500 athletes compete in Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad (08/13/00)

500 athletes compete in Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad

by Roman Stelmach and Roma Hadzewycz

HORSHAM, Pa. - Nearly 500 athletes - ranging in age from elementary school kids to seniors - competed in six sports during the Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad 2000 on July 1-4 here at and near the Ukrainian Sports Center Tryzub.

The participating organizations included the sports clubs Tryzub-Philadelphia, Chornomorska Sitch-Newark, N.J., Levy (Lions)-Chicago, Chernyk-Detroit, Lviv-Cleveland, Ukrainian Sports Club-New York, Ukraina-Toronto and the Ukrainian Soccer Club-Yonkers, N.Y., as well as the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization. In addition, many independent athletes also competed in individual sports events.

The largest number of athletes - nearly 250 - were registered for the soccer events, which encompassed myriad groups from kids under age 7 to adults over age 30. The next most popular sport in terms of the number of registrants was volleyball. Other sports included swimming, tennis, golf and chess.

Popularly known as Tryzubivka, the site located on the outskirts of Philadelphia was purchased 22 years ago by the Tryzub sports organization. The 38-acre center encompasses a banquet/meeting hall, lounge area, locker rooms, conference room, caretaker's living quarters and parking for up to 1,500 cars, as well as a picnic grove with pavilion, barbecue pit, outdoor kitchen and bar. Sports facilities include five soccer fields with lights for night games, four tennis courts and three volleyball courts.

The Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad's events went beyond sports to include a banquet on Saturday evening, July 1, at which the keynote speaker was Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Mykola Zhulynskyi, who brought greetings to the historic sports gathering from President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko.

Dr. Zhulynskyi also presented a certificate of recognition issued by the government of Ukraine to Ihor Chyzowych, president of the Tryzub sports club, who served as chairman of the committee that organized the Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad 2000.

Greetings at the banquet, which was held at a restaurant near Tryzubivka, were also proffered by Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian World Congress. Also in attendance were Roman Bodnaruk, head of the Biathlon Federation of Ukraine, and Volodymyr Brynziak, trainer of Ukraine's biathletes. Mr. Bodnaruk offered best wishes to Olympiad participants from the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine.

Among community leaders in attendance at various Olympiad events were Laryssa Barabash-Temple, the NOC-Ukraine representative in the United States, and Ulana Diachuk, president of the Ukrainian National Association.

Opening ceremonies

Although the Olympiad's competitions began on Saturday, July 1, the official opening ceremonies of the games were held the next day. Highlights of the ceremonies were the playing of a trembita (the alpenhorn-like instrument from the mountainous Hutsul region of Ukraine), the singing of three national anthems (Ukrainian, Canadian and American), the lighting of the Olympic flame after the Olympic torch was ceremoniously carried onto the sports field by young athletes, the recitation of the Olympic oath of fair play, an invocation offered by the Rev. Ivan Bilanych and the presentation of a brief Ukrainian folk dance program.

The parade of teams was warmly welcomed by spectators, who cheered most loudly for the littlest athletes on the Tryzub team.

Among the notables in attendance were Vice Prime Minister Zhulynskyi, and Myron Stebelsky, president of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada, who welcomed all the athletes and spectators.

During the course of the four-day event Olympiad participants also had an opportunity to relax and socialize at a dance held on the evening of Sunday, July 2. Several performances during the course of the long holiday weekend featured the artistry of the Syzokryli and Voloshky dance troupes, as well as the Oberehy and Lviviany music ensembles.

Closing ceremonies took place on Monday afternoon, July 3.

For the record

The Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad 2000 was the third such mega-meet organized by Ukrainian sports enthusiasts of North America. It is notable that all three were held in the Philadelphia area.

The First Ukrainian American Olympiad, as it was billed, was held in 1936 on Labor Day in Philadelphia. Representatives of various youth clubs in Philadelphia formed an organizing committee to plan and conduct this sports gathering to be held in conjunction with the Fourth Ukrainian Youth Congress. More than 150 Ukrainian youths competed; also participating as guest competitors were some 100 non-Ukrainian athletes. Sponsors included the Ukrainian Youth League of North America, the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Workingmen's Association (today the Ukrainian Fraternal Association).

The second games, dubbed the Ukrainian American Millennium Olympiad and Youth Rally, took place over the Memorial Day weekend in 1988. The Olympiad was held in cooperation with the National Committee to Commemorate the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine and under the sponsorship of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada. More than 700 athletes participated in diverse sports events.

The 2000 Olympiad was organized by a committee chaired by Mr. Chyzowych, whose members included: Orest Lesiuk, director of facilities; Irenaeus Isajiw, sports coordinator, Adrian Hawryliw, treasurer; Omelan Twardowsky, Ukrainian-language press; Roman Loun, Ukrainian TV and advertising; and Roman Stelmach, English-language press.

Also active in the preparation of the games were representatives of organizations whose athletes competed, as well as directors for each sport in which competition was held.

The main sponsors of the Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad 2000 were: Western Union, Meest-America, the Slavutych Brewery of Zaporizhia, Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union of Philadelphia.

Other sponsors were: the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association, "Kontakt" Ukrainian television, Manor College and Radio "Nyni" of Philadelphia.

Final results of Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiad

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