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October 1, 2004
Maccabi Games to remember
Athletes from Vancouver's delegation return with a record 10 medals.
ALAN SLATER AND LU WINTERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
It was a sunny Aug. 5 morning when 61 athletes of the Vancouver
delegation set out for the 2004 JCC Maccabi Games in Greater Washington.
That morning set the tone for the next nine days of our fantastic
adventure. The JCC Maccabi Games left us all with a renewed sense
of Judaism, competition and rachmones (compassion). We arrived
at the JCC of Greater Washington in Rockville, Md., where we were
welcomed with packages and information about the games and took
a team picture before all of the athletes met up with their host
families for a few days of sightseeing.
On Sunday, Aug. 8, at around 6 p.m., all our athletes and more than
2,200 other athletes and coaches from Canada, the United States,
Mexico, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Venezuela and Israel met
for what would be an unforgettable opening ceremony. There were
very few dry eyes in the audience after the tribute to the 11 Israeli
athletes killed by terrorists in 1972 at the Olympic Games in Munich,
Germany, and the emotional speech made by Anouk Spitzer, daughter
of Andre Spitzer, one of the Munich 11. (A copy of her speech can
be found on the JCC Maccabi Games web site, www.jccmaccabi.org.)
The games started bright and early on the first morning. Aside from
competition, there was loads of social time. An Israeli group held
"Hang Time" every day at different venues. Hang Time was
a place for the athletes and coaches to go when they had a break
between events. There was everything from crafts, Israeli games,
Israeli music, challah cover-making and Shabbat candle-making to
dancing, yoga, pilates and a giant game of twister on a map of Israel.
There were also Chabad activities like making a shofar, putting
on tefillin, writing your Hebrew name on Torah parchment and finding
out your birthday on the Hebrew calendar – there was lots to
do!
The athletes' Day of Caring and Sharing, which is a major highlight
of the JCC Maccabi Games, was held at the United States National
Holocaust Memorial Museum. We became "witnesses to the past
to build the future." All 2,200-plus athletes, coaches and
delegation heads took away a positive message from this experience.
In addition to the feelings generated by the competition and side-activities
at the games, there is a surrounding atmosphere which is remarkable.
It is called rachmones. Rachmones lies at the heart of Jewish thought
and feeling. It plays a key role in all athletic competition at
the JCC Maccabi Games. While the goal of the athletes is to compete
within their abilities and strive for excellence, they also are
expected to show rachmones toward their teammates and opponents.
In the spirit of rachmones, athletes, coaches, delegation heads
and spectators must abide by this very important Jewish value by
avoiding slander, gossip or poor sportsmanship. The atmosphere of
the JCC Maccabi Games is enhanced by the understanding and commitment
to the rachmones rule.
Our delegation consisted of 59 athletes from Vancouver and two athletes
from Vancouver's Partnership 2000 sister region in Israel, the Upper
Galilee. They competed in basketball, baseball, dance, in-line hockey,
softball, soccer, tennis and swimming.
Vancouver's athletes came back after five days of competition with
a record 10 medals, including Vancouver's first ever gold medal.
Rebecca Margolick and Lulu Krause were the talk of the games in
the dance competition. Margolick won three gold medals in jazz,
lyric and modern, and a silver in ballet. Krause won three silvers
in jazz, lyric and tap, and a bronze medal in solo. In swimming,
Carmel Bouskila won a silver medal and finished sixth overall and
was named to the championship team, which consists of the top 10
swimmers in each age group. And last, but not least, the boys U14
soccer team matched last year's feat and brought home a bronze medal,
defeating Mexico 2-0 in the bronze medal game. Although many others
did not return with a medal, they all returned home with golden
memories. This was a "Gold Medal Games" for everyone involved.
We are so proud of the hard work, dedication and commitment of the
entire delegation.
One of the comments overheard that really sums up the games was
when Arielle Bandel turned to a friend and said, "I'm so excited
to meet lots of other Jewish kids. I don't hang out with many at
home." The sense of Jewish comradery was felt in everything
we did.
Basketball and soccer team tryouts for the 2005 JCC Maccabi Games
will take place in November and early December. Places, dates and
times will be announced in late October. For details, check the
JCC of Greater Vancouver web site (www.jccgv.com)
or the Jewish Western Bulletin. For more information, contact
Alan Slater at 604-272-7394 or Lu Winters at 604-257-5111.
Alan Slater was the delegation head and Lu Winters
was the assistant delegation head for this year's Vancouver team.
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