History of Ukraina Sports
Toronto Ukraina Sports
Association was founded on June 30, 1948, in Toronto, and incorporated under
the Ontario Letter Patent on November 19, 1964.
The Association owns the premises at 186 Wallace
Street, Toronto, Ontario M6P 1V4, Telephone: (416) 535-0681.
Objectives
·
To maintain and conduct a club for the recreation and
convenience of the members and others.
·
To promote among members and others an interest in
athletic games, recreation and sports, e.g., soccer, volleyball, basketball,
tennis, chess, etc.
·
To maintain terms for the competition and enter into
league and schedules with other teams.
·
To promote and engage in enterprises of a charitable
nature and interest the proceeds of which will be used to the attainment of the
objectives of the association.
The Association has maintained soccer, volleyball and
chess teams which have participated in league schedules and meetings with other
teams from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the United States of America and Europe.
Among the noted achievements were championships of the
National Soccer League in 1953-1955, and many junior titles; Canadian men's
volleyball championship in 1975; team chess championship of Metropolitan
Toronto and individual titles of the Province of Ontario. In 1981 the junior
soccer team participated in the international tournament in Texas, U.S.A.
The soccer team participated in 1986-7 in the Striker
Spirit Soccer Tournament with the proceeds going to the United Way. The
volleyball team participated in the interprovincial tournament in Montreal.
The history of the first 35 years of the Association
was published in an illustrated book of 425 pages in 1983.
Thanks to the grants of the City of Toronto and the
tremendous amount of volunteers' work the Association was able to maintain the
purely amateur teams and provide services for seniors.
The Association celebrated its 50th anniversary in
1998. Today, UKRAINA SPORTS ASSOCIATION is a vibrant and developing
organization. As the older membership fades, it is replaced by younger and
dynamic individuals who continue to work to attain the success and glory of "Ukraina" of the fifties and sixties or even greater
achievements. Historical Synopsis.
The forerunner of the Sports' Association UKRAINA in
Toronto, Ontario, was the Sports' Club "SKALA", which was founded on
May 16, 1948 at the local PROSVITAAA Society Hall. It was started by a group of
sports enthusiasts who had recently imigrated to
Canada, and was led by Wasyl Boytchuk.
After the initial organizational work, the founding
meeting was held in May 30, 1948, at which time, the club's name was changed to
"Sport's Association UKRAINA". The first executive elected at the
founding meeting consisted of: Wasyl Boytchuk - President; Oleksander Derzhko - Vice-President; Volodymyr
Stoyko - Secretary; Ivan Chaykiwsky
- Treasurer; and Mykhailo Kopach
- Manager. The Auditing Committee consisted of Oleksander
Zheltvay, Stephan Genyk-Berezowsky
and Roman Romanchukewych. The Associations'
Arbitration Commission consisted of M. Sorokolit, S. Mazepa and Ivan Bahlaj.
For his dedicated and successful efforts in
establishing contacts with other Canadian sports' authorities, Mr. S. Mackevych was honoured at the
founding meeting by being appointed as the Honorary President of the
Association.
The post World War II immigration of many good
Ukrainian athletes to Canada gave rise to a speedy development of the scope and
activities of the Association. Within a brief period of its inception, the
Association iniciated several sections, including
soccer, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and chess.
The second annual general meeting of the Association
was held on November 19, 1948, and saw the election of Myroslaw
Welyhorsky as the new President. At this meeting, the
members accepted the Constitution of the Ukrainian Fitness Council, approved
its logo, and selected the colours of the Association.
With the new spring season, the young Ukrainian
sports' enthusiasts could be seen in many parks and gymnasiums. The first
soccer team impressed thousands of soccer fans with its performance, and soon
became the most popular team in the Toronto area.
In May 1949, a delegation consisting of Professor V. Hayowsky, O. Chykalo and M. Welyhorsky attended a meeting of the Canadian Dominion
Soccer League, and proposed the application of the Club to become a member of
the Soccer League. Thus, the Association became the first Ukrainian sports'
association to become a member of the Soccer League of Canada.
The first soccer team played in the second Division,
winning twenty-five out of the thirty-three games, tying four and losing four
games.
