UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (09/11/05)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Plast youths find new challenges at Mountain Biking Camp

by Michael Stecyk

LEHIGHTON, Pa. - Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization holds many different camps all over the world, and those who are in Plast may find it difficult to choose which camps they wish to attend. One such camp is dedicated to mountain biking, and it is most definitely not meant for those afraid to take risks.

The weeklong camp, run by Petro Kowcz of Cleveland and the Plast fraternity Burlaky, took place at the Ukrainian Homestead in Lehighton, Pa., the week of August 6-13.

The campers learned valuable skills used for mountain biking and bike maintenance. For example, the importance of hydration and having plenty of energy for biking are stressed, just as much as how to properly fall off a bike.

During the morning, the campers learned the technical aspects of biking, such as what to do when one encounters a very steep but short hill, or how to hop over logs while biking.

A good part of the afternoons was spent on actual trails. The trails each day varied in difficulty this year just as they do every year; however, the first trail is usually the same one with a very slight uphill to the top of the mountain, then the bikers ride down, letting the incline carry them.

One of the last trails this year was much more difficult and advanced with short, steep inclines, narrow single tracks and a stretch right up next to an old strip mine, where there is a very steep decline on the side of the trail. Each trail had a spot where the campers were able to look out at the surrounding countryside from near the top of a mountain, and the views were spectacular.

Every day the campers would come back from the trails exhausted and sometimes wet from riding through tricky river crossings, and they would clean the mud, dirt, dust and sometimes blood from that ride's challenges. The evenings were mostly spent relaxing with games like Pictionary or Taboo, and occasionally there were campfires at which songs were sung and the campers got to share things with each other, like favorite colors and ice cream flavors.

This year's camp website has pictures of the campers in various activities and action shots, and may give you an idea about what it is like to bike in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania. The website may be found at www.bikecamp.org/summer2005.

And, if you like what you see, come join us next year!

Michael Stecyk, 15, is a sophomore at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He is a member of Plast's 17th "kurin" (unit) named in honor of Bayda Vishnyvetskyi and the "Hadiuky" troop.

Record number attend Ukrainian Folk Dance Camp at Soyuzivka

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - A record-breaking number of campers and staff participated in the 2005 Ukrainian Folk Dance Camp held at Soyuzivka, the estate in upstate New York owned by the Ukrainian National Association. Held August 7-20, the camp attracted campers from the U.S. Northeast, the Midwest, Florida and Hawaii, as well as Canada. The camp director was Ania Bohachevsky Lonkevych, who was assisted by 16 counselors and staffers. The campers, who ranged in age between 8 and 16, included 32 first-timers; 33 returning campers and nine graduates who were counselors-in-training. In the photo above the dance camp participants are seen in their camp T-shirts.

Parma parish sponsors Vacation Church School

PARMA, Ohio - Pictured above are the children, clergy and teachers of the Vacation Church School of St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio. The annual summer school is in its 12th year and was held on August 8-12. This year's theme was "The 12 Major Feast Days of the Church."

Mishanyna

This month, as all of you UKELODEON readers head back to school, we want to ask: What's in your backpack? Probably many of the things on the list below. To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the words on the list in the Mishanyna grid.

binder, calculator, dividers, eraser, folders, graph paper, ooseleaf paper, lunch, markers, notebooks, notepad, pencil case, pencils, pens, planner, protractor, ruler, textbooks

OUR NEXT ISSUE: UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated October 9, please send in your materials by September 30.

PLEASE DROP US A LINE: UKELODEON, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054; fax, (973) 644-9510; phone (973) 292-9800; e-mail, [email protected]. (We ask all contributors to please include a daytime phone number.)

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