40 | AUGUST 4 • 2022 

SPORTS

A

fter a two-year hia-
tus caused by the 
COVID-19 pandem-
ic, the JCC Maccabi Games 
are back.
They’re being held this 
week (Aug. 1-4) in San Diego, 
California. Eighteen Detroit 
athletes, two chaperones and 
delegation head Karen Gordon 
are participating in the revival.
That’s a small group of ath-
letes by Detroit standards.
But even though this is the 
40th Maccabi Games, in many 
respects the sports, social and 
cultural event for Jewish teens 
around the world is starting 
from scratch because of the 
two-year layoff and navigating 
through unchartered territory 
because of the pandemic.
The JCC Association of 
North America, which over-
sees the Maccabi Games, set 
strict rules for participation 
this year with the pandemic 
still a part of everyday life.
Each of the approximately 
1,500 athletes and 300 coaches 
in more than 60 delegations 
from the U.S., Canada, Great 
Britain, Israel and Mexico had 
to have two negative COVID 
tests within 72 hours of travel-
ing to San Diego.
Everyone — including about 
1,200 volunteers and 600 host 
families — had to be vaccinat-
ed and boosted to participate 
in the Maccabi Games.
Protocols are in place for 
athletes and other Maccabi 
Games participants testing 
positive for COVID in San 
Diego.

Before she left for San 
Diego, Gordon said she was 
confident all will go well.
“I have a feeling a lot of 
people there will wear a mask 
when appropriate,” she said.
“I know I will. I’ll be 
responsible for 18 kids and 

two adults, and that includes 
keeping them healthy. I love 
our two chaperones, but 
they’ve never done something 
like this before and it would 
be a lot to throw at them if I 
got sick.”
The two Detroit chaperones 

are Donna Sklar and Sloan 
Lemberg. Each has Maccabi 
Games experience.
Donna is Karen’s sister-in-
law. She was Detroit’s tennis 
coach at the 2008 and 2019 
Maccabi Games hosted by 
Detroit.
Lemberg was a four-year 
dancer for Detroit. With 
Detroit not having any full-
time coaches this year, she’s 
been working with the three 
Detroit dancers.
Scott Hutton, parent of a 
Detroit hockey player, is help-
ing coach a hockey team made 
up of players from Detroit, 
New Jersey, New York and St. 
Louis.
Dan Mizukovski, parent of a 
New York player, also is help-
ing coach the team. Hutton 
and Mizukovski are coaching 
during games. They have no 
other responsibilities with the 
team.
Detroit did not have enough 
athletes to form a team in any 
sport, so Detroit team sport 
athletes were paired with ath-
letes from other delegations.
Here are Detroit’s athletes:
— Hockey: Aiden Ben-
Ezra, Brennan Gesund, Lucas 
Hutton, Braylon Juszak.
— 14U baseball: Drew and 
Eli Edelstein, Ari Gottlieb, 
Alexander Scheinfeld.
— Dance: Emily Feinstein, 
Addison Fenster, Madison 
Kraft.
— 16U girls basketball: 
Grace Kleinfeldt, Layla Hill.
— 14U 3-on-3 boys basket-
ball: Ari Ellis, Spencer Sherr.

Detroit flag-bearer Grace Kleinfeldt: ‘I couldn’t miss out on 
going’ to the revived JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego.
California Dreaming

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Grace Kleinfeldt shows off her dribbling skills during a Frankel Jewish 
Academy girls basketball game last season.

FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY
NANCY BERMAN

Back in 2019, Grace 
Kleinfeldt won a sil-
ver medal in doubles 
table tennis at the 
JCC Maccabi Games 
hosted by Detroit.

