Sport in Ukraine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When it comes to sports, Ukraine is a typical European country. Of the many different sports Ukraine plays, the major sport is football.

Football

Ukraine has four football (In the US its known as soccer) leagues. The strongest and most popular league is the Ukrainian Premier League, which is also known as the Vyscha Liha (Top league) . The second-ranking league the Persha Liha or the Ukrainian First League. The next league down is the Second League or Druha Liha, which is divided into two groups, East(B) and West(A) according to their location. The forth-level league is Amateur Level.

The leagues' competitors change every year. The two lowest-ranking clubs in the Vyscha Liha are relegated to the Persha Liha, while the two top teams of the Persha Liha are promoted to the Vyscha Liha. The two lowest-ranking Persha Liha teams are relegated to the Druha Liha, while the top two teams in the Druha Liha League are promoted to the Vyscha Liha. Clubs receive three points if they win, one point if they tie, and zero points for a loss. Each team plays each other twice.

Teams from all leagues can participate in the Ukrainian Cup. The winners of the Ukrainian Championship and the Ukrainian Cup take part in the Ukrainian Super Cup.

Ukraine will be host to the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012, together with [[Poland]

Ice hockey

Ukraine has a professional ice hockey league, the Ukrainian Major League. Their most notable team is Sokil Kyiv. Their national hockey team has competed in several World Championships and the Olympics.

Basketball

Ukraine also has a relatively unknown basketball league. But the teams are still strong enough to make it into the Eurocup basketball championship. The top Ukrainian League is called the Ukrainian Basketball Super League. The next top league is called the Vyscha Liha. The next strongest league is called the Persha Liha.

Cricket

The Ukraine Cricket Association exists to promote the game of cricket in Ukraine.There are a lot of cricket clubs in Ukraine at this time: Kyiv Cricket Club, Kharkiv Cricket Club, Crimea Cricket Club, Vinnytsya Cricket Club, Ternopil Cricket Club, Donetsk Cricket Club and Luhansk Cricket Club.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics is considered one of the most popular sports ever in Ukraine. Many Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts such as Anna Bessonova, Natalia Godunko, Elena Vitrichenko and Alexandra Timoshenko are among the top rhythmic gymnasts in the world. There are many clubs all over Ukraine. The most famous and strongest rhythmic gymnastics training school in Ukraine is the Deriugina School in Kiev, run by Albina Deriugina and her daughter Irina Deriugina.

Olympic Games

Ukraine is a regular participant in both summer and winter Olympic Games and is successful on the international arena. The country's top achievement at the Olympics to date was at the 1996 Summer Olympics, when they came 9th.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Ukrainian gymnast Lilia Podkopayeva won the All Around title in the Women's Gymnastics competition.