New Jersey volleyball tournament benefits new cultural center (11/12/06)

New Jersey volleyball tournament benefits new cultural center

WHIPPANY, N.J. - The second annual Ukrainian American Cultural Center New Jersey Invitational Volleyball Tournament took place on Saturday, October 21, at Powerzone Volleyball Center in Denville, N.J.

The tournament was once again hosted by the Morris County Volleyball Club and co-hosted by the Whippany Branch of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM), the Newark branch of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and the Chornomorska Sitch Sports Club.

Competing were 16 teams from the tri-state area and beyond, including Yonkers, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Chicago and New Jersey.

The winners by division were as follows:

Youth Division:
1. Sitch
2. Yonkers SUM
3. Whippany SUM
MVP Roman Kozicky (Yonkers SUM)

Seniors' Division:
1. Morris County Volleyball Club Ukraina
2. Morris County Volleyball Club
MVP Vlodko Yatskiv (Morris County Volleyball Club Ukraina)

Women's Division:
1. Sitch
2. Morris County Volleyball Club B
3. Morris County Volleyball Club A
MVP Pat Paslawsky (Sitch)

Men's Open Division:
1. Chicago Slava
2. Sitch
3. Morris County Volleyball Club
MVP Oleksander Knyshnytsky (Chicago Slava)

The overall Club Trophy was again won by the Morris County Volleyball Club.

The committee members responsible for the successful tourney were Andrew Hadzewycz, Bohdan Porytko, Roman Bulawski, Orest Fedash, Orest Kucyna and Myron Bytz.

Administrative functions at the tournament were handled by Christina Bytz, Natalka Hucul and Allyssia von Hofen. The official photographer was Myroslaw Bytz.

Referees for this tournament were: Mr. Bulawski, Stu Nemiroff, Daniel Boudana and Myron Bytz.

After a full day of volleyball, an awards dinner was held at St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church Hall in nearby Whippany. The dinner was sponsored by Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, and Duda Provisions catered the event.

Lunch for the players was prepared by the moms of Whippany SUM: Marika Bilanych, Julia Gbur, Vera Shashkevych, Darka Mosuriak, Dorota Honcharyk, Oksana Halibej and Maria Kucyna, while the awards dinner was prepared by Linda Kleban, Ms. Bytz, Zirka Kovbasniuk, 5-year old trainee Zorian Kovbasniuk and Paul Brodsky, all members of Whippany SUM, and Melanie Temnycky from Sitch.

A surprise guest at the tournament and dinner was Peter Melnyk of the Rutgers University volleyball team that was recently elected to the university's Hall of Fame. Mr. Melnyk congratulated the athletes, especially the younger team members, and commended the hosts for reviving Ukrainian volleyball on the East Coast.

Board representatives from Selfreliance, Orest Ciapka, Michael Szpyhulsky and Walter Kovbasniuk, presented the first place and tournament MVP trophies in the men's division to Chicago Slava. This was particularly fitting since Selfreliance headquarters is located in Chicago.

Other presenters were the editors-in-chief of The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda, respectively, Roma Hadzewycz and Irene Jarosewich, whose newspapers sponsored MVP trophies for the youth and seniors' divisions.

The master of ceremonies for the awards dinner, Myron Bytz, gave special recognition to the tournament's other sponsors, including Union Funeral Home (Lytwyn & Lytwyn), Lazirko Specialty Foods (Olympic Meat Market), Eyecare MD of New Jersey PA (Marta Lopatynsky, M.D.), and Recovery Options Inc.

A good time was had by all attendees and plans are under way for the third annual UACCNJ Volleyball Tournament to be held in October 2007, with the awards dinner to take place in the new cultural center facilities. All proceeds from this year's tournament as well as last year's event were donated to the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey, whose grand opening is slated for November 11-12.

* * *

Additional photos and information about the 2006 tournament will be available on the website www.socceragency.net/mcvc.

| Home Page |