40 | AUGUST 3 • 2023
T
he JCC Maccabi Games are coming
back to Detroit.
Jewish teen athletes from across the
world will be here July 28 through Aug. 2,
2024, to not just compete in sports, but also
to participate in social, cultural and religious
activities.
Amy Meisner from the host Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
is the games director. Co-chairs Karen
Gordon, Franci Silver and Justin Jacobs are
three of the hundreds of volunteers who are
needed to plan and run the Detroit Games.
A 40-50 member Detroit Games steering
committee also is made up of volunteers.
There are some spots to fill on the commit-
tee.
Detroit last hosted the Games in 2019. By
all accounts, it was a huge success.
“I had so many people tell me it was the
best or one of the best Maccabi Games
they’ve ever attended,
” said Gordon, who
has been an athlete, coach, delegation head,
games director and co-chair during her near-
ly 40-year affiliation with the Games.
Meisner is new to the Games, but she has
plenty of folks with years of Games experi-
ence she can rely on.
“Thankfully, there’s a wealth of knowledge
out there,
” she said.
This will be the seventh time Detroit has
hosted the Games, the most of any city,
during the Games’ 41-year history. Houston,
which also will be a host city next year, will
host for the sixth time, second only to the
Motor City.
Detroit previously hosted the Games in
1984, 1990, 1998, 2008, 2014 and 2019.
Here are some numbers to digest for the
2024 Games in Detroit:
• About 800 visiting athletes are expected.
• About 150-200 local athletes will partic-
ipate.
• About 800 volunteers will help plan and
run the Games.
• About 350-400 host families are need-
ed, housing a minimum of two athletes per
household.
Locations for the opening ceremony and
sports venues for the Detroit Games haven’t
been determined yet, although Meisner said
many sports sites probably will be the same
as in previous years.
“We don’t have any contracts signed yet,
but we’ve had very good feedback from past
hosts so far,
” she said.
These competitions are expected to be
held in Detroit next year: Boys 16U baseball;
boys 14U, boys 16U and girls 16U basketball;
boys 16U ice hockey; boys 14U, boys 16U,
girls 14U and girls 16U soccer; girls 16U
volleyball; dance; golf; swimming; tennis; and
table tennis. There also will be a star reporter
competition.
Meisner said she should know later this
summer which delegations will be coming to
Detroit.
Athletes ages 13-16 as of July 31, 2024, can
compete in Detroit. Meisner said there are
discussions about allowing Detroit athletes
who are 12 or 17 to participate.
There will be something new for the
Detroit Games in 2024. Israeli shaliach (emis-
saries) will come here this fall and dedicate
themselves to the Games.
They’ll be members of the Detroit Games
staff and put on Jewish and Israeli programs
throughout the year and during the Games.
The Games are slowly recovering from the
COVID-19 pandemic, which caused cancel-
lations in 2020 and 2021.
There was a revival last August in San
Diego, with a smaller-than-usual number of
participants because of continuing concerns
with COVID and strict rules for participa-
tion because the pandemic was still a part of
everyday life.
Each of the approximately 1,500 athletes
and 300 coaches in more than 60 delegations
from across the world had to have two nega-
tive COVID tests within 72 hours of traveling
to San Diego.
And everyone — including about 1,200
volunteers and 600 host families — had to be
vaccinated and boosted.
Protocols were in place for any Games
participant testing positive for COVID in San
Diego.
Eighteen Detroit athletes competed in San
Diego. There are about 40 Detroit athletes
competing in Israel and Ft. Lauderdale this
year.
More than 1,500 athletes ages 12-16 are
expected to be in Houston for those Games
from Aug. 4-9, 2024. The host JCC is the
Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, which has added and
updated its facilities since Houston last host-
ed the Games a dozen years ago.
To follow the Detroit Games on social
media, check out JCCMaccabiDetroit on
Instagram. A Facebook account also will be
set up.
Interested in being an athlete, volun-
teer, host family or sponsor for the Detroit
Games? Send an email to jccmaccabi@jccdet.
org or call the JCC at (248) 661-1000 and ask
for Meisner or assistant Games director Maya
Gurfinkel.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
Revived JCC Maccabi Games returning to the Motor City in 2024.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPIRIT
Back to Detroit
KAREN GORDON
Teen athletes from across the
world gathered at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield for the closing
party of the 2019 Detroit JCC
Maccabi Games.