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.

