2 boats
For the entire rowing department. Catastrophically few — children take turns to train.
Mykolaiv, Ukraine — Frontline city
Despite the war,
210 children still train.
KDYUSSH "Olimp" is a children's sports school in Mykolaiv — a frontline city under regular shelling. Its students are champions of Ukraine and Europe in rowing, canoeing, kickboxing, boxing and futsal. The boats burn. The equipment is patched and re-patched. The children stay — and they keep winning.
A short film
Two minutes in Mykolaiv.
A short presentation of the school and the children — in English.
The School
A Category I sports school. Top 20 in Ukraine.
Founded in 2002 in the Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv, KDYUSSH "Olimp" trains 210 children across rowing, canoeing, kickboxing, boxing and futsal. All training is free of charge.
In 2025 the school was ranked among the Top 20 sports schools in Ukraine out of 198 institutions, and was granted Category I status by order №442 of 31 October 2025. Twelve children with disabilities train alongside their peers; the staff have supported the rehabilitation of 47 Ukrainian veterans.
210
Children training
16
Coaches
47
Veterans rehabilitated
2002
Founded
Disciplines
Each sport needs different partners.
We approach each federation only about its own discipline. Open the page that matches your sport — there you will find that team's results, photographs and a precise, concrete request.
I
Rowing & Canoe
Champions of Ukraine, marathon medallists. Two boats for the whole school; a storm has just damaged them.
Open → IIKickboxing ISKA
European Championship competitors in Heilbronn, Germany — winners despite every obstacle.
Open → IIIBoxing
All-Ukrainian competition winners, training in a frontline city.
Open → IVFutsal
Champions of Ukraine U-12, 2026 — the school's first national title.
Open →Not thanks to — but despite
They win on what survived.
June 2026
A storm damaged the remaining boats. "It broke our boats, but not our will to win." An emergency appeal followed.
Re-patched
Kayaks, the pool, the gym — repaired again and again by the staff themselves. There is no other equipment.
What the shelling left
This is the city they train in.
Mykolaiv is shelled regularly. The yacht club burned; the boat pier collapsed into the ice; the covered pool where the children train through winter was gutted and rebuilt by hand. We show this not for pity — but so you understand what these results cost.
War
War
War
War
War
WarClick any photo to enlarge.
The boats burn. The pool was rebuilt by the staff during the war. The children keep training.
— Mykolaiv, 2026
Who coordinates this
A father, from the Netherlands.
I am a Ukrainian living in the Netherlands. I am not an employee of the school — I am an independent volunteer who decided to help.
I have a family and children of my own. When I see what the children of Mykolaiv keep doing under fire — training, competing, winning — I cannot stand aside. I connect this school with European partners: federations, clubs and foundations who can give equipment, transport or a training partnership.
Everything is done transparently and directly with the school's administration. No appeals to pity — only dignity and concrete facts.
KonstantinNetherlands · Independent coordinator
Contact
For federations, clubs, foundations and partners.
[email protected]Coordinated from the Netherlands by an independent volunteer.
Choose your sport above for a precise request.
Choose your sport above for a precise request.