WHIPPANY, N.J. – The Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey (UACCNJ) and the Ukrainian Athletic-Educational Association Chornomorska Sitch, both based in Whippany, N.J., will hold a fund-raising golf outing and Chornomorska Sitch Challenge Cup golf tournament on Saturday, September 17, at the Morgan Hill Country Club in Easton, Pa.
Organizers of the annual UACCNJ golf outing and Sitch, a member organization of the UACCNJ, introduced a new concept several years ago, by challenging other Ukrainian sports clubs to form four-man teams and compete in a best ball foursome tournament. This year, the committee has introduced a scramble format, for the UACCNJ Golf Challenge. This provides the opportunity for golfers of all skill levels to participate in a competitive manner in a fund-raising event, in addition to the Sitch Cup.
Golf committee members – Ihor Zwarycz, Michael Zawadiwsky, Jarema Kochan and Stefan Nahorniak – agreed that they wanted to establish a Ukrainian American golf tournament where players who may not compete on a regular basis against each other can come together once a year in a tournament format. Omelan Twardowsky, president of the Sitch sports club, endorsed the idea of expanding into what are non-traditional sports for Ukrainians, including golf.
Last year, 50 golfers, grouped into four-man teams, competed at the Beaverbrook Golf Club in Annandale, N.J. The players ranged from low 5 to high 30+ handicappers who arrived from various parts of the United States and Canada, from Philadelphia to Toronto.
“We hope that in future tournaments we will make the Chormomorska Sitch Challenge Cup the premier golf event for golfers of Ukrainian descent in North America. We recognize that many organizations in the U.S.A. and Canada have been organizing golfing events for many years. What we hope to establish is a unifying tournament, that will bring together golfers from throughout North America, and perhaps other parts of the world,” said Mr. Kochan.
The 2015 awards ceremony was held at Beaverbrook. The winning team comprised Alex Popovich, Andrew Stefaniwsky, Ken Kolakoski and Mr. Zwarycz. They were presented with the Chornomorska Sitch Challenge Cup Trophy by Bill Vincent of Sitch.
The “A” Flight was won by the team of Tony Brown, Michael Gudzy, Steve Nahorniak and Walter Wilczak. The longest drive competition was won by Alex Iwaskiw, while the closest to the pin was won by Peter Bilanicz. There were numerous door prizes and raffle prizes. Everyone was a winner, and no one walked away empty handed.
This year’s golf outing will be held on Saturday, September 17, starting at noon at the Morgan Hill Country Club in Easton, Pa.
To register for the 2016 golf outing, readers are advised to contact Mr. Zawadiwsky ([email protected]) or Mr. Kochan ([email protected]). The registration deadline is September 8.