Ukrainian American Youth Association holds 45th annual Zlet (07/11/04)

Ukrainian American Youth Association holds 45th annual Zlet

by Orest Kozicky

ELLENVILLE, N.Y. - The Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) sponsored its 45th consecutive annual Zlet on May 29-30 at the Oselia-SUM in Ellenville, N.Y.

Zlet is the annual spring festival for SUM members that presents an opportunity to engage in academic and athletic competitions and poetry recitations that demonstrate the youths' knowledge about various aspects of Ukrainian history and cultural traditions, and their use of the Ukrainian language, plus an the opportunity to perform with their dance, choral and drama ensembles within a talent contest type forum.

The athletic competitions include individual and team sports competitions that include 40-, 60-, 100-, 440- and 880-yard sprints and mile runs, relay races, broad jump, shot put and discus, as well as a volleyball tournament. The youths also had an opportunity to socialize at a dance and barbecue on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning the participants took part in a liturgy celebrated by a Father Bohdan Danylo, who immediately thereafter blessed the site for construction of a new chapel dedicated to the victims of the Akcja Wisla tragedy. This project was initiated and funds collected under the auspices of the Organization for the Defense of Lemkivschyna.

A formal review of the SUM ranks arranged as individual branches was also conducted, with scoring based on adherence to the uniform code.

This year's Zlet included participants from the following 11 SUM branches located on the Eastrn Seaboard: Baltimore, Md., New York, Binghamton, Goshen and Yonkers, N.Y., Hartford, Conn., Irvington, Jersey City, Passaic and Whippany, N.J., and Philadelphia. There were 380 participants ranging from age 4 through 17.

The continued growth of the organization is reflected by the participation of a continually growing number of "sumeniata," children age 3-5.

This year the responsibility for the colossal task of coordinating the various Zlet events was undertaken by members of the Passaic and Goshen branches of SUM. The "komandant" was Stefan Kaczurak, who together with "bunchuznyi" Volodymyr Rojowsky and the rest of the New York and Goshen contingents, successfully ran the complex activities of Zlet.

The New York branch took first place for overall points achieved. Irvington, took second, and Yonkers took third place.

Yurij Symchyk of Irvington and Ihor Yachuk of New York tied for the "pershun" (first place winner) trophy for most points in the age 13-17 group. Andrea Vasylyk of Hartford won the "pershun" trophy for the 6-12 age group.

Bohdan Harhaj, the head of the national executive board of SUM, closed the awards ceremonies by expressing his gratitude to Stefan Kaczurak and his New York/Goshen Komanda contingent, as well as to all of the sumivtsi for their participation in another successful Zlet.

All photos in this series by Taras Hnatyshyn.

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