Olympics

Chance for podium?

Paralympic world champion rower Moran Samuel (photo by Detlev Seyb)

Israel is sending its largest-ever Olympic delegation – 89 athletes – to the Tokyo Olympics, set for July 23 to Aug. 8. And it’s sending 32 athletes to Tokyo for the Paralympics, which run Aug. 24 to Sept. 5. Do any of these competitors have a good chance of bringing home a medal?

Israel has won nine medals in 16 Summer Olympic Games: five bronze and one silver in judo, a bronze in canoeing, and a bronze and a gold in sailing.

In contrast, its Paralympic athletes have earned 123 gold, 123 silver and 129 bronze medals since 1964. However, the competition has gotten stiffer in recent years. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Israel won eight medals, including its first gold in wheelchair tennis. In 2016, the Paralympic team came home with just three bronze medals, won by Moran Samuel in rowing, Doron Shaziri in shooting and Inbal Pezaro in swimming.

Israel21c asked Jerusalem-based sports journalist Joshua “the Sports Rabbi” Halickman for his insights.

Olympic hopefuls

Like everyone else, Halickman has his eye on Linoy Ashram, 22. She won gold and bronze medals in the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup, among her many other medals. Last weekend, she won a further five gold medals at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix in Tel Aviv – for ball, hoop, clubs, ribbon and all-around contests.

“Linoy is currently the world’s No. 1 rhythmic gymnast, based on competitions that took place in the past few months,” Halickman said. “She is one of the big hopefuls for the Israel Olympic committee. She was really gearing for summer 2020 and there was a concern that she would lose that level of achievement, but, a year later, she’s only gotten better.”

However, he noted, Ashram will be up against the Russian twins Arina and Dina Averina, who are widely expected to medal. “So it won’t be easy,” he said. “You’ve got to have a perfect performance; one mistake and you’re finished.”

Ashram will do one of her routines to a version of “Big in Japan,” a song by Alphaville. Indeed, Halickman said, “I feel she is going to be big in Japan.”

photo - Judoka Sagi Muki — Judoka Sagi Muki *(photo from Israel Olympic Committee)*

In judo, Sagi Muki, 29, is the reigning world champ in his under-81-kilogram weight category and is coming into the Tokyo Games as a realistic medal contender. “But he has not performed as well as he would have liked to in the past half year,” said Halickman. “He’s taken medals at minor competitions but not up to par compared to before the pandemic.”

Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik, 27, “has been at the top of his game over the past half year and has maybe a better chance than Sagi,” said Halickman.

Aside from those three, Halickman mentioned a couple of athletes who could surprise everyone and win a medal. One is female judoka Timna Nelson–Levy, 27, who won the 2021 Tel Aviv Grand Slam in the under-57-kilogram category. Another is swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko, only 17, who won a gold medal at the 2021 European Championships.

“Anastasia will compete in a slew of different swimming events. It’s the first time in ages Israel has a swimmer taking part in so many different categories,” said Halickman.

photo - Swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko (photo from Israel Oly — Swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko *(photo from Israel Olympic Committee)*

Perhaps the most anticipated Israeli Olympic event, however, will be baseball. With only six teams in the competition, Team Israel has a 50-50 chance of winning a medal, Halickman pointed out.

“It will be a top-level competition because they’ll be playing against world heavyweights like the United States, Japan and Mexico,” he said.

“Whenever Israel goes to the Olympics, Jews around the world want Israel to succeed,” he added. “But baseball is unique because it’s so American and this team is primarily American immigrants. They understand it’s a huge responsibility to represent the Jews in the Diaspora.”

Bottom line? “Israel could walk away from the Olympics with a half dozen medals or none. Nothing is guaranteed in sports,” said Halickman.

Paralympic hopefuls

Just as in the 2016 Rio Games, Israel’s Paralympic team is anticipated to do well in shooting, rowing and swimming in Tokyo. In particular, said Halickman, shooter Doron Shaziri and rower Moran Samuel are expected to reach the winner’s podium.

Shaziri, 54, has won five Paralympic silver medals and three bronze medals over seven Paralympic Games. His teammate Yulia Tzarnoy, who won a bronze medal at the last World Championships, also has a reasonable shot (pun intended) at medaling in Tokyo.

Samuel, 39, who competes in singles rowing, won a bronze medal in Rio. She’s also a national wheelchair basketball champion.

In swimming, the ones to watch are world champions Mark Malyar, 21, and Ami Dadaon, 20.

In May, Dadaon set two world records in his disability class at the European Para Swimming Championships: the 100-metre freestyle and 200-metre freestyle. The following month, at the World Para Swimming World Series, he improved his time in the 200-metre freestyle by less than a second, setting another world record.

photo - Mark Maylar competing in Portugal — Mark Maylar competing in Portugal. (photo by Ron Bolotin / Israel Paralympic Committee)

Malyar set a world record at the 2021 World Para Swimming World Series Finale in the men’s 800-metre freestyle in his disability class, breaking his own record, set in 2019, by more than 13 seconds.

