Chornomorska Sitch marks two anniversaries: an 80th and a 35th (07/25/04)

Chornomorska Sitch marks two anniversaries: an 80th and a 35th

by Omelan Twardowsky

NEWARK, N.J. - The Ukrainian Athletic-Educational Association Chornomorska Sitch of Newark, N.J., which this year is celebrating its 80th anniversary, is well-known in the diaspora and in Ukraine as a society that has made an important contribution to the treasury of Ukrainian sports in the diaspora.

In a number of sports, Sitch has developed many outstanding athletes, some of whom were selected to U.S.A. national teams and league all-star teams as well as representative teams of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada. Several of Sitch's former leading athletes have become coaches, particularly in soccer, and have been working in this capacity at American high schools and colleges.

In past decades Chornomorska Sitch teams have won a number of championships in their respective leagues, earlier in baseball, basketball and bowling, and later in soccer, volleyball, swimming, hockey and other sports - proof of which can be seen in the permanent exhibition of the championship trophies and certificates displayed at the Sitch home in Newark. Some of these awards have been transferred to the Museum of the Sports Glory of Ukraine in Kyiv.

A significant number of the awards was won by the graduates of the Chornomorska Sitch Sports School, which has been functioning for the last 35 years. The Sports School was founded in 1969, in the club's heyday, when its members were reaping many successes. The Sitch Sports School came to accept students from other Ukrainian American sports clubs. For the first several years, many groups of youngsters arrived at the Sports School from Yonkers, Chicago, Detroit and other U.S. cities. After the first decade, this enthusiasm of distant sports clubs waned and their participation declined.

Subsequently, the Sports School has introduced various improvements in its instructional program, in which, in addition to Sitch members, youngsters from different parts of the U.S. and Canada, and more recently from Ukraine, continued to participate on their own initiative.

This year's Sitch Sports School, held at the Verkhovyna/MountainView resort, is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Chornomorska Sitch.

Many devoted individuals have contributed to Sitch's functioning and development over the past 35 years. They are, first of all, the Sports School's founders and directors, Myron Stebelsky and Omelan Twardowsky, as well as Marika Bokalo, Alexander Napora and Walter and Slava Wasylak. Many outstanding instructors have worked at the School for many years, among them Eugene Chyzowych, Ihor Chupenko, Prof. Ostap Stromecky, Ihor Zyga, Volodymyr Kovalov and Roman Balash in soccer; Bohdan Hayduchok, Zenon Stachiw, Nestor Paslawsky, George Sajewych, Ihor Akinshyn and Ihor Rudavsky in volleyball; Bohdan Kuchynsky, Ihor Lukiw, Alexander Terlecky, Yuriy Kolb, Albert Kolb and Andrew Harmaty in tennis; and Andrew Slysh, Gregory Maik, Taissa Bokalo and Ihor Balash in swimming.

In addition to those enumerated, there were scores of other enthusiasts who worked in different years at the Sports School. Their names are recorded on the pages of the bilingual book on the history of Chornomorska Sitch, titled "Sichovymy Shlakhamy" in Ukrainian and "Ukrainian Sitch - A History" in English.

In addition, Sitch honors the memory of those leading activists who have passed away over the years: Ivan Oryniak, Ihor Olshaniwsky, Peter Semeniuk, Adrian Lapychak and Lida Bokalo.

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