At the end of the 1949 season, SA UKRAINA captured the
division title of the Senior League, the Daily Star Cup. It received
recognition as the best team of the Senior League and won the Loblaws Cup, as the winner in the Inter-City competition
between Toronto and Hamilton.
The success of the soccer team was reported by an
enthusiastic local press:
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: "The Ukrainians completely
dominated the game and crushed the WANDERERS by a score of 12:0."
THE TELEGRAM: "The Ukrainians crushed SPARTA
6:0".
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: "Before a large number of spectators, that stood in four rows deep around the field,
the Irish and Ukrainians tied the game 1:1. The crowd was the biggest yet on
this famous field."
THE TELEGRAM: "The Ukrainian are
getting closer to winning the championship by defeating SANGAMO with a score of
7:0".
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: "The brilliant elegant style
of play by the Ukrainians against the CANADIANS was enthusiastically
appreciated by the spectators".
TORONTO DAILY STAR: "EAST YORK UNITED defeated
the strong Ukrainian team, but it was more by luck, since the Ukrainians
controlled most of the game."
The brilliant success of the first soccer team of SA
UKRAINA in the 1949 season made it possible for the Association to join the
NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE in 1950, the senior Ontario soccer league.
In the same year, the volleyball team captured the
championship of the Intermediate League, and thereby the Toronto title. The
chess team captured an impressive second place in the highest division. The
Association's basketball team captured the championship of the Ukrainian
League.
The growth and success of the SA UKRAINA continued
into 1951. It was this year, that the table tennis club achieved its greatest
success. The men's team, which consisted of Maksym Trofymovych, Valentyn Bilous and E. Stepko, captured
first places and championship cups in both team and individual competitions,
advancing to the highest Toronto Division. In double's
competition, M. Trofymowych and W. Bilous won the championship and the cup, defeating the
four-time champion D'Eble of the Senior League. The
women's team advanced to the finals, but were defeated
by FIREBANKS, who had the current Ontario champion as one of its team members.
The junior soccer team won the championship and the
Ontario Cup, and senior team won its first NSL Cup.
Bill Entwist, writing in the Toronto Daily Star,
remarked: "The Ukrainians operate the biggest soccer team system, having
three youth teams in action. Now, the Ukes have 89
players, and it is easy to see that by 1952 they will have over 100
players."
Bill Entwist was right on target with his prediction,
since by 1952, the SA UKRAINA Club had five soccer teams with 103 players; two
volleyball teams with 14 players; two table tennis teams with 10 players; and a
division of chess with 17 players.
In the 1952 season, both the junior and bantam teams
of the soccer division of the Association won their respective league
championships and cups. The table tennis team once again won the championship
of the Toronto Division, and the first soccer team captured the Arnold Cup.
The fifth anniversary celebration of the Sports'
Association UKRAINA was held in Toronto in 1953. The first soccer team
celebrated this anniversary by becoming the first "ethnic" soccer
team in Canada to win the championship of the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE. They also
won the play-offs and emerged as the winner in the competition for the
Broadview and Fred Hamilton Group.
The great success of the SA TORONTO UKRAINA soccer
team and the success story of MONTREAL ITALIA (which, in fourty-three
games only once conceded defeat), led the CANADIAN SOCCER ASSOCIATION to
organize a "show-down" between the two best teams in Eastern Canada.
The big game was played on October 10, 1953, and saw the Ukrainian team triumph
a convincing 3:1 win over the 'Azzuris", thereby
securing the status of being the best soccer team in Eastern Canada, and Canada
as a whole.
For its constant development of soccer, especially at
the junior level, the TORONTO SA UKRAINA Club, along with the MONTREAL ITALIA
Soccer organization, received a letter of commendation from the Canadian Soccer
Association.
As part of the fifth anniversary celebrations of the
Association, TORONTO UKRAINA hosted an unofficial championship match for the
primacy of Ukrainian Soccer in North America with the powerful "LEVY"
('Lions') team from Chicago, U.S.A. Close to 8,500 soccer fans watched this
exciting game which was won by UKRAINA with a score of 6:1. The UKRAINA team
proved once again that they were the best Ukrainian soccer team in North
America.
Not to be outdone by the senior soccer team, the
Junior UKRAINA soccer team also won the year's championship and captured the
Toronto Cup by winning the Toronto city championship.
