WINTER SPORTS IN THE PHYSICAL CULTURE OF UKRAINIANS (1911–1939)

Abstract

The aim is to reveal the peculiarities of the development of skiing and skating, ice hockey among Ukrainians in the period from 1911 to 1939. Methods. The historical method is used in the research. Source base: regional archives of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Przemyśl, Ryashev, Krakow. Results. It is established that winter sports among Ukrainians in Galicia began to develop in the late nineteenth century. Skating developed in the sections of the Lviv Skiing (Skating) Ukrainian and Polish societies «Falcon». Skating rinks in Lviv were held at numerous city ponds. The first ice fields for figure skating were at Pelchyn and Panensky ponds (both in the modern area of Sakharov Street). The center of the development of skating in the 1930s and 1940s was the skating rink of the Lviv Ski Society at the Citadel. There were figure skating groups for men and women. In Stanislav, the skating rink was opened every year in the park of Baron Romashkan (now the park of T. Shevchenko) thanks to the wellknown businessman Luczynski in the city. The first reports of ice hockey in Ukrainian were published in 1904 in Lviv, when the sport was called hockey or hockey. On January 15, 1905, the first hockey match on the territory of Ukraine took place on the rink of Panevsky Pond (Lviv). In 1909, Medard Kavetsky gave a lecture «Ice Hockey» in Lviv. In 1910 the first rules of hockey with the Ukrainian puck were published, which were concluded by Ivan Bobersky under the title «Rules for hooks». Hockey sections functioned successfully in Ukrainian academic gymnasiums, hockey developed in sports clubs of Lviv, Kolomyia, Przemyśl, Stanisławów and Ternopil. The development of skiing among Ukrainians in the study period is closely related to the establishment and operation of the Carpathian Hazelnut Club. Since the establishment of the club, it has become possible to form ski sections, train athletes and coaches, and hold competitions. In the winter months, first in Lviv, and then everywhere where Ukrainians lived, mass skiing began. In the Carpathian villages (Kosmach, Slavske, Vorokhta, Kremenets and many others) ski resorts were created, which became centers for training ski jumpers. Conclusion. Representatives of the Ukrainian ethnic group achieved significant sports results and participated in the first Winter Olympics (I-IV), playing for teams from Poland, Romania and Canada. Among them are biathlete Stepan Vitkovsky, hockey player Adam Kovalsky (born in Ivano-Frankivsk), Valentyn Bilas – ice skating, Roman Turushanko – a pupil of the Ukrainian Sports Club «Dovbush», figure skating.