Carpathian Ski Club holds 51st ski races in upstate New York
WINDHAM, N.Y. - The Carpathian Ski Club held its 51st ski races here at Ski Windham on Saturday, February 26, with racing in age groups ranging from 5- and 6-year-olds to age 60 and over.
The annual ski races have now evolved into a true family event with kids and adults of all ages participating, This year's largest groups were men age 41-50 followed by men age 31-40.
Ninety-eight competitors signed up for the races - the vast majority of them skiers, although there was a sprinkling of snowboarders among the participants. It was the fourth year that snowboarders competed in separate categories.
Known by its Ukrainian acronym as KLK, the club held its first races in the United States in 1954 at Whiteface, near Lake Placid, N.Y. KLK was founded in Ukraine in 1924 and then transported to Europe and the United States, where it grew and flourished. It was re-established in Ukraine in 1989. KLK is a member-organization of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada, known by the acronym USCAK, which this year is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The opening ceremonies began with the traditional skiing down the slopes with the American and Ukrainian flags, along with a "Tak!" Yushchenko banner. The pacesetter for the race was Yuri Kobziar, sanctioned by NASTAR. The races at Windham took place on a NASTAR-sanctioned course, especially reserved that morning for the Ukrainian skiers. (NASTAR is the acronym for the National Standard Race, the largest public recreational grassroots ski program in the world.)
That evening, approximately 150 people - athletes of all ages, their families and friends, as well as supporters of KLK - attended the awards banquet held at the nearby Hunter Mountain Ski Lodge. KLK President Erko Palydowycz welcomed one and all to the dinner. Masters of ceremonies were Vira Popel and Orest Fedash.
Guest speakers welcoming the Ukrainian skiers and snowboarders were Orville Slutzky, 88, owner of Hunter Mountain, whose father immigrated to the United States in 1905 from Kyiv, and Karl Plattner, former world downhill champion from Austria, who resides in the town of Hunter.
Also among those in attendance were VIP guests from the Embassy of Ukraine who traveled to upstate New York from Washington especially for the KLK races. Volodymyr Chumak, political counselor, and Yuriy Parkhomenko, legal attaché, were welcomed with a hearty round of applause. Both men were among the four original signatories to an unprecedented declaration by members of Ukraine's diplomatic corps calling for democratic and free elections in Ukraine in the wake of the fraudulent second round of Ukraine's presidential election.
Trophies were awarded for first place in each age group; while second- and third-place finishers received medals.
Special traveling trophies, which are passed on from year to year to each successive winner (no repeat winners are allowed), were presented for the fastest time posted among men and women competitors. This year's winners of the highly coveted trophies were George Sharan, 42, who turned in a race time of 25.57, and Tania Hryhorowycz, 15, who came in with 30.56.
Top skiers also received gold, silver and bronze medals awarded by NASTAR based on the course time posted by pacesetters, as well as the gender and age of each racer.
As the skiers came up to accept their awards, a phalanx of photographers snapped their photos, with parents taking photos of their children and, in turn, children taking photos of their parents.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 20, 2005, No. 12, Vol. LXXIII
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