Groovy Nights

Maccabi athletes enjoyed "Maccabistock" and other social events.

Left: Andrew Seid, 13, of Rockland, N.Y., rides the mechanical bull. Right: Eitan Spivak, 15, and Gabe Solomon, 13, both of
Ann Arbor, shoot baskets.

Left: Matt Penn, 15, of Boston and David Ellman, 15, of Mt. Clear, N.J., joust in American Challenge. Right: Sydney Levy, 12,
of Bloomfield Hills does a little spinning.

'4,

Stephanie Steinberg
T2T Intern

accabi athletes sported tie-dyed
shirts, peace signs and flowered leis
at Maccabistock, a throwback to the
1960s, for the teen athletes Aug. 19 at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield.
After a long day of athletic competition, all
2,700 JCC Maccabi participants got to relax
and have fun with their new-found friends.
Southfield-based StarTrax hosted a dance and
concert in the JCC's in-line hockey rink.
Brian Rivera, 16, of Los Angeles is on the L.A.
baseball team. He couldn't wait for the music to
start. "I am going to dance all night:' he said.
Local bands such as Jam Society, Soul Sisters
and Woodward also played throughout the night.
"I liked Woodward the best:' said Jon Shaw, 16, of
Huntington Woods who is on the Detroit track and
field team. "They had a new classical rock sound:'
Yet Maccabistock had more than just music.
Attractions such as a mechanical bull, inflat-
able basketball competition, obstacle course
and spinning ride were set up outside on Sachse
Field. Teens could also play miniature golf and
compete in a six-person video game race.
Andrew Seid, 13, of Rockland, N.Y., tried mas-
tering the mechanical bull, but he fell off after a
few seconds. It took a lot of balance," he said.
Lode Sittsamer, 14, of Farmington Hills wished
she could ride the bull but stayed far away.
Sittsamer is on the Detroit track and field team.
Four weeks ago, doctors diagnosed her with ten-
donitis and forbade her from further participat-
ing in Maccabi. "I still came this week to cheer on
my team even though I can't run:' she said.
Detroit basketball player Hillary Kahn,
16, of West Bloomfield met new people at
Maccabistock and also hung out with athletes
from her team. "My favorite part of the week
is bonding with my teammates at events like
these;' she said.
Bowler Aton Spivak, 15, and swimmer Gabe
Soloman, 13, both of Ann Arbor enjoyed battling
each other in the inflatable American Gladiator
competition. The object of the game was to throw
your opponent off his/her pedestal by pushing the
opponent with a giant inflatable lance.
"I liked fighting someone without actually
hurting them:' Soloman said.
Detroit swimmer Nicole Baron, 13, of West
Bloomfield got into the Maccibistock spirit by
dressing in pink, blue and white tie-dyed pants
for the occasion. Baron said, "It's cool when
everyone gets together in one place and you see
how many Jewish athletes there are from around
the country:'
The following night, the teens had a "So You
Think You Can Dance" event at the JCC and
Thursday they spent six hours on the carni-
val rides at the Jewish Federation's "A Fair to
Remember" at the Michigan State Fairgrounds
in Detroit.

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Left: Michael Fisch, 15, of Metro West, N.J., shows Tammi Pearlstein, 14, of Boston his golf technique. Right: Ariel Baron,

14, of Greater Washington plays a video game.

Stephanie Steinberg, 18, of Commerce Township is a
freshman at the University of Michigan.