The fifth anniversary celebrations of the Association
concluded with the blessing of the Club's flag, which was attended by a special
guest from England, the Hetmanych Danylo
Skoropadsky.
The following year, 1954, continued to be a triumphant
one for the Senior soccer team of UKRAINA. As defending
champions, they again won the championship of the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE. The
team's popularity and fame was illustrated by the many friendly games played
against such teams as: "Sich" from
Elizabeth, N.J., representing the state of New Jersey; the Winnipeg
"Scottish" from Manitoba, teams from Ottawa, "Slovak" from
Chicago, Ill.; "Plast-Pryat" from
Philadelphia, Penn.; "Chernyk" from
Detroit, Mich. and "Ukraina" from Montreal,
Quebec.
Guest appearances in Winnipeg were covered by the
local press:
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: "For Toronto UKRAINA, the
Manitoba Selects were simply no match."
THE WINNIPEGE TRIBUNE: The Ukrainians completely
outplayed the Manitoba Selects with their quick passes, extraordinary speed and
fantastic shots, which have not been demonstrated here for a long, long
time."
The Very Reverend Semen Izhyk,
an outstanding Ukrainian community leader in Winnipeg, wrote about UKRAINA's
guest appearance in that city: "Your visit to our city, the Capital of
Ukrainian Canada, did more to our political and patriotic life than any of our
concerts or public manifestations."
In 1955 Ivan Suk-Teodorovych
won the chess championship of Ontario for the Ukrainian Club in a tournament of
twenty-two players.
The reserve Senior Soccer team of UKRAINA won first
place in its division, and the division cup. The Junior
soccer team finished in second place, and the "Dorist"
('Bantam') team won the championship of its division.
Again in 1955 the Senior
soccer team of UKRAINA captured its third consecutive championship of the
NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE. But, unfortunately, this triumph was to be the team's
"swan song", as the team's stars became older and burdened by family
and business concerns.
In 1956, the combined youth teams of UKRAINA and SUM
captured both the championship and the "Globe and Mail" and
"Toronto Telegram" Cups. In the final game, which was played on
October 21, 1956, the team defeated the TORONTO TRYZUB by a score of 3:0. The
"Globe and Mail" trophy was presented to the UKRAINA team by the
President of the National Soccer League, Mr. Ed Woring.
In 1957 D. Kulyk, who was a
member of the Club's chess team, captured the championship and the "Backley" Cup. During the tournament he played to a
draw against the well known master Dr. Winterton.
In that year's World Cup Soccer qualifying competition
between Canada and Mexico, the following players of the UKRAINA team were
included on the Canadian team: O. Steckiw, W. Zakaluzhny and M. Bereza. These
same playes represented the Canadian team in its victory
of 3:2 against the U.S.A. The UKRAINA players were the key figures in this
victory. Zakaluzhny and Bereza
being the most dangerous attackers, and Steckiw
billed the "field general" of the Canadian team.
In 1958, the Club's basketball team captured first
place in its division, and with it the Toronto
championship.
The men's volleyball team won all of its games without
losing any sets, and advanced from the B to the A group.
One of the biggest attractions of 1958 was the
exhibition soccer match between Toronto UKRAINA and "ADMIRA" FC
VIENNA (Austria), which the Austrian team won by a score of 3:0. Some comments
by the visiting team about UKRAINA's performance: Zeyk,
the Captain: "A very good, fair game." Habizl:
"UKRAINA is a very good and fair team." Oleos, the Goalkeeper:
"The best team we played on our tour."
In 1959, the youth team of the Club again finished
first in its division for the year.
In 1960, Ivan Teodorovych-Suk
representing the Club, captured first place in
individual competitions in the Ontario chess championship, winning over
twenty-eight other players. In an international two-day tournament involving 22
players, Mr. Teodorovych also captured the
invitational tournament title by winning with six one-half points over the
Hungarian, Foesster (6 pts.), the Lithuanian, Vaytonis (6 pts.), the German, Drake (6 pts.) and the
English entry, Kebell (5 pts.).
In 1960 the women's volleyball team of the Club won
the championship of the "Ukrainian Sports' Association of Canada and the
U.S.A." (USCAK).
