2006 4(22) - UCWLC

“It is the result of hearts and minds of idealistic young men proud of their Ukrainian heritage. It is rooted inthe basic human need for identity, a sense of belonging to a group sharing common values and fulfillmentthrough group achievement. It is inspired by the storied legacy of a grandfather. It is galvanized into realityby historic events. It is the Ottawa Ukraina Soccer Club formed in 2005. Their uniforms are in Ukraine’sofficial colours of blue and yellow with the Tryzub or Trident as their team symbol.” — Andriy PopowychWho Are These Handsome Fellows?Ottawa Ukraina Soccer Club – Spring 2006Top Row: Bohdan Kaluzny, John Udell, Andrij Hluchowecky, Sergey Kovalenkov, Kenny Porter-Ivanchuk, Constantin Sharypkin,Marc Lapointe-Denysewych. Bottom Row: Mark Shwed, Nick Radzichowsky, Scott Makischuk, Walter Usyk, Andriy Popowych,Luke Makischuk, Eric Lapointe-Denysewych, Danylo Popowych, Absent from photo: Taras Figol, Andriy Sawchuk,Alex Zaslavsky, Alex Popowych, and Mike Popowych. New players for summer season: Max Padalko, Roman Dzioba,Yuriy Yakubtsov, David Budnaruk, Michael Baran, Brian Budnaruk, Mike Herasimenko, and Yuriy Derkach.By Andriy PopowychThe idea for establishing the nationalcapital’s first Ukrainiansoccer club was conceived byMarc Lapointe-Denysewych, aformer top goal scorer in the CanadianInteruniversity AthleticUnion and highest goal recordholder at Carleton University. Hisgrandfather, Boris Denysewych,emigrated from Ukraine to Canadaafter WWII and, with othernew Ukrainian Canadians, establisheda soccer club in Montreal.Named the Dnipro and later S.A.Ukraina it became a soccer powerhouse;Boris Denysewych, oneof the leading strikers. Winningmany city and provincial championships,it won the DominionCarling Cup in 1957, the symbolof supremacy of Canadian nationalamateur soccer.Marc inherited his grandfather’sarchives including photographs andnewspaper articles of the greatMontreal Ukraina soccer teams.This moved him to establish Ukrainiansoccer excellence in Ottawa.Ukraine’s historic qualificationto the World Cup in 2005and Ukraine’s Orange Revolutiongenerated pride in Ukrainian heritage.The timing was propitious totranslate idea into action. Marcenlisted the assistance of a longtime friend, Andriy Popowychwho, along with brother Danylo,had been members of Ottawa’sperennial Tier 1 city soccer championsand Ontario provincialchampions in the late 1990s at thehigh school level. Their call generatedmuch interest, but playerswere accepted to join the teamunder one condition.From the outset, only onequalification was established formembership in the OttawaUkraina Soccer Club—Ukrainianheritage from at least one parent.Apart from this common denominator,diversity characterizes theteam. Skill levels range fromcompetitive to beginner, agesvary from eighteen to forty three,and occupations include professionals,university students, technicians,artists, and members ofthe Canadian Armed Forces andpolice forces. Reflecting the transientpopulation of Ottawa, playcontinuedon page 36Nasha Doroha fall/2006 35