Vovcha Tropa Plast camp hosts hundreds for Sviato Yuriya 2004 (06/20/04)

Vovcha Tropa Plast camp hosts hundreds for Sviato Yuriya 2004

by Roma Hadzewycz

EAST CHATHAM, N.Y. - What do you do with several hundred kids and teenagers during Memorial Day weekend? If you're involved in Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization you hold the traditional camporee called "Sviato Yuriya."

Organized annually to honor St. Yurii (George), the patron saint of the international scouting group, Sviato Yuriya this year took place at Plast's largest campground in the United States, Vovcha Tropa (Wolf's Trek) in East Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday through Monday, May 29-31.

The young Plast members, "yunaky" and "yunachky" (boys and girls age 11-18) - all 278 of them - came from places as far flung as New York City, Detroit, Boston and Washington, as well as points in between, including Newark and Passaic, N.J., Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., Cleveland, Philadelphia, Hartford, Conn., Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Along with them came scores of counselors, bringing the weekend population of Vovcha Tropa to more than 350.

The camporee was held under the direction of two sororities of adult Plast members: Chornomorski Khvyli and Ti Scho Hrebli Rvut. As befits such a partnership, there were two "komendantky" for the weekend: Lesia Lebed of the "Hrebli" (as the sorority is known for short) and Zirka Klufas of the "Khvylky."

Assistance was provided by members of other Plast fraternities and sororities, among them Spartanky (who organized and conducted sports activities on Saturday), the Khmelnychenky (who built the huge bonfire for Sunday night) and the Chornomortsi (who took charge of the boys' encampment), as well as dozens of individual members of other Plast groups who assisted in various activities during the course of the holiday weekend.

First to arrive at the campground was the Detroit contingent, pulling in at just past 7:30 a.m. after an overnight ride in their chartered bus. The arrival of other groups, in buses and cars, came in quick succession. As soon as they arrived, the youths' first task was to set up tents for their camps.

By the time of the official opening ceremonies at midday, Vovcha Tropa's Sviato Yuriya was in full swing and the youths were divided into 22 groups encompassing a mix of participants: boys and girls of various ages from different cities where Plast has branches. The groups were named for various types of ships and boats - this in keeping with the theme of the weekend, which reflected the beauty of the Ukrainian language and focused on the sea and other topics related to bodies of water. (Do you know the Ukrainian word for dinghy? Why, dushohubka, of course. Other names included: destroyer - nyschivnyk; ketch - baydak, clipper - honchak, and icebreaker - kryholam.)

The first day's program was devoted largely to sports activities arranged in round-robin fashion so that each of the groups could participate in various events and challenges, among them shot put, tug of war, hula hoops, volleyball, relay races, horseshoes, basketball, mini-golf and an obstacle course. The group Tiahun (Ukrainian for tugboat) emerged as the winner of the sports competition.

In the evening all enjoyed a "vechirka," or dance, in what is popularly known as the ZB (for Zelenyi Budynok, or Green Building), as well as a dance contest. The music played by two DJs ran the gamut from the latest popular selections to rock standards and ended with a rousing Ukrainian "kolomyika."

Sunday's program began with divine liturgy celebrated at Vovcha Tropa's Hutsul-style chapel by the Rev. Ivan Kaszczak, who delivered a sermon explaining the meaning of "Zeleni Sviata" during which Ukrainians remember those who have passed away.

After lunch it was off to the woods for the "terenovyi zmah," a team-building game on two separate routes that each took 11 groups of youths through varying terrain of the camp's 350 acres. The game's storyline was that ships were traveling from down the Dnipro River, into the Black Sea and on to the port of Odesa, where they would search for a valuable treasure. Along the route the ships and their crews encountered various obstacles, "enemies" and tasks that had to be overcome or completed in order to continue the journey. The winner of the game was the group Barka (bark in English).

That evening there was a bonfire at which the youths performed skits they had prepared back home and sang favorite songs. Also part of the program was a ceremony at which three teens were awarded the highest rank in "yunatstvo," that of "plastun skob"/"plastunka virlytsia" (similar to eagle scout).

Shortly after midnight the camporee participants were treated to a surprise: a nighttime get-together under the stars by the light of a campfire, complete with a midnight snack of popcorn.

During the closing ceremonies of Sviato Yuriya on Monday morning, awards were presented to winners in all categories. In addition to the aforementioned group winners in sports and the terrain game, the winner in the category of Ukrainian language, as well as in overall group scoring, was the group Barzha (barge). All the members of the winning groups received medals.

The youths were also scored for their camping skills, skits, behavior/attitude, language, uniforms and skits, but the scoring in these categories was done by "kurin" (unit) or "hurtok" (troop) - that is, by groups constituted within their respective Plast branches. The top award for good conduct went to the 10th Kurin of girls from Detroit, while first place for the skit presented during the bonfire was won by the 20th Kurin of girls from Newark.

The top prize of the weekend - first place in overall scoring by kurin/hurtok - was split by two girls' groups who were tied in the final tally: Detroit's 10th Kurin and Newark's 20th Kurin. The leaders of both accepted golden "vitrylnyky" (sailboats) as their awards. The Vodni Lileyi (Waterlilies) troop of girls from Passaic took second place, while the 13th Kurin of boys from Detroit came in third.

By 1 p.m. on Memorial Day, Vovcha Tropa was quiet once again, its population down to the few organizers of Sviato Yuriya, Hrebli and Khvylky, who remained behind to complete the volunteer work they had begun months earlier when they first announced their readiness to take charge of the 2004 camporee.

In a matter of weeks, however, the campground will once again come alive as counselor training courses and camps begin the annual summer routine.

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