Baseball in Crimea is the Cubans’ merit

The history of Crimean baseball originates from 1987, when the “Foton” team was created. The Head of the Educational and Sport Department of the Crimean Sport Committee, Vitaliy Suhachev was engaged in the development of this exotic game, as previously baseball was included in the Olympic Games program. Cuban and Nicaraguan students of the Crimean universities became the first team coaches.

– I accidently took “Cuba” magazine, where I saw interesting article about baseball – honored baseball coach of Ukraine, Rold Sidamoyidze, says. – Then I got the idea. I went to the Agriculture Institute in Simferopol and addressed Cuban students, who studied there. Seven Cubans at once took beats and gloves, when I told them I want to create a baseball team. In the Soviet Union I was the only one who had players from Cuba. They had shown us the basic elements of this game and managed to involve our sportsmen.

The first “Foton” team included students and graduates of the Simferopol Institutes. Most of them were the former handball players. These Cubans not only taught us the basic elements of the game and ability to think in each game episode, but they also helped us with sport equipment. Ronald Sidamoyidze reached an agreement with factory, which produced the aluminum beats for the team. Even sport uniform was a kind of experiment. Straw hats were bought in toy store and were recolored. When representative of the Ukrainian diaspora, Paul Kulchitskiy had arrived from Toronto he appreciated sport skills of athletes but he was also disappointed that our hats were hand-made… He immediately bought the real sport form for our players.

From “Foton” to “Skifs”

Results were not long in coming. The “Foton” team became the winner of the Ukrainian Cup in three months after its creation. In 1988 team’s list has already entrenched and players have managed to become silver medalists of the Ukrainian Championship and the finalists of the Cup once again. At the same time Arkadiy Dimidenko became the Head of the Baseball Federation of the Crimea.  Since 1996 this position is headed by Genadiy Babenko.

1990 was the best year in the history of “Foton” team. The team has won bronze medals and received the title of the URRS champions, which made them possible to participate in URRS Cup Final. Also the team became the winner of the Ukrainian Summer Games. Three teams from Simferopol have already presented themselves in 1993, during the Ukrainian Championship. These teams became the basis of the Simferopol National Team, which in 1997 won the first international tournament in Austria.

The new generation of baseball players has already appeared in the ХХI century. The main basis of “Skifs” team was students of the University of the Economy and Management. The main team roster and youth team were multiple winners of the country. Only players from Kropyvnytskyi city always went stride.

– Kropyvnytskyi city can be called a Mecca of Ukrainian baseball – player of “Foton” team Olexander Bilokurenko says.

– They have an excellent field and their sponsor in the person of “BioTexCom” clinic is rather powerful. And we even haven’t own field since URRS times until 2010.

Nowadays the team has good field. It was built at the expanses of athletes and sponsors. But, still, most often athletes pay for away games from own pocket. Sometimes part of expanses is taken by the authorities of the country or republic.