Chicago holds third annual Thanksgiving volleyball tournament

by Greg Karawan

CHICAGO - Not even the first snowstorm of the season could deter participants of the third annual Thanksgiving volleyball tournament held on November 24 at the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) gymnasium in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

The sport of volleyball is quickly becoming as customary as turkey and stuffing in Chicago, as this tournament's popularity continues to grow each year. The format of the tournament consisted of round-robin pool play, two semi-final matches, and a championship.

The competition was intense and the rivalries heated as five teams of four players each, picked at random from a hat, competed for the title and bragging rights. This year's champions - father and son duo Mark and Roman Tkaczuk, Danylo Savyckyj of Philadelphia and Danylo Oleksiuk - engineered an impressive 21-19 win over Alex Hladky, Greg Terlecky, Greg Karawan and Andy Strutynsky in the finals.

After play concluded, many other friends and family from Chicago and beyond joined the players for a post-tournament celebration with food provided by John Szalewa and SUM Chicago.

Although still in its infancy, Chicago's annual Thanksgiving volleyball tournament appears poised to kick off the holiday season for years to come.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 2, 2005, No. 1, Vol. LXXIII

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