Maccabi Comeback
After a 10-year
absence, the
JCC Maccabi
Games returns
to Detroit in
2008.
Alan Hitsky
Associate Editor
T
he board of the Jewish
Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit
approved hosting the teen
JCC Maccabi Games in August
2008. Detroit previously hosted
Maccabi, the Jewish teen version
of the Olympic Games, in 1984,
1990 and 1998.
Mark Lit, JCC executive direc-
tor, called Maccabi "the largest
gathering of Jewish teens in the
world." He was excited because
the games "tend to energize the
community like no other event:'
Lit was head of the JCC in Austin,
Texas, when it hosted Maccabi
in 2004. He said a residual effect
was the boost the Games gave
Jewish youth programming in
Austin.
Maccabi began in 1982 in
Memphis, Tenn., with 200 ath-
letes. Two years later, some 400
came to Detroit from around the
country. In 1990, Detroit hosted
2,200 athletes and, in 1998,
3,200 Jewish teens from the U.S.,
Canada and nine other countries
came here for athletics and social
events.
The athletes are housed by vol-
unteer families within the Jewish
community.
The Jewish communities in
Atlanta and Washington, D.C.,
backed away from commitments
to host the Maccabi Games next
year, citing financial difficulties.
Lit, however, believes the 2008
Games can help the JCC's finan-
cial turnaround.
"The JCC had a small surplus
this year," said Lit, "and we expect
a balanced budget in 2007.
With proper sponsorship for
the Games, we can do very, very
•
well."
Lit will be, working with
Morton Plotnick, former JCC
executive director, to secure cor-
porate and individual sponsor-
ships. Plotnick was involved with
the fundraising during Maccabi's
previous visits to Detroit.
Two longtime Maccabi volun-
teers have been named to head
the effort. Karen Gordon, 40, of
Farmington Hills will be Games
director; a paid position starting
next May. Dr. Harold Friedman of
West Bloomfield is Games chair-
man, a volunteer position.
Gordon, the mother of a first-
grader and a kindergartner,
began coaching Maccabi athletes
in volleyball, basketball and soft-
ball in 1986. In 1999, she became
a delegation head for the Detroit
teams. Last year, she was one of
16 delegation heads from around
the U.S. to participate in a leader- -
ship development program of
the national Jewish Community
Centers Association, the sponsor
of the JCC Maccabi Games.
She also continues to play ten-
nis and softball.
Friedman, 54, is a retired den-
tist. In 1991, he went to Cleveland
to watch his daughter, Emily, play
on Gordon's Maccabi volleyball
team. The following year, he
became a Detroit Maccabi soft-
ball coach and soon was recruit-
ed by fellow dentist and Detroit
Maccabi Club president, the late
Dr. Alan Horowitz, to become a
Detroit delegation head.
He succeeded Horowitz as
Maccabi Club president, has
served four years as the JCCA's
golf subcommittee chair, and
last year was named to the JCCA
continental governing body and
chair of the sports athletic com-
mittee.
"Since I retired from dentistry
about eight years ago, you could
say Maccabi has been my job,"
Friedman said. He is an avid
squash and tennis player and
golfer. His children, Emily and
Bradley, were Detroit Maccabi
coaches this summer.
"Harold and I have
worked on the Games
so long," said Gordon,
"that we're a package.
This just made good
sense." She said the two
have been doing a lot
of brainstorming and
looking at ideas from
past Games.
"But, we really start
in December," she said. Gordon
"There's a meeting in
New York with the JCCA. They
will hand us the Maccabi 'cook-
book, and then we'll run with it:'
Friedman
Lit
Volunteers Needed
Friedman said the key to a suc-
cessful Games will be recruiting
volunteers. In addition to numer-
ous committees to plan and run
the athletic and social events, the
two expect 1,000 homes will be
needed to house the athletes.
Part of the housing will be
provided by the families of teens
participating on the Detroit team.
Participants will be required to
host at least two out-of-town
athletes.
The host community is not
limited in the size of its delega-
tion and 12-year-olds are allowed
to participate:Other athletes are
ages 13-16 and visiting delega-
tions are limited in size.
Gordon and Friedman are
expecting 2,000 athletes. That
could include a Detroit delega-
tion of 450 with as many as two
Detroit teams in each sport.
The number of cities hosting
the Games also will be a deter-
mining factor. In 1998, Detroit
hosted 3,200 athletes, the most
in Maccabi history. At that time,
the Games were held regionally
in several cities in odd-num-
bered years and a massive North
American Games was held in one
city in even-numbered years.
The regional format became
the every-year concept after
1998 to make the Games more
manageable and to involve more
teens.
"The Games have been
approaching 5,000 to 6,000 every
year," Friedman said. "But with
Alissa Graff, 14, of Huntington Woods drives against Ariana
Terebelo, 13, of Southfield.
Atlanta and Washington drop-
ping out, there will only be 2,800
in 2007." The remaining commu-
nities are Orange County, Calif.,
which will host 1,500 athletes,
and Houston, which will host
1,300. Because there are only two
host communities, Delroit's 2007
delegation will be limited.
Besides Detroit, San Diego's
Jewish community is the only
other 2008 host so far.
In an effort to get non-athletes
involved, the JCCA created a sep-
arate Maccabi ArtsFest this year,
which was held in Baltimore in
JN
August. Next year, it will be held
in New Jersey. ArtsFest includes
performing and communication
arts, with coaching from profes-
sionals.
Other changes from the 1998
format: The Games last five days,
with final events and closing
ceremonies on Thursday. While
a Shabbat experience has been
eliminated, participants are
required to do a team commu-
nity service before and during
the Games. ._
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November 2 2006
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