilizing for the Games. The AFNOCU, which exists under the auspices of the community's top body, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations, has already undertaken a range of activities including the following.

A series of fund-raisers has been undertaken. On September 3 there will be a fund-raising ball at the old Apia Club on Iron Cove Bay in Leichhardt, New South Wales.
A number of pre-Olympic training venues and facilities have been located and confirmed for Ukraine's Olympians and Paralympians. Pre-Olympic training will be largely based in the western New South Wales regional city of Albury/Wodonga and Melbourne, Victoria. A particular focus has been organizing billets for Paralympic athletes.
Direct support has been provided to several Ukrainian sporting contingents that have competed in Australia in the run up to the Games themselves. These have included: the short-course swim team, the Paralympic swim team, triathletes, the trampoline team, the 470 class sailing squad and the 49 class sailing squad.
A website is being constructed to keep all interested people up to date on preparations and activities. It is expected to be launched in the next month.

In terms of upcoming challenges, the AFNOCU is currently spearheading an effort to recruit community members to act as "NOC assistants" during the course of the Games. Under this category of volunteer, individuals will be assigned to the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and work in the Olympic village for the Ukrainian team's chief of mission.

Some two dozen community members attended an informational briefing by the SOCOG on June 17 in this regard. Anyone still interested in volunteering as an NOC assistant or as a language specialist should contact Yaroslav Iwanec, the AFNOCU volunteers coordinator, as soon as possible at the AFNOCU: phone, 61-02-9890-5466; fax, 61-02-9630-0648.

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