Team New Orleans returns from Maccabi Games
They may not have won a trove of gold, silver or bronze medals, but the 12 members of Team New Orleans representing the New Orleans Jewish Community Center at this year’s Maccabi Games in Memphis are instead carrying a lifetime of memories with them.
Members of Team New Orleans and escorts pose after competition was over.
Accompanied by JCC sports director Josh Tolbert, the team arrived aboard a bus in Memphis on Sunday, August 5, to meet with JCC assistant director Brian Soileau, who had driven there in advance by private transportation. Their aim was to compete in four days of Olympics-styled individual and team sports for Jewish athletes. Soileau, on his seventh trip to the Maccabi Games, spoke positively of this group of five girls and seven boys. Team New Orleans members were: Alex Abramson, Emma Barron, Matt Bouchner, Carin Entrekin, Mark Fertel, Sam Laufer, Max Michaels, Ezra Remer, Megan Rittenberg, Frances Sperling, Sydney Steiner and Raphael Walker.
“They’ve all loved it and bonded with each other and the other kids they mixed with,” Soileau said. Over 30 delegations representing over 1,000 athletes took part in the different sports events held at several different venues within a few miles of the hub, the 24-acre Memphis JCC, which was the site of the very first Maccabi Games held 30 years ago. Unlike the quadrennial Olympics, the Maccabi Games are held annually. Th2 2012 Maccabi Games were also hosted in Houston during the same week and will be held in Rockland County, NY during the upcoming week. Over 3600 Jewish athletes will compete over the two weeks.
Due to the large allotment of available sports, all athletes were able to select the sports in which they would compete and absolutely no one was turned away. Girls competed on teams in soccer and swimming. Because New Orleans did not have enough members to field its own boys baseball and basketball teams, which are grouped by age, four members from the New Orleans delegation were teamed in groups of two with others from St. Louis and Atlanta for baseball. The combined Atlanta and New Orleans 16 years-and-under boys baseball team lost against Ft. Lauderdale in the winners gold medal game on Thursday and thus took home the silver medal. While the girls soccer team did not advance to the medals round, they did win the gold medal in the consolation games of kickball. Individual athletes also competed in flag football and table tennis. Barron, was awarded a bronze swimming medal in the 4×100 freestyle event, while Walker won a bronze medal in flag football.
Team New Orleans marches into the FedEx Form (©Barry Markowitz)
The opening ceremonies featured an Olympics style march of all the delegations into the arena at the FedEx Forum and a special lighting of the symbolic Maccabi Games torch that burned throughout the competition. “It was special this year,” Soileau recalled, “because they brought in (Oshrat Kandell) , the daughter of one of the Munich 11 athletes.” Kandell, the daughter of Israeli wrestler Yossef Romano, who was slain by members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September at the Munich Olympics, entered the arena with a torch held high. While her husband and three children looked on and the entire arena watched, she lit the Maccabi Games torch in remembrance of her father and the other ten athletes and coaches who were killed 40 years ago.
With her family looking on, Oshrat Kandell lights the Maccabi torch in memory of her father and other members of the Munich 11. (©Barry Markowitz)
Round robin competitions began in earnest on Monday and Tuesday with lunch sandwiched in between morning and afternoon games. Individual efforts also began on Monday. Playoffs and medal rounds for team competitions were held on Wednesday and Thursday with the final medal winners determined on Thursday. After the athletic competition was completed, special evening events were held. All girl athletes were housed at two different locations, hosted by individual Memphis families. The seven boys were housed at many different locations. The families were responsible to take out their charges on Tuesday night so as to be able to enjoy the Memphis area’s hospitality and to view some of its sights. Monday night participants had a special social event evening at the Memphis Zoo. Wednesday night Autozone Park was opened for all Maccabi Games participants to enjoy a rare opportunity to run the bases, take batting practice and enjoy a ballpark meal at the home of the AAA Memphis Redbirds team. Mazkerit, a ten-member girls gymnastics team from the Israeli sister city of Memphis, Baty, performed that night and were present at other venues throughout the games.
And there was a serious side to the Maccabi Games. After Wednesday’s games were over, there was time devoted to service projects and social action. In order to raise money for Israeli cancer research, participants engaged in “Bike for the Fight.” “They got on a spinning bike and did that for 10 minutes each,” Soileau explained. The longer the time was spent on the bike, the more money was pledged. “They got their parents or members of the community to donate for their rides. It was sort of like a walk-a-thon,” he said. Also, colorful mezuzah holders were constructed by participants for distribution overseas to American soldiers.
Daughter of slain Israeli wrestler Yossef Romano, Oshrat Kandell enters the FedEx Forum to signal the start of the 2012 Maccabi Games. (©Barry Markowitz)
“The games have been wonderful,” Memphis JCC spokesperson Anna Shabtay said. “We have had an extremely great outpouring of our volunteers’ support and we’ve had fantastic times at the evening events.” Shabtay also expressed relief that throughout the four days of competition, there were no major injuries
The final event was the closing of the 2012 Maccabi Games at the Memphis JCC, where everyone enjoyed a catered meal provided by Corky’s Kosher Barbeque. Mazkerit performed again to the delight of the crowd. “The closing ceremonies basically consists of them passing the torch to the next year’s host cities. The next cities will be Austin, TX and Orange County, CA,” Soileau said.
Reflecting on whether the team enjoyed themselves, Soileau said: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely.” And he went even further. “I was very pleased. This is probably my best group because this was the kids’ first time. Their first time is almost always the best from an attitude and a standpoint of really embracing the entire experience.”
Team New Orleans members boarded a bus early on Friday morning for return to the city just before the advent of Shabbat. Soileau said he was surprised to get