Nowadays, having high-level professional skills is the main criterion required of specialists in physical education. They  are among the individuals who play the most important part in the maintenance and betterment of public health. Highly-qualified specialists – true professionals in the educational field – must accomplish this major goal.
The history of the establishment and development of the Institute of Physical Education of the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University comprises several different stages. In 1969 the Physical Education Faculty of the Lutsk State Pedagogical Institute was created, with an initial enrolment of 50 students. In the course of the institute’s reorganization in 1993, the faculty became a section of the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University, and in 1994 the Institute of Physical Education was established.
The Institute of Physical Education is currently preparing specialists in the field entitled “Physical Education and Sport”, including full-time and extramural programs in three areas of specialization – physical education, Olympic and professional sport, and physical rehabilitation – leading to qualification at the bachelors’, specialists’ and masters’ levels. Currently, 480 full-time and 590 extramural students are being trained in the Institute.
The Institute comprises seven departments:
The Institute of Physical Education has at its disposal academic personnel capable of ensuring the preparation of specialists who meet national-level standards. Teaching activities are carried out by Professors O. I. Petryk, B. P. Hreyda, O. I. Buzyun, A. B. Tsyos, as well as by 52 teachers having the status of ‘kandidat nauk’ or associate professor, 1 Doctor of Science, 8 Masters of Sports and 1 International-level Master of Sports.
Since its establishment, the Institute has trained thousands of highly-qualified specialists in physical education and sport who have worked or are working with success in schools, scientific establishments, and public and sports organizations.
During the course of its activities, the faculty has considerably expanded and built up its basic stock of instructional equipment. Teaching and training activities are currently carried out in two gymnasiums, three training rooms, two aerobics halls, a general physical preparation room, gymnastics and tennis halls, in classrooms and at the stadium. Student summer camp sessions are held in athletic/sanatory camping facilities at Lake Svityaz in the Shatsky National Park. For the use of students of the Faculty of Physical Education there is a reading room, a computer classroom, a sanatorium/dispensary, dormitories, and public dining rooms, as well as the Center of Culture and the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University Museum. The fully adequate stock of instructional, methodological and scientific literature facilitates the instructional process.
During 1998-2000, a specialized research council dealt with the defense of theses for the attainment of the academic degree of ‘kandidat nauk’ in physical education and sport according to the specific major 24.00.02—physical development and physical education of various groups within the population. One doctoral and 30 kandidat-level theses were defended by members of the professorial staff of the Institute. Over 800 research papers were published. Instruction manuals approved by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Research were published by: B. P. Hreyda, N. B. Hreyda, O. I. Bychuk, A. I. Alyoshyna, V. S. Dobrynskiy, O. I. Buzyun, H. V. Balakhnichova, T. H. Ovcharenko, A. M. Tuchak, T. Y. Tsyupak and V. T. Yalovyk.
The staff of the Institute of Physical Education actively conducts methodological and scientific research work. At present, three research/educational laboratories are in operation: the Human Health Laboratory, the Sports Physiology Laboratory and the Modern Health Restoration and Rehabilitation Technologies Laboratory.
Scientific research activities are carried out by students of the Institute of Physical Education. Each year they participate in international and national scientific conferences and competitions, and in the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University Science Days. In 1999, O. Vilich, a student in group 43 became the winner of the Ukrainian Nationwide Student Tour ‘Olympiad’ Competition involving the issue of physical rehabilitation. Andriy Sitovskiy was the winner of the “Best Lesson Analysis” designation in the second round of the 2001 Physical Education ‘Olympiad’ Competition, and Rostislav Lanevych was the winner of the “Innovative Approaches to the Solution of Physical Education Problems” designation in 2002.
In 1999, the students Andriy Sitovsky, Victor Romanyuk and Yaroslav Biletskiy took first, second and third place standing for their reports at the Ukrainian Nationwide Practical Scientific Conference of Postgraduates and Students in Kharkiv.
At the 2002 International Scientific Conference in Kiev dedicated to “Students, Science and Sport in the 21st Century”, reports presented by Rostislav Lanevych and Andriy Babik were given official recognition.
A scientific society of students and postgraduates operates within the Institute, and other groups work with [technical] problems. The winners of the University Competition for the best student research work were H. I. Prokopuk (in 2003), A. P. Havrylyuk (in 2004) and Y. P. Safatyuk (in 2005).
The top young scientists at the Institute, A. V. Tsyos (in 1996), V. V. Pylypchuk (in 1999), V. V. Chyzhyk (in 2000), S. V. Kalytka (in 2003) and A. M. Sitovskiy, became Cabinet Ministry Scholarship award winners.
Thousands of highly-qualified specialists in physical education and sports, working or having worked with success in schools, scientific establishments, sports and public organizations, have graduated from the Faculty/Institute of Physical Education during its years in operation.
