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Each summer, Jewish teens across North America have the opportunity to compete in a variety of sports while also strengthening their ties to Judaism and Israel at the JCC Maccabi Games—an Olympic-style competition and the world’s largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers.
This August, the Jewish Community Centers (JCC) of Chicago brought over 100 of the area’s strongest young Jewish athletes to Houston, Orange County and Baltimore to compete and help celebrate the Games’ 25th anniversary.
Held throughout North America each summer, the Games enable Jewish Community Centers and YM/YWHAs to reach teens by giving them a venue to compete in team and individual sports—including baseball, soccer, flag football, dance, swimming and tennis—and a chance to participate in year-round athletic, educational, cultural and social programs, as well as teen experiences in Israel. The Games began in 1982, and the program is now so large that more than one location is needed to accommodate the over 6,000 teens, ages 13 to 16, who participate each year.
In addition to providing an outlet for teens to showcase their athletic abilities, the Games also instill an appreciation of Jewish values within Jewish youth, to enrich their Jewish identities in an informal setting.
“Obviously there’s an athletic purpose behind the Games, but beyond that, in many cases, the athletes participating may be experiencing their first major contact with other Jewish teenagers,” said Bob Schwartz, president of the JCC Chicago Maccabi board of directors. “We’re looking for young people to become more focused and/or aware of Israel…and build friendships that last a lifetime.”
Schwartz first became involved in the organization in 1988 when the games were in Chicago and his family hosted four young athletes. In 1992, his daughter began competing in track and field, and the next year he became the team’s assistant track coach. During that time, he also joined the JCC Chicago Maccabi board of directors, and took the position of president two years ago. As president, Schwartz said he hopes to bring the JCC Maccabi Games home to Chicago, where they have not been held for nearly 20 years, to reciprocate for all the kindness that has been offered to Chicago’s young athletes by other host cities.
The 13-member volunteer board works with JCC staff, including Allan Bogan, the Chicago director of the JCC Maccabi Games, to coordinate the Maccabi program. According to Bogan, JCCs of Chicago has been a cooperating partner with the JCC Maccabi Games since their inception in 1982. In 1995, JCCs of Chicago formally committed to the Maccabi Games by assigning a professional staff person to manage the Chicago delegation of Jewish youth that participates in the program each year.
In Chicago, activities and celebrations for this year’s Games began long before the August competition got under way.
Starting in February and March, the JCCs of Chicago held tryouts to select the athletes who would join the team at the Games, including two or three teen athletes from JUF’s Partnership 2000 region in Kiryat Gat, who stay with host families and compete in the Games.
Bogan said the Games serve a larger purpose than athletic competition. They also reflect the mission of the JCCs of Chicago, “Bringing Jewish Values to Life,” by teaching the participating athletes to apply values like responsibility, cooperation and tikkun olam, repairing our world.
“We use the Games as a vehicle to instill a pride among our athletes in their Jewish identity while reminding them that the Games connect each of them to the world’s Jewish community, including the State of Israel,” he said.
Another key component to the Games is the Day of Caring/Sharing program, where all the athletes take a break from competition to participate in a community service and tzedakah project.
“JCC Maccabi Chicago believes so strongly in this program that we have included a local Day of Caring/Sharing program here in Chicago for our athletes to give back to the community prior to attending the Games,” Bogan said.
Alumni and competitors celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Games and kicked off the competition with an alumni reunion at the end of July, which brought together several generations of former and current participating athletes at the Bernard Weinger JCC in Northbrook. Though only a handful of alumni returned, including the two founders of the Chicago Maccabi Group, Schwartz called the event a success.
“We’re starting to do this every year to encourage [Maccabi alumni] to participate in the organization at a coaching or fundraising effort,” he said.
Volunteer coaches, one-third of whom are former Maccabi Games participants, lead the athletes.
“The Games had a true impact on [the coaches] as teenagers, so they come back as young people in their 20s to give back to Jewish teens,” Bogan said. “It makes us feel very proud.”
Track and field coach Jason Abrahams competed for three years after coming across the tryout information in the newspaper, and starting coaching when he became eligible last year.
“I wanted to give back to the organization and the kids, and coaching is my way of doing that,” Abrahams said. “It’s such a great event that people want to stay involved and want to give back.
This year the Chicago team received over 100 medals between the team and individual sports, but Abrahams said this competition is more about having fun than winning medals.
“Everyone had a really great time, and that’s the biggest thing,” he said.
For more information about the JCC Maccabi Games, visit www.jccmaccabigames.org.
The JCCs of Chicago is a partner agency in serving the Chicago and worldwide Jewish community, supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