To help Israelis get pumped for the Paralympics, the Telma cereal company is featuring the photos and stories of three Paralympic athletes on a special edition “Cornflakes of Champions” package. They include swimmer Veronika Girenko, rower Achiya Klein and goalball player Roni Ohayon.

Israel21c is a nonprofit educational foundation with a mission to focus media and public attention on the 21st-century Israel that exists beyond the conflict. For more, or to donate, visit israel21c.org.

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Tel Aviv-born fencer Shaul Gordon, a former Richmond resident who now lives in Montreal, is part of Canada’s Olympic team. According to his bio on olympic.ca/team-canada, “Gordon made his senior fencing debut for Canada in 2013. He has since represented Canada at two Pan American Games and six FIE World Championships.

photo - Fencer Shaul Gordon — Fencer Shaul Gordon *(photo from olympic.ca)*

“Gordon earned his first career senior individual medal at the Pan American Championships in 2018, when he captured silver. Later that year, he won gold at an FIE Satellite event in Belgium.

“Gordon followed up his terrific 2018 with an even more successful 2019, starting with helping Canada bring home a third straight silver in team sabre from the Pan Am Championships. At the FIE World Championships, he advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time ever. At the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games, he also helped Canada to a team sabre silver, while winning a bronze in the individual sabre.

“Gordon fenced collegiately at Penn State for his freshman year before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania. He finished second at the NCAA Championships in 2013, tied for third in 2014, was a three-time All-American and finished his college career with an overall record of 143-30.”

For an interview with Gordon, in Hebrew, see jewishindependent.ca.

Olympian’s North Shore ties

When A.J. Edelman was training in Whistler, he was the guest cantor for Chabad of the North Shore’s Yom Kippur services. (photo from A.J. Edelman)

Chabad of the North Shore community members had a more personal reason to cheer on A.J. Edelman at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Israel’s only skeleton athlete to have made it to the Games, Edelman was training in Whistler around the High Holidays last year. While there, he participated in community life, stepping in as guest cantor on Yom Kippur.

“Although he [Edelman] could have attended services at a larger synagogue in Vancouver, he was committed to spending Yom Kippur where he could be useful and have an impact,” said Rabbi Mendy Mochkin, spiritual leader of Chabad of the North Shore. “We had a cantor during Rosh Hashanah, but not for Yom Kippur.

“It worked out great. Our community was very excited to learn that a skeleton athlete representing Israel was training locally and was very touched that he chose to join us. They were very moved by his … melodies and heartfelt prayers. We all prayed together with him that he should attain his dream to be an ambassador for Am Yisrael. Our prayers were answered!”

Edelman was born and raised in Boston, in a Modern Orthodox, Zionist family, and he attended an Orthodox Jewish day school. When he was 2, his parents strapped a pair of skates onto his feet. By 22, he was a good hockey player, but not good enough to become a professional.

“I decided that, if I wanted to continue doing sports, it had to be on a high, elite level that could really give a platform to whatever I would choose to do afterward,” Edelman told the Independent. “So, I decided to represent Israel, because it was going to be the only way I was going to do it. As it happened, as I was thinking about this, skeleton appeared on the TV for the team trials for the United States for Sochi. And I thought it looked like a terrific sport – eye-catching.”

For some athletes, they become good at a sport and then look for a country that will let them compete under its flag. In Edelman’s case, he was mainly spurred by the idea of representing Israel. Then, he began searching for a sport.

“It could certainly help me achieve my goal of inspiriting people,” said Edelman. “I didn’t know how difficult it was or how painful it was. I didn’t know how bad, at first, I would be at it. But, I did dive full on into it.”

Edelman had to go from zero to 100, so to speak, in less than four years. While many along the way tried to tell him his goal was unattainable, the naysayers only fueled his resolve to succeed.

“It’s not like swimming or other sports where you have to hit a time relative to previous Olympics times, you have to hit an absolute performance standard of world ranking in that specific year. It’s a quota system,” explained Edelman of skeleton.

Edelman had to become one of the top 30 skeleton athletes in the world in about 48 months. His last year of training was focused – with help from the other athletes on the Israeli skeleton team – on maximizing his point collection at competitions.

“Positioning Israel to be the beneficiary of one of 10 single-sled nations through points I accumulated through specifics results and races was important – and it involved a lot of mathematical calculation,” said Edelman.

Edelman finished 28 out of 30 at the Winter Olympics.

photo - A.J. Edelman was Israel’s only skeleton athlete to make it to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea — A.J. Edelman was Israel’s only skeleton athlete to make it to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. *(photo by Joern Rohde)*

“Making the Games was an insane accomplishment in that we were the only ones who did it without any coaching,” said Edelman. “We had absolute zero coaching for the first two years of my journey…. It took a huge physical toll and mental toll, and a massive financial toll. So, yes, 28 out of 30, I was very pleased.”

Edelman learned the sport from YouTube videos, and fundraised the money he needed to participate in competitions, buy equipment, and cover hotel stays and training facility fees. As far as trying to compete at the next Olympics, Edelman said, while he’d like to do that, it’s just not feasible.

“The financial strain is insane – $40,000 a year,” he said. “And only about 40% of it was covered from over the last four years by sponsors, family, friends – and complete random strangers. Doing it for another cycle would be too much of a financial strain. And I think I’ve accomplished what I was looking to accomplish, and am able to remain involved in Israel’s sports and help the next generation achieve their goals. I now have that platform.”

Although Edelman was at the Games – or maybe because he was at the Games – he said he felt disconnected from the Olympics as a whole.

“I only saw my own thing,” he said. “Otherwise, the experience at the end, or during the competition, of representing Israel, it was an honour unparalleled to anything in my life. There were a few moments I felt like I could cherish forever – the thoughts and feeling that this is what it’s like to represent a country and how it feels to be that individual. It was absolutely terrific.”

Edelman said he is not sure about what might come next for him, but that he is aiming big. For now, he is focused on transitioning from being a full-time athlete back into normal life. But life will never be the same for him, now that he has proven his potential to himself.

“If you apply yourself so completely and fully, and you just dedicate yourself the most you can, a lot can be accomplished,” he said. “But, not everything … I am never going to be able to make the NBA.

“I don’t usually tell people anything is possible. I tell them what I learned in the streets – that no one can tell you what you can’t do, and that you shouldn’t let others’ opinions dictate what you can do.”

As far as his experience with the Jewish community while training in Whistler, Edelman said, “My Jewish heritage is everything to me. It’s the entire reason why I did this. This journey was terribly difficult – it was the Jewish heritage aspect of it that kept me going.

“I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to give up, quit or just take days off,” he admitted. “But, then I’d remember I was representing the entire Jewish and Israeli community. Every night before I went to bed, I’d thank God for allowing me to be what’s called a Kiddush Hashem [sanctifying God’s name by living by example, in a holy way]. This means being a positive role model for my community and that means everything to me.”

Edelman connects with Jewish communities wherever he goes, seeing himself as an ambassador of the Jewish state. So, for him, joining the North Shore Jewish community when he was training in Whistler was a foregone conclusion.

The 2019 World Championship will be held in Whistler and, although Edelman has retired from athletic life, he wants to attend.

“When I tried out,” recalled Edelman of his first skeleton trial, “the Israel scouting report said that if I could just get down the track, that would be it … that I wouldn’t make it to the Games no matter how hard I tried. I think everybody can have that kind of moment … when they think they can’t do something or are told they can’t do something – but they should absolutely try and expect success.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Israel’s Olympic alpine skier

Israel’s lone Olympic alpine skier, 19-year-old Itamar Biran. (photo from @the_itamar)

This year’s Winter Olympics, currently underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea, feature Israel’s largest-ever representation, with 10 athletes competing – in figure skating, skeleton and alpine ski racing. In the alpine skiing events, there is only one Israeli competitor – Itamar Biran – and the Independent spoke with him prior to the Games.

Born in London, England, Biran, 19, lives in Verbier, Switzerland, but grew up in Israel. As Israel’s second-ever Olympic skier, he follows in the footsteps of Mykhaylo Renzhyn, who competed for Israel in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games. Renzhyn was Israel’s highest-ranked skier in those years, and made his Olympic debut at 27. Virgile Vandeput was 19 when he qualified in 2014, but wasn’t able to compete due to an injury sustained weeks before the Games. Though Biran is not the first Israeli skier, he has posted better results than all of his predecessors.

Biran said the 2018 Games are different than any other past Winter Olympics for Israel.

“The Israeli Olympic Committee is supporting us a lot more, and they are starting to recognize our winter sports are as important as summer,” he said in a phone interview from France, before heading to Pyeongchang. He went on to point out how the increase in support and funding has allowed more Israeli athletes to get the top of their respective sports. For example, Israel now has figure skaters in the world’s top 10 and Biran is in the top 15 for his age.

“In Israel, the only thing people know about skiing is Club Med in Europe,” said Biran, not excluding himself. It wasn’t until age 4 that his father, Doron Biran, took him from Israel to France, where he learned to ski and instantly fell in love with the sport.

After a number of years going to Club Med in France, Biran’s dad bought a house in Verbier in 2006. It was there where Biran really started to excel at the sport. At first, he and his father would travel to Switzerland over school holidays. Soon, the holidays turned into a full season living in Switzerland, and Biran started to race.

European ski racers usually begin racing at 8 years old, but Biran started late, at 12. As a dual citizen of Israel and the United Kingdom, he had the option of racing for Britain. He joined the British Ski Academy at 13, and was with them for a year, splitting his time between London and Verbier. He chose to race for Israel because he wanted to reconnect with where he had spent most of his childhood, and with his family in Tel Aviv.

Not only is Biran the best Israeli ski racer, he would also be one of the highest ranked British technical skiers if he had continued in their program. However, after he chose to represent Israel, at age 14, he dropped out of the British Ski Academy and joined a private training group of athletes from small nations. The group S-Team is based in Gerardmer, France, and includes athletes from Spain, as well as other nations that don’t have large alpine programs.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will not be Biran’s first test against the best. He made his debut in the top level in 2015 at the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) Alpine World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colo., where he was the youngest competitor out of all male events, finishing 62nd in the Giant Slalom (GS). He competed at that level in the GS again in 2017 at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Biran also represented Israel at the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 2016, where he finished 38th in the Super-G. The Super-G is the second-fastest skiing event, behind the downhill, and is one of the two speed events. It is not an event he will be competing in at Pyeongchang, since he has focused on the more technical disciplines in slalom and GS since the Lillehammer event.

“You have to treat the Olympics as just another race,” said Biran, for whom rubbing shoulders with the best is nothing new. “I have no idols because I want to be their rival,” he explained about the racers on the FIS Alpine World Cup series.

In the weeks leading up to the Games in Pyeongchang, Biran competed in the World Junior Championships in Davos, Switzerland, and made his Europa Cup debut in Chamonix, France.

The young Israeli is among the first generation of athletes to have the opportunity to both go to school as well as continue racing on a European or World Cup level. Germany’s David Ketterer currently attends the University of Colorado and races for their college team, and Biran has similar plans – he has applied to Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, two schools that will accommodate his high level of sport. He is not in school at the moment, having graduated high school last year, but will begin his post-secondary education in the fall.

In Pyeongchang, Biran is set to compete in the GS on Feb. 17 at 5:15 p.m. Pacific time, as well as the slalom on Feb. 21, with the same start time. For the full Winter Olympics schedule, visit pyeongchang2018.com.

Ben Steiner is a Grade 11 student at St. George’s school. He is a freelance journalist as well as being a teaching assistant at Temple Sholom Religious School. Check out more of Steiner’s coverage at his website, vancitysport.com.

הגבוה ביותר עד כה

הפדרציה היהודית של אזור מטרו ונקובר ממשיכה להגדיל את היקף התרומות לקמפיין השנתי שלה, שהוא מקור ההכנסה המרכזי של הארגון ו-35 ארגונים היהודים הקשורים בה. בקמפיין של 2016 היקף התרומות עמד על 8.5 מיליון דולר. אשתקד הפדרציה היהודית גייסה תרומות בהיקף 8.3 מיליון דולר לקמפיין השנתי ואילו בשנת 2014 היקף התרומות עמד על 8 מיליון דולר.

כפי שכבר פורסם מתוך ה-8.5 מיליון דולר 300 אלף דולר יוקצו לטובת אמצעי ביטחון לשמירה על מוסדות ואירועים של הקהילה היהודית באזור ונקובר. זאת כולל השכרת מאבטחים לאירועים מיוחדים וקיום הערכות בטיחוניות בעת הצורך. לאור הגברת האנטישמיות ברחבי העולם והגידול באיומי הטרור, היה סביר להניח שהפדרציה תקצה משאבים אף גדולים יותר לטובת תחום הביטחון. בנושא האבטחה אומר יו”ר הקמפיין השנתי, אלכס קריסטל: “הקשבנו לחששות בנוגע לביטחון הקהילה, כפי שהובאו על ידי הארגונים היהודים השותפים שלנו, התורמים וחברי הקהילה. הפכנו את הביטחון בקהילה לנושא המרכזי של הקמפיין ופיתחנו תוכנית מיוחדת לתורמים נדיבים בתחום זה”.

כספי התרומות מהקמפיין השנתי מיועדים מדי שנה לתמיכה בארגונים היהודים המקומיים, בפעילויות ושירותים שהם מעניקים בתחומים חברה, החינוך, התרבות והאמנות. וכן עזרה לקהלי יעד חלשים יתר בעיקרם קשישים ונוער. חלק מהכספים יוקצו כרגיל ליטפול בפרוייקטים מיוחדים בישראל, במסגרת מתן החסות הקבועה של הפדרציה, שכוללת הענקת משאבים לשירותים חברתיים לאוכלוסיית נוער בסיכון בצפון הארץ.

קריסטל מוסיף כי היקף הכספים שגוייסו הפעם הוא הגבוה ביותר עד כה. יו”ר הקמפיין: “הכספים מבטיחים כי נמשיך לתמוך בארגונים השותפים שלנו שיוכלו להמשיך ולספק מגוון של שירותים ותוכניות שכל כך חיוניים לקהילה היהודית המקומית. ואילו יו”ר מועצת המנהלים של הפדרציה היהודית, סטיבן גרבר אומר: “יש לנו מספר אתגרים כקהילה כולל הנושאים הכפולים של אפשרויות ונגישות, מעורבות צעירים ובני משפחות צעירות, מענה לצרכים של אוכלוסיית הקשישים הגדלה שלנו, ופיתוח תוכניות עבור כמעט ממחצית מהקהילה שלנו אשר חייה כיום באזורים רחוקים בפריפרייה, שלא מטופלים על ידי שום ארגון. התוצאה של הקמפיין תאפשר לפדרציה היהודית ולארגונים השותפים שלנו להתמודד עם אתגרים אלה לטובת הקהילה”.

ללשכת הסטטיסטקה הקנדית אין נתונים מעודכנים לגבי פשעי השינאה במדינה. העידכון האחרון מתייחס לשנת 2014. אז המשטרה קיבלה מידע על 429 מקרים של פשעי שינאה בכול קנדה, בהם 213 הקשורים בקהילה היהודית. בוונקובר התרחשו בסך הכל באותה שנה 47 מקרים של פשעי שינאה.

ריו דה ז’ניירו וונקובר זכו באולימפיאדת ההכנסות ממיסחור

אולימפיאדת הקיץ ה-31 שנערכה בריזו זה ז’ניירו אשתקד ואולימפיאדת החורף ה-21 שנערכה בוונקובר בשנת 2010 הן המכניסות ביותר, מבחינת מכירת מוצרים ממוסחרים. כך עולה מנתוני דוח השיווק של הוועד האולימפי הבינלאומי שפורסמו בימים האחרונים.

על פי דוח השיווק של הוועד ההכנסות של האולימפיאדה בריו זה ז’ניירו ממוצרים ממוסחרים שברו את כל השיאים, והגיעו לכשלוש מאות ועשרים מיליון דולר. תקציב האולימפיאדה בריו זה ז’ניירו נאמד ב-11.9 מיליארד דולר. אולימפיאדת הקיץ בבייג’נג שנערכה בשנת 2008 הכניסה “רק” מאה ושישים מיליון דולר ממסחור. ואילו שאר אולימפיאדות הקיץ נמצאות הרחק מאחור.

האולמפיאדה של ונקובר הכניסה יותר מכל אולימפיאדת חורף בתחום מכירת המוצרים הממוסחרים, ופועל מדובר על סכום של חמישים ואחד מיליון דולר. תקציב האולימפיאדה בוונקובר נאמד בעשרה מיליארד דולר. הרחק מאחוריה אולימפיאדת החורף של סוצ’י שנערכה בשנת 2014 והכניסה שלושים וחמישה מיליון דולר ממוצרי מיסחור.

Working to get to Olympics

Joel Seligstein is one of four Israeli skeleton athletes aiming for the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. (photo by Erin Murphy)

What began as a dream 15 years ago – when David Greaves helped establish an Israeli presence in the bobsled and skeleton world – finally received the approval, recognition and support of the Israeli Olympic Committee this past December.

Greaves was a member of the Israeli bobsled team that fell short of qualifying for the Olympics in 2006, although they did compete in two world championships.

“When I retired from the sport,

I felt I wanted to continue in some capacity,” Greaves told the Independent in an interview earlier this year. “So, I took over as head of the federation, of which I’m now the president. It’s called Bobsled Skeleton Israel, which is the Israeli bobsled skeleton federation.

“I wanted to stay involved in the sport and to try to provide an opportunity for other Jewish athletes to experience something of what I did – the pride of wearing the Magen David on your jacket and competing for Israel internationally.”

The experience changed the trajectory of Greaves’ life – he was working in the sales and high-tech industry. It also made him realize what was important for him as a Jew and an Israeli.

“I came back from that experience deciding I wanted to leave the world of high-tech and focus my efforts on Jewish community and working for Israel,” he said. “That led me to volunteering for the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. This soon led to me working on a contract basis for them, which turned into a full-time role. I became a fundraiser for the Jewish community.”

Greaves spent 10 years fundraising for Winnipeg’s federation and then for the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, before starting his own business in 2014. Called Protexia, it helps nonprofits and charitable organizations fundraise.

With the refocus in his professional life also came a refocus in his involvement with Bobsled Skeleton Israel. As the organization’s volunteer president, he is in regular contact with the Israeli Olympic Committee as they gear up for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018.

“The challenge was finding an athlete interested, sometimes from another program … the American program, whatever it happened to be. Some of the bigger programs are so deep, you can be a great athlete … but may not have an opportunity to make the big leagues and would likely not ever get the opportunity that they have now … to compete at the highest level, for a smaller nation,” said Greaves. “But now, I have four athletes competing at different levels around the world … and that’s more than most small nations have.”

While many people compete for Israel from around the world, most are not directly connected to the Israeli Olympic Committee, but, with the completion of the process in December, Bobsled Skeleton Israel is now an official Olympic sport under its umbrella. Last September, the committee had accepted Greaves’ recommendation to recognize the criteria established by the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation as the Israeli criteria.

“It was almost anticlimactic,” said Greaves. “I was working on this for 13 years and I’d never had the opportunity to present to the Israeli Olympic Committee before, with the opportunity of them possibly accepting our recommendation. Needless to say, I was over the moon and ecstatic.

“So, now, I feel confident talking about our future, because the only step left for us to be competing at the Olympics is for one of my athletes to qualify. If we have an athlete that qualifies, then we’ll be going to Korea for the Games, as he will have met the criteria.”

To get to the Olympics, the athletes will need to be in the top 60 internationally. For the current season, the goal is to get two athletes into the top 75 world ranking, which would position them for next year. They currently only have one.

All of the Israeli athletes in the federation are competing on their own in skeleton.

“It’s been easier for us to find skeleton athletes from a budgetary standpoint, because we don’t fund our athletes,” said Greaves. “We’d love to have a bobsled team, too, but it’s a bit more work for us to really develop that program. Given I’ve got a full-time day job and we don’t at the moment have any prospects for bobsled athletes, our efforts have solely focused on developing our skeleton program.”

Israeli skeleton athlete Bradley Chalupski in action. *(photo from Bradley Chalupski)*

Bobsled Skeleton Israel is a nonprofit in the United States, enabling them to fundraise there for their athletes. These athletes can fundraise within their circles and the organization can provide a tax receipt to donors.

“We’ve been pretty successful in the last few years in raising more money than we have in the past,” said Greaves. “It’s been allocated out to the athletes based on need. Essentially, they get reimbursed, in very small part, for their costs. If we have $5,000 or $10,000 in the bank, so to speak, and an athlete has just come back from a week of training, then they can submit a portion of their expenses. But, it’s very modest.

“We’re looking to have a fundraiser this spring in Winnipeg. There’s also now – because we’re now officially a member within the Olympic movement in Israel – the possibility for funding from the state if an athlete qualifies for funding.”

In that case, the athlete will be eligible for a few Israeli shekels a month. Even so, about 95% of the money spent in this sport by Israeli athletes is money that they themselves have raised, either through their own personal supporters or their own savings. According to Greaves, his athletes have given up the last two or three years of their lives to compete and train.

Contributions are deductible in Israel and the United States, and there is an Indiegogo campaign currently underway. Greaves is in discussion with a few Jewish organizations with the hope that they may be able to assist in accepting Canadian donations.

“We want people to understand we’re in this because of a love for Israel and a love for sport,” he said. “Our ultimate dream is to walk into the Olympic stadium with the Israeli flag. There’s such a pride that’s hard to convey. We do this out of a sense of pride and love for Israel.

“I once was asked in an interview years ago, when I was competing, if I had a choice to compete for Canada or for Israel, who would I pick? I’m a dual citizen. I said, without a doubt, I’d want to do it for Israel. There’s a special connection between my Jewishness, my connection to Israel and my Zionism. The other guys on my team feel the same way as well. Am Yisrael might make this a different experience than other athletes might have … not to take away from how amazing it would be for any athlete to represent their country.”

For more information and to follow the athletes – Bradley Chalupski, Adam (A.J.) Edelman, Joel Seligstein and Larry Sidney – visit facebook.com/israelibobsledandskeletonfederation. To contact Greaves, email [email protected].

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

אליפות העולם בלקרוס

נבחרת הנוער של ישראל בלקרוס. (צילום: אתר האליפות)

נבחרת הנוער של ישראל בלקרוס תשתתף באליפות העולם שתיערך בקוקוויטלם ביולי

נבחרת הנוער של ישראל בלקרוס (לגילאי 19 מינוס) שכמעט אף אחד לא ידוע על קיומה, תשתתף באליפות העולם שתיערך בעיר קוקוויטלם, בין השבעה לשישה עשר בחודש יולי הקרוב. המשחקים יתקיימו ‘בקוקוויטלם טאון סנטר פארק’ שכולל ארבעה מתקנים עם דשא סיננטי ושני מתקנים עם דשא טבעי. המשחקים המרכזים יערכו בפארק באצטדיון ‘פרסי פרי’ שמכיל כארבעת אלפים מקומות ישיבה.

משחקי אליפות העולם לנבחרות נוער בלקרוס מתקיימים מאז שנת 1988. קנדה כבר אירחה (בקוקוויטלאם) את האליפות של שנת 2008. האליפות האחרונה התקיימה ב-2012 ובה ארצות הברית ניצחה בגמר את קנדה. האמריקניים אגב זכו בכל האליפויות של לקרוס לצעירים עד היום.

ארבעה עשר נבחרות תשתתפנה באליפות הקרובה: המארחת קנדה, ארצות הברית, אוסטרליה, אירלנד, מקסיקו, אנגליה, גרמניה, ישראל, הונג קונג, טיוואן, דרום קוריאה, סקוטלנד, סין ואירקווי נשיונלס (שמורכבת משחקנים צפון אמריקניים ממוצא אינדיאני).

המשחק הראשון של האליפות יערך בין המארחים הקנדיים מול הנבחרת החזקה של ארצות הברית, שכרגיל מועמדת לזכות באליפות, בשבעה ביולי. נבחרת ישראל תקיים את משחקה הראשון בשלבים המוקדמים של האליפות מול נבחרת הונג קונג, בשמונה ביולי (בשעה עשר בבוקר). המשחק השני של ישראל מול נבחרת טיוואן יערך בעשרה ביולי (גם כן בעשר בבוקר). המשחק השלישי של ישראל מול נבחרת גרמניה יערך באחד עשר ביולי (גם כן בעשר בבוקר). המשחק הרביעי של ישראל מול נבחרת מקסיקו יערך בשניים עשר ביולי (גם כן בעשר בבוקר). לאחר מכן יתקיימו משחקי רבע הגמר, חצי הגמר והגמר – שיערך ב-16 ביולי בשעה ארבע אחר הצהריים.

דיוויד בלאט ינסה לעזור לנבחרת קנדה בכדורסל להגיע לאולימפיאדת ריו דה ז‘ניירו

המאמן האמריקני-ישראלי, דיוויד בלאט, מונה בימים אלה ליועץ מיוחד של נבחרת הכדורסל של קנדה לגברים. בלאט צפוי לעזור לנבחרת הקנדית בהיערכות לקראת הטורניר הקדם אולימפי שיערך בין במנילה בירת הפליפינים, בין החמישה לעשרה ביולי. בלאט אמור להגיע לקנדה בעוד כשבועיים. הנבחרת הקנדית נכנסה למחנה אימונים מרוכז בן שישה ימים החל בסוף השבוע האחרון, בהיכל ‘אייר קנדה’ בטורונטו. לאחר מכן ב-17 בחודש הנבחרת תטוס לאיטליה להשתתף בטורניר של משחקי אימון בטורניר עם שלוש נבחרות: סין, קרואטיה ופורטו ריקו.

הנבחרת הקנדית מקווה לזכות באחד משלושת המקומות בבית א’ בטורניר, שיאפשר לה להשתתף באולפיאדת ריו דה ז’ניירו שתתקיים במהלך חודש אוגוסט. נבחרת קנדה תתמודד מול הנבחרות של סנגל וטורקיה. בקאדר של הנבחרת הקנדית בראשות המאמן הראשי, ג’י טריאנו, והמנהל הכללי, סטיב נאש, שניים עשר שחקנים: תשעה ממחוז אונטריו ושלושה ממחוז בריטיש קולומביה. נבחרת קנדה בכדורסל נחשבת לנבחרת מהדרג הבינוני בעולם ומדורגת במקום העשרים ושישה בעולם. לנבחרת אין הישגים של ממש בכל שנות פעילותה.

בלאט (57) כמאמן וקודם כן כשחקן עטור הישגים בינלאומיים, הוחתם לאחרונה לאמן את קבוצת דרושאפקה מהליגה הטורקית. תקציבה של הקבוצה הטורקית לעונה החדשה נחשב לגבוה במיוחד ועומד על כשלושים מיליון יורו. עם תקציב כזה ובלאט, ראשי הקבוצה מצפים שהמועדון יזכה בכל התארים בליגה הטורקית ובמפעלים האירופאיים השונים.

בלאט אימן עד לאחרונה את קליבנלנד קאבלירס מהאן.בי.איי. קודם לכן אימן בין היתר את: מכבי ת”א, נבחרת רוסיה, אריס סלוניקי, דינמו מוסקבה, אפס פילזן, בנטון טרוויזו, דינמו סנקט פטרסבורג, הפועל גליל עליון ומכבי נתניה. כשחקן הוא שיחק בין היתר: במכבי חדרה, עירוני נהריה, הפועל ירושלים, הפועל גליל עליון, אליצור נתניה, אטלנטה פרו-אם ומכבי חיפה.

New Olympic Museum

Try your hand at ski jumping in one of ROX’s five simulators. (photo from ROX)

There’s no question the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver changed the region considerably, but some of those changes are as recent as November 2015. That’s when the Richmond Olympic Experience, or ROX, opened at the Richmond Olympic Oval, the massive structure built on the banks of the Fraser River to accommodate the Olympics’ speed-skating competitions.

A $10 million museum, ROX is all about hands-on experience and is filled with interactive exhibits and activities that engage visitors. Take the five sport simulators, for example, three of them designed and manufactured specifically for ROX. On the ski-jump simulator, you experience the thrill of ski jumping on one of Whistler’s world-class runs, while on the bobsleigh you feel the rush of speed on the same track traveled by Canadian Olympic bobsledder Chris Spring. There’s a race-car simulator, a kayak and a sit-ski simulator, too. While the simulators are the most exciting of the interactive exhibits (and the highest in demand), there are many others. Visitors are encouraged to learn how high and how far they can jump, to measure their hand-eye and foot-eye reaction times, to score goals in soccer and hockey and to compare their results to those of Olympic athletes.

There are also lots of interesting artifacts, including a display of Olympic torches that date back to 1936, when the torch relay was introduced to the Games by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. One case displays sports equipment including tennis rackets, showing how they have evolved over the years. Another showcases Olympic medals, which have also changed considerably in size and design over time. For those who want to spend time researching the participation of a specific country in the Olympic Games, or the performance of one or more athletes, ROX has a data lounge where a wealth of information is digitally archived and easily accessible.

There are many images at ROX. One of my personal favorites is a massive photograph of athletes who have competed, all wearing black bikinis or swimsuits. Since they’re scantily clad you can get a sense of the many different body types and how a specific sport has shaped individual bodies. The photographic collage delivers a powerful message about the beauty of the human body and the many reflections of that beauty, big and small.

photo - Olympic athletes — *(photo from ROX)*

While most of the displays are not specific to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but cover the Games in general, there is one wall that pays tribute to the 2010 Games with statistics on how many medals Canada won that year (26), how many viewers watched on TV (1.8 billion!) and how many media representatives were present (a mere 10,000). A large screen in the vicinity replays the most memorable moments from the Games and another encourages visitors to try their hand at being a TV announcer.

One wall pays a noticeably teensy tribute to tragic Olympic events. It’s here that the 1972 massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich is mentioned in two short lines.

Of the plethora of museums about the Olympics worldwide, only 21 are accredited members of the IOC Olympic Museums Network. ROX is the only member of this network in North America and that membership allowed the City of Richmond to expand its budget from the humble $575,000 initially allocated for the museum to $10 million, by opening the door to a robust sponsorship drive. It also enabled loans of Olympic resources like the torches. Ted Townsend, spokesperson for the City of Richmond, said the most priceless exhibit at ROX is that of the medals and torches.

While you’re at ROX take a peek at the Olympic Oval. After the dismantling of the speed-skating rinks, it now includes two hockey rinks, facilities for pilates and yoga, courts for badminton, baseball, basketball, soccer, table tennis, tennis and volleyball, a wall for climbing, and areas for golf, gymnastics and rowing. And don’t forget to look up at the wood panels of the Oval’s roof. Created from pine beetle-damaged wood, it contains the signatures of 8,000 Richmond residents who inscribed their names in the early construction stages.

For more information, visit therox.ca or call 778-296-1400.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.

Canada’s 1936 Olympic decision

Rarely has a book worked me up as much as More Than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics by professors Richard Menkis (University of British Columbia) and Harold Troper (University of Toronto).

More Than Just Games was published by U of T Press in the spring. I got my copy from Menkis, who, biases known, I consider a friend. Even so, it took me months to open. The cover image is of members of Canada’s 1936 Olympic team vying for Adolf Hitler’s autograph. Other than some high-quality archival images grouped in the centre of the book, the text is academic, looking almost as imposing as the topic itself. So I was surprised that, when I finally did start reading, I pretty much couldn’t stop. In just over a week, I had read the 230ish-page book, not counting the notes, bibliography and index.

That the scholarship of academics with the credentials of Menkis and Troper would be impeccable I had no doubt. What I hadn’t anticipated was the immediacy they could evoke with their writing. The amount of detail they provide, though on rare occasion overwhelming, serves to bring readers into the period leading up to Canada’s decision to send athletes to the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, when there could be no doubt as to the Nazis’ actions and intentions.

Through ample use of citations from letters, articles and speeches of the pro- and anti-Olympic forces, readers witness almost firsthand the debates that took place prior to the Games, they get a glimpse of the almost dizzying number of internal conflicts within the boycott movement, and they get an idea of the amount of propaganda that was being disseminated by Germany in Canada (and other countries). They even learn of some of the differences of opinion between the German Olympic Committee and the Nazi party as to the value of hosting the Games, when the event’s ideal – no discrimination on “grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise” – ran contrary to the Nazis’ belief in the superiority of the Aryan race, and their efforts to annihilate those they considered inferior.

There were a few outspoken people who tried to waken Canadians to the reality of the Nazi regime – notably journalist Matthew Halton and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath – but their voices couldn’t rise above the Games’ advocates nor break through the apathy of most of the population. Canada, we are reminded, had closed the doors to Jewish immigration in 1923 – “In distinguishing Jews from non-Jews of the same citizenship, Canada predated Nazi regulations denying Jews and non-Jews equal status under the law by more than 10 years,” write Menkis and Troper.

This is one of the principal reminders of this book, which came out of an exhibit that the professors put together at the behest of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, and which opened several months before the 2010 Winter Olympics were held in the city. Canada might have become a model of multiculturalism, but it was not always so.

Another reminder that stands out is that it doesn’t necessarily take evil people for bad things to happen. Many of the supporters – including athletes – of sending Canadians to the 1936 Games sincerely believed in their position on the importance of sport above all, and seem to have been genuinely confused as to why anyone would disagree. Canada’s position was that of a good colony, following the lead of Britain, which saw no reason not to send competitors. It’s not even obvious in hindsight as to whether Canada’s absence at those Games would have made a difference to the Nazis’ progression of violence to war, to genocide.

Sensibly, Menkis and Troper don’t try to examine the issues with the benefit of hindsight. They present numerous viewpoints and historical facts, mostly without judgment. Their opinions, however, pop out here and there via their choice of adjective or use of sarcasm. I found this comforting because they generally reflected my mood at those points in the book. I would be getting all worked up about what was being said at the time and their jibe would make me smile, and not feel like the crazy one. Because that’s what it felt like reading about it – I can only imagine how people like Halton and Eisendrath felt, actually being there, trying to fight against such ignorance, selfishness, pettiness, narrow-mindedness, greed and indifference.

More Than Just Games is an important contribution to Canadian history, and it is not only a must-read but a very good read.