Among the graduates of the Faculty are numbered several Distinguished Trainers of Ukraine – O. Kamerilov, A. Bondarev, V. Levchuk, V. Kvartsyaniy, B. Halytskiy, R. Karpyuk, S. Borysyuk, M. Avramenko, Y. Savchuk and A. Dolinskiy – and several educational methodologists: O. Kulyk, V. Romanyiv, M. Oliynyk. Winners of the “Teacher of the Year” awards were the graduates Nataliya Denysenko (1997) and Lyudmyla Dovhanyuk (2001).
The sports achievements of the Institute of Physical Education have been significant. Among those who studied at the Institute are Lyudmyla Hudz, Bronze Medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (handball) and Andriy Roztoka, twice World and European champion, Champion of the Paralympic Games, and World Cup Champion.
Among the well-known names of graduates from the Institute of Physical Education are:
- Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Distinguished Master of Sports of Ukraine; member of the Ukrainian Selected [football] Team; and captain of the Donetsk “Shakhtar” football club.
- Oleh Luzhniy, Distinguished Master of Sports of the USSR; member of the USSR Selected Football Team; player on the Dynamo (Kyiv) and the London Arsenal football teams.
- Mikola Popovych, Master of International-Class Sports; winner in two categories at the 1995 Worldwide Student [Sports] Competition.
- Tetyana Vodopyanova, Distinguished Master of Sports; prize-winner at the World Biathlon Championship.
- Olena Petrova, Distinguished Master of Sports; prize-winner at the Nagano Olympics.
Students at the Institute benefit from the sports experience of teacher Valeriy Vykhor, Master of Sports in Boxing, three-time world champion, and a finalist in the European and World Professional Boxing Championships.
The “Universitet Volyn” Premier-class Volleyball Team is made up of students from the Institute.
Handball and basketball teams from the Institute of Physical Education participate in First League games.
The following light athletes from the Institute were successful in performances in international competitions:
- Oleksandr Kotovych, Master of International-class Sports; prizewinner at the European Championship.
- Zhanna (Mudryk) Budyilovska, Master of Sports, European Cup prizewinner.
- Svitlana Kalytka, Master of International-class Sports, Ukrainian champion [in the walking event].
- Valentyna Savchuk, Master of International-class Sports, participant in the Sidney Olympic Games; prizewinner in the Worldwide Student [Sports] Competition; multiple Ukrainian champion, multiple winner of the Ukraine Cup.
- Oleksandr Holovnytskiy, Master of International-class Sports, World Cross-Country Racing Champion.
- Kyrylo Chuprynin, Master of International-class Sports, participant in the Sidney Olympic Games, prizewinner in the junior championships; multiple champion of Ukraine; multiple winner of the Ukraine Cup.
- Serhiy Oksentyuk, Master of International-class Sports; World 100-meter Racing Champion.
- Nadia Prokopuk, Master of Sports, participant in the Worldwide Student [Sports] Competition; winner of the European and Ukraine Cups.
- Roman Ryzhiy, Master of Sports, winner in the International CIS and Baltic Youth Games; Ukraine teenage champion; winner of the Ukrainian Light Athletic Throwing Championship.
- Vitaliy Shafar, Master of Sports, prizewinner at the World Cross-country Racing Championship.
Outstanding results in orienteering were obtained by the following students: Y. Omelchenko, world champion; Y. Dorosh and A. Malchyk, Junior-level Students’ Sports Competition champions.
The following heavyweight-event students obtained significant results:
- Nadia Mironyuk, Master of International-class Sports; prizewinner in the European Junior Championship, two-time champion of Ukraine, two-time holder of the Ukraine Cup.
- Volodymyr Harbar, Master of International-class Sports, prizewinner in the European Championship.
- Yuriy Lavrynyuk, Master of International-class Sports, prizewinner in the European Championship; Ukraine Junior Record Holder.
In competitive rowing, the Institute of Physical Education is represented by Vyacheslav Tsekhosh, Master of International-class Sports, World Cup winner, two-time champion of Ukraine, and by Dmytro Mazuryk, Serhiy Samruk and Anatoliy Zakharchenko, winners of the World Cup in Rowing.
The Institute attaches great importance to maximizing mass involvement in sports, as well as its formative role with respect to individual students; to this end the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn State University Youth Sports Club was created. “Spartakiads” (tournaments) comprising a variety of sports events are held each year among students and teachers of the University.
In the Institute of Physical Education, it has become something of a tradition to create such publicly-oriented initiatives as the following: the Freshmen’s Cross-Country Race, Students’ Day, and Health Days. Students and teachers at the Institute regularly offer material assistance to a specialized boarding school in the village of Lyplyany in the Kivertsi District, and organize initiatives there connected with physical training and wellness promotion.
In the “Best Athlete” section of the “Best Student of 2005" Volyn-wide competition, Institute students Danylo Dmytruk, Nadiya Myronyuk and Olya Chekhanyuk were prizewinners.
Contact information:
43021 Lutsk, 30 Vynnychenko St.
Tel. (03322) 4-20-68
E-mail: physical.edu@univer.lutsk.ua |