The men's volleyball team won first place in its
division in 1961 and was promoted to the highest division of the Ontario
Volleyball Association.
The first soccer team of UKRAINA captured the "Labatts Cup", by winning the 1961 play-off of the
National Soccer League.
Both the men's and the women's volleyball teams
captured the championship of the "Ukrainian Sports' Association of Canada
and the U.S.A." (USCAK) in 1962.
In 1963, the senior soccer team of the Club again won
the play-offs of the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE and the "O'Keefe Cup",
while the women's volleyball team once again captured the championship of
USCAK.
After a nine-year lull, the senior soccer team won the
1964 championship of the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE as well as the play-offs, and
thereby became a "Double-champion", winning both cups in the same
year.
In 1964, the junior team won the cup sponsored by the
professional league and the championship of Toronto.
In that year, the women's volleyball team won, for the
third consecutive time, the USCAK championship. Also in 1964, Mr. B. Nazarko won first place in the "Chess Club"
tournament, with brilliant victories.
In 1965, the youth soccer team of the Club won the
"Etobicoke Guardian" Cup, while the young
chess player, Roman Turkevych, won an international
chess tournament, winning thirteen out of fourteen games played.
In 1966, Bill Boytchuk, the
former President of Toronto UKRAINA, was re-elected as President of the
NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE, for the fourth consecutive time, and Ostap Wynnyckyj, a member of the
Club, was elected as Vice-President of the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE.
In that year, both the men's and women's volleyball
teams of the Club again won the championship of the "Ukrainian Sports'
Association of Canada and the U.S.A." (USCAK).
The men's volleyball team repeated this victory in
1967.
1968 was to be the most critical year for the UKRAINA
Sports' Association. In an attempt to maintain the high level of performance of
the senior soccer team in the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE, the previous executives
of the Club had enlisted foreign players for great sums of money, which brought
the Club to a state of near bankruptcy.
Having left the former club house, and searching for a
new home, the Club faced its largest task. The annual meeting was held at the
Ukrainian People's Home, and the Club was faced with possible dissolution. At
this critical moment of the Club's existence, former players and enthusiasts
came to the rescue. O. Steckiw, W. Zakaluzhny, L. Dyczkowsky, W. Lesiuk, A. Horsky, M. Shmotolochka, S. Harhay, D. Kulyk, D. Melnyk and N. Bundza began the new "era" of the Club.
On May 31, 1969, they began the task of rebuilding the
Club by acquiring a new building for the club. The high mortgage costs, as well
as costs involved in keeping a team in the NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE, prevented
the Club from maintaining the previous high participation level in overall
sports' activities. Nevertheless, the main goals were fulfilled, and the Club
continued to exist and participate in other fields of sports' activities.
Although the senior soccer team of the Club did not
attain the high achievements of the 1960's, the volleyball team of the Club
established a string of successes in the 1970's, capturing the men's volleyball
championship of Canada in 1975, and thus ensuring the continued success of the
Club's sports programme.
In 1983, the 35th anniversary year of the Club, the
Club operates two soccer teams, a men's and women's volleyball team and a
baseball team. The club's chess section is also very active.
In this year the men's volleyball team captured the
championship of the "A" division, thereby advancing to the top Double
"AA" league. The team also won the USCAK volleyball championship.
In a highly successful USCAK chess tournament
sponsored by the club, UKRAINA chess players captured first, second and third
place, The club's bantam soccer team won a USCAK
soccer tournament in New York.
At the height of its success from 1953 to 1960 S.A.
UKRAINA in Toronto can boast the fielding of eight soccer teams, five volleyball
teams, three table tennis teams, one hockey team, one basketball team, a
baseball team, a boxing team and of operating a highly successful chess
program.
In all, UKRAINA must be counted among one of the most
active sporting associations in Canada, whose diverse programmes
and successes, in soccer and volleyball in particular, are probably unmatched.
It should be noted that these successes were made possible largely through the
volunteer work and efforts of UKRAINA members, without backing by corporate or
large business concerns as is often the rule in sports today. Credit must also
be given to the Ukrainian Canadian community in Toronto, which through the
years has given UKRAINA its support.
The table provides an indication of the successes and
achievements of UKRAINA teams from 1948 to 1983: