JCC Maccabi Games

In 2006, over 1,200 Jewish athletes aged thirteen to sixteen will visit Vancouver from August 13-18 to participate in the JCC Maccabi Games, an Olympic-style sports competition. Delegates from all over Canada, Israel, South America, the United States and Europe will test their skills in twelve different sports. Team Vancouver will include 300 Greater Vancouver area teens.

The Games, however, serve a purpose far beyond athletic competition and sightseeing. They promote community involvement, teamwork and pride in being Jewish. Athletes visiting host communities stay with local Jewish families. The “home hospitality” is vital to the experience, representing the extended family and the value of welcoming the stranger. Also, every set of Games has a volunteer program called Days of Community Spirit, when athletes join with local community organizations to work on social-action projects. The purpose is to teach caring for others so that the athletes will incorporate these values into their daily lives once they return home.

History of the Games
The JCC Maccabi Games are an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer in North America. The Games are the largest organized sports program for Jewish teens in the world. The JCC Maccabi Movement began in 1895 when the first all-Jewish sports club was formed in Constantinople. The first world Maccabiah Games were held in Israel in 1932. This two-week competition took place every four years and has featured many world-class Jewish athletes including: Mark Spitz (swimming), Mitch Gaylord (gymnastics), Ernie Grunfeld and Danny Schayes (basketball), Brad Gilbert and Dick Savitt (tennis).

The first North American JCC Maccabi Games were held in 1982 with 300 athletes participating. Since then, the JCC Maccabi Games have grown from a small pilot project in one host community to a large-scale event held each summer in multiple sites throughout North America. Today, more than 6,000 teens, ranging from 13 to 16 years of age, participate in the JCC Maccabi Games each summer. The Games are co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Center Association of North America, Maccabi World Union, Maccabi Canada, and Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel.

Our Mission
The 2006 JCC Maccabi Games offer the Greater Vancouver Jewish community its first opportunity to join together to provide over 1,500 Jewish teenage athletes, their coaches, families and friends with a JCC Maccabi experience filled with lasting memories and lifelong friendships. Enhanced teen programs, energized leadership and newly forged relationships are all the lasting legacy of the Games.

The mission of the Continental JCC Maccabi Games is:

* To enable Jewish Community Centers and YM/YWHAs in North America to reach out to teens through participation in the JCC Maccabi Games, and engage them in year-round athletic, educational, cultural and social programs.

* To provide Jewish youth with a supportive environment that fosters mutual respect and sportsmanship, where they can interact in an atmosphere of fun, democracy, and peace.

* To cultivate in Jewish youth a deeper understanding and appreciation of Jewish values, enrich their Jewish identity in an informal setting, and encourage their identification with the state of Israel.

* To promote and encourage the health, physical fitness and well-being of Jewish youth through participation in recreational and athletic activities.

* To encourage and support participation in the Games, and other auxiliary events and programs, as well as teen experiences in Israel.