Below is the translation of the Discore article about how the dream of a group of athletes became a real project and led to the official recognition of Flying Disc sports at the state level.
On December 23, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine officially recognized flying disc sports. Dmytro Strelchyn shared with Discore the events that led up to this achievement.
The first thoughts about officially registering Ultimate came to Strelchyn in 2006. At that time, Kyiv’s team “Gigolo” participated in their first-ever tournament, “Lord Novgorod.” Later, Ukraine was visited by legendary Swedish frisbee ambassador Paul Eriksson, responsible for Eastern Europe in EFDF. He brought training discs and aimed to present Ultimate in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Lviv. Strelchyn accompanied him to Odesa and tried to organize the event, but most universities refused to engage. “Your sport isn’t official,” activists were told. “Eventually, the director of one university took pity during a personal meeting,” recalls Strelchyn. “We held an event for students, but I realized then that Ultimate needed official registration.”
Shortly after the Odesa trip in May 2006, Strelchyn registered Kyiv’s first frisbee players’ association, a public organization, with a simplified notification process to the Ministry of Justice.
In summer 2009, training courses for regional players brought together leaders of existing teams. “The first meeting was held in a local Ultimate player’s apartment. We stayed up all night, discussing structure and elections. By the end, we had a federation,” Strelchyn recalls. Although functioning as a federation, it lacked official legal status.
The organization was democratic: the president was elected by the council of team captains, permanent federation members who had to meet formal requirements, such as participation in tournaments. Multiple teams in a city could have their own representative.
In 2009, Strelchyn became the first president, holding the post until 2013, a period marked by bureaucratic challenges. “We created statutes and registered on a regional level. Nationwide registration required representation in 14 regions. A few years ago, this requirement was simplified, but back then, legal entities were almost mandatory. We received rejections from the Ministry of Justice and even hints to pay for progress. With no membership fees at the time, I often covered costs myself.” In July 2013, the Ukrainian Federation became a permanent WFDF member.
Strelchyn stepped down in late 2013, succeeded by Bohdan Alekseiev, who introduced membership fees for Ukrainian Championship participants, initially set at 100 UAH (~$4).
In 2015, Oleksandr Kostenko was elected president, defeating Alekseiev. Kostenko hired a professional lawyer, completing the legal establishment of the Ukrainian Flying Disc Federation.
The following year, Dmytro Babych, the sole presidential candidate, took over. Babich began playing in 2011 but had been active in the community since 2006, including creating a forum that connected players for years. By 2015, he captained Kyiv’s “Nova” and decided to lead the federation in 2016.
Babych’s primary goal was preparing documents for the sport’s official recognition. According to Strelchyn, the effort was monumental, with the final submission consisting of five folders, each 470 pages, including 10 years of tournament protocols, rosters, and adapted guidelines.
Key to success were professional relations with Ukraine’s Sports Committee. Frisbee activists were known and supported, even receiving document samples from other recognized sports. The relevant commission unanimously approved “flying disc sports” as its official name in Ukraine.
The list of contributors to the registration project includes 27 names. The sport is now classified among non-Olympic priority sports, granting access to funding based on performance in international events. Strelchyn notes: “Rumor has it, niche sports like beach handball receive about 4 million UAH (~$150,000) annually. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Flying Disc Federation operates on a $1,000 budget. To access funding, the federation needs to achieve National Sports Federation status.”