September 30, 2016

USCAK holds fifth annual beach volleyball tournament

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Christine Syzonenko

2016 USCAK Beach Volleyball Champions “Sets on the Beach” (third to sixth from left) and 2016 USCAK Beach Volleyball Finalists “Babushkas” (second to fifth from right) with USCAK tournament organizers.

WILDWOOD CREST, N.J. – The fifth annual Ukrainian Sports Federation of U.S.A. and Canada (USCAK) National Beach Volleyball Tournament was held on a sunny but windy Friday, August 26. The tournament was held during “Ukrainian Week” on the beach behind the Pan American Hotel. Organized and hosted by Lys Sports Academy of Whippany, N.J., the tournament was sponsored by Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union and Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union of Philadelphia.

Registration began bright and early on Friday morning at a tent decorated with the sponsors’ banners. In order to participate, teams needed to be affiliated with USCAK member clubs, such as Chornomorska Sitch, Lys Sports Academy, Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, Tryzub or the Ukrainian American Youth Association. Eight teams registered for the tournament.

Tournament organizers with sponsor (from left): Roman Bulawski, tournament organizer; Walter Syzonenko, USCAK director of  beach volleyball; Myron Bytz, USCAK president; Michael Koziupa, Selfreliance Ukrainian American  Federal Credit Union.

Tournament organizers with sponsor (from left): Roman Bulawski, tournament organizer; Walter Syzonenko, USCAK director of beach volleyball; Myron Bytz, USCAK president; Michael Koziupa, Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union.

The tournament began at 10 a.m. with opening ceremonies. The national anthems of Canada, Ukraine and the United States were played. Roman Bulawski, the tournament director, welcomed the players and described general rules. Mr. Bulawski then introduced Walter Syzonenko, director of beach volleyball for USCAK and president of Lys SA, and Myron Bytz, USCAK president, who officially opened the tournament, encouraging participants to play their best, and especially, to have fun.

The teams registered in Division A were: “AARP,” “Sitch Bananas,” “Sets on the Beach” and “USC Diaspora.” The teams registered in Division B were: “The Flamingos,” “The Landsharks,” “Babushkas” and “The Leftovers.” The play format was round-robin within the two divisions. At the end of round-robin play, the teams were ranked within each division by the number of wins and losses, with the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals.  The top two teams in Division A were “Sets on the Beach” and  “Sitch Bananas”; the two top teams of Division B were “Babushkas” and “The Flamingos.”

The semifinals were held by pairing the first-place team of Division A, “Sets on the Beach,” against the second-place team of Division B, “The Flamingos.” “Sets on the Beach” won both games and advanced to the final. In the other semifinal match, the first-place team of Division B, “Babushkas,” played the second-place team of Division A, “Sitch Bananas.” The “Babushkas” won both games against “Sitch Bananas” to advance to the final.

Tournament organizers with sponsor (from left): Walter Syzonenko, USCAK director of beach volleyball; Roman Stelmach, Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union of Philadelphia; Myron Bytz, USCAK president; Roman Bulawski, tournament organizer.

Tournament organizers with sponsor (from left): Walter Syzonenko, USCAK director of beach volleyball; Roman Stelmach, Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union of Philadelphia; Myron Bytz, USCAK president; Roman Bulawski, tournament organizer.

The final was held between two very competitive and talented teams, “Sets on the Beach” and “Babushkas.”  It is interesting to note that the “Babushkas” from Toronto were made up of two young sons, Lukash Darewych (age 13) and Christian Petrenko (age 14), playing with their fathers, Roman Darewycz and Taras Petrenko. The boys’ level of play and their competitive performance set the tone for future generations of USCAK beach volleyball tournaments.

A supportive crowd gathered to watch the final, with spectators anticipating a hotly contested match.  The final match was exciting, with a high caliber of play and excellent displays of sportsmanship. All games in the final were very close; in the end “Sets on the Beach” prevailed to become 2016 USCAK Beach Volleyball Champions.

After the final match, the tournament trophy was presented to “Sets on the Beach,” consisting of Marko Bobriwnyk (UAYA Hartford), Alex Syzonenko (Lys SA), Paul deVassal (Tryzub) and Nick Kobryn (from Manhattan). The winner of the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award – and a new volleyball – was Marko Bobriwnyk.

The tournament was pronounced a great success by all involved, and plans are already being made for next year’s event. For more information, readers can visit www.uscak.org.

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