JCC Maccabi Games are for Jewish teens between the ages of 13 and 17 years old, with teams from across the country coming together for one week each summer.
During the day, athletes compete in their sport and at night there are a variety of social events. Athletes are housed with other Jewish families. This is a great opportunity for teens to meet more than 1,500 other Jewish teenagers from across the U.S. and the world, and compete in a variety of sports, as well as socialize and participate in community service projects.
Those thinking about participating should keep in mind, that
- To participate in the Games, athletes must be at least 13 years old and cannot have turned 17 years old as of July 31.
- All athletes must be Jewish, which is defined as follows: One of the athlete’s parents is Jewish and the athlete is being raised Jewish, or is a Jew by choice and is being raised Jewish. In the spirit of the Games, if the parent or child does not believe that they are Jewish on a year round basis, then the child should not participate in the JCC Maccabi Games.
Columbus Team Joins 700 Athletes at JCC Maccabi Games in Richmond
On Aug. 1, 2010, twelve Columbus athletes arrived in Richmond, Va. for the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games Experience. These athletes, along with 3 coaches, joined 700 other Jewish athletes from around the world and showed their pride for Columbus by marching in Opening Ceremonies.
Attending the Maccabi Games this year were: Sam Beech (Bexley), Billy Eisenman (Bexley), Daniel Emoff (Gahanna), Michael Fishman(New Albany), Josh Hoffman (Bexley), Evan Kauffman (Gahanna), Jack Klein (Worthington), Jared Mandel (New Albany), Jordan Rabe (New Albany), Maya Saar (Bexley), Abram Schottenstein (Bexley), and Max Schottenstein (Bexley), along with Coaches Dan Rubin and Richard Williams, and Delegation Head, Shira Hurwitz.
“It was an amazing week! All of our athletes had a great time and met other Jewish teens from around the world with whom they undoubtedly will form life-long friendships,” said Shira Hurwitz, Columbus Delegation Head.
Team Columbus competed in Boys Basketball, Baseball, Swimming, Boys Soccer, and Tennis. “It was a tough week of competition, but our kids stuck it out through the heat and humidity,” said Hurwitz. “Billy Eisenman, who represented Columbus on a mixed baseball team with Boston, helped the team come back from 0-3-1 record with a win over Philadelphia, followed by a win over Mid-Island Y to get them to the Gold medal round, where the team fell to LA and won the silver.”
Columbus was a dominating force in competitive tennis where Jordan Rabe, a Junior at New Albany High School, won a silver medal in the A bracket, said Hurwitz.
“It was awesome to look up after my last match and realize that everyone from Columbus was there to cheer me on,” said Jordan. The B bracket was tough, noted Hurwitz, but Daniel Emoff, Junior at Gahanna High School, and Jack Klein, Sophomore at Worthington Kilbourne, were at the top of their games and wound up playing each other for the gold medal match where Jack took gold and Daniel the silver. “I can’t believe I won a medal at my first set of games,” said Jack after he won the gold.
Team Columbus’ only female athlete this year was Bexley High School Sophomore, Maya Saar, who brought home 7 medals from swimming; 2 gold, 4 silver, & 1 bronze. As a member of the JCC’s Dynamo Swim team, Maya fully prepared for her competition. “I’m excited that I earned so many medals this year, and I’m happy that I cut my time down as well,” she said, noting the five-second shave she achieved.
One of the key principles of the Maccabi Games is the Jewish tradition of Rachmanus – good sportsmanship and treating others the way you would wish to be treated. “When playing on a mixed team this is the most important thing for coaches and athletes to remember,” said Hurwitz.
“It was hard to play on mixed team with guys from 2 other cities, but we all learned how the others played and ended up winning silver!” said Billy Eisenman, of his mixed baseball team.
“It’s cool knowing that I could compete against someone in the pool, and win or lose, I could still talk to them on the bus,” Maya said about friendship and competition at the JCC Maccabi Games.
While the athletes competed on the field in various sports they also participated in Tzedakha projects throughout the week. “This year, the athletes all participated in a ‘Day of Caring and Sharing,’ where they were joined by local inner city kids from the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA summer camps,” said Hurwitz. “Every athlete was paired up with a child and worked together to complete an obstacle course, play field games, pack care packages for soldiers overseas, and complete an art project.”
“This only helps to show that the Maccabi Games Experience is about more than just sports. The true Maccabi Experience is not only to provide Jewish youth with a supportive environment that fosters mutual respect and sportsmanship, but also to cultivate a deeper understanding and instill an appreciation of Jewish values within Jewish youth, enrich their Jewish identity in an informal setting, and encourage their identification with the state of Israel,” she said.
“The best thing about the week was seeing our athletes grow during the week of the games and gain a better understanding of what it means to be Jewish,” said Coach Dan Rubin. When asked of his experience, Abram Schottenstein said, “Overall, the experience is one that I would recommend to my friends and family as I have definitely had some of my greatest memories at the Maccabi Games.”
Final Standings:
Baseball
Team Boston (mixed team with Billy Eisenman) came back from an 0-3-1 record to defeat the #2 seed Philadelphia, and then won over Mid-Island Y to take them to the Gold medal game were they won Silver.
Tennis
Jordan Rabe went 7-1 to win the Silver medal in the A braket. Jack Klein won the gold medal in the B bracket over Columbus’ Daniel Emoff, who won the silver.
Swimming
Maya Saar won 7 medals – Bronze in 50 Free; Silver in Medley Relay; Silver in 200 Back; Silver in 100 Back; Gold in 400 Medley Relay; Silver in 400 Free Relay; Gold in 50 Back, plus she also had a 5 second drop in time!
For More Info…
For more information on the JCC Maccabi Games, visit http://www.jccmaccabigames.org, or contact Team Columbus coordinator Shira Hurwitz at shurwitz@columbusjcc.org.
JCC Teens Participate in Maccabi ArtsFest
Five JCC teens traveled to San Raphael, Calif., in mid-August to participate in the JCC Maccabi ArtsFest.
“ArtsFest is designed to inspire Jewish teens through a dynamic combination of workshop, performance, exhibition, competition, community service, social activities, and fun to develop their individuality through the medium of artistic expression while strengthening their bonds to their Jewish heritage, community, and Israel,” said Samara Chodosh, Columbus delegation leader.
Attending this year’s Maccabi ArtsFest were: Tal Benatar, participating in rock; Rachel Canowitz, participating in acting; Zoe Case and Becky Portman, participating in musical theater; and Beth Weisbach, participating in culinary arts.
“The week was incredible,” said Chodosh. “I had the pleasure of watching our teens create, cook, and perform. They all represented Columbus so well, and I am so impressed with how talented they are.”
The week’s theme was “Hineni,” which means “Here I am” in Hebrew. “It was what Abraham responded to G-d to indicate his readiness when called upon in Genesis,” said Zoe. “I literally means ‘I am here, in the present, and I am focused on what is happening right now.’ I thought that was really cool, because there we were – at the JCC outside of San Francisco, with hundreds of other Jewish kids all like us, focused on creating art with a Jewish theme. It was really, really cool!”
In keeping with the week’s theme, the young artists also participated in a “Day of Caring and Sharing” to give back to the community. The Columbus delegation helped clean up a park and put down new mulch.
The Columbus ArtsFest delegation is generously supported by the Columbus Jewish Foundation.
Excitement already is building for the 2011 JCC Maccabi ArtsFest, said Chodosh. “Next year, the ArtsFest AND the Maccabi Games will be held in Israel! We’re still working on the details and the logistics, but the excitement is definitely there.”
For More Info…
For more information on the JCC Maccabi ArtsFest, visit http://www.israeljccmaccabi2011.org, or contact Team Columbus coordinator Samara Chodosh at schodosh@columbusjcc.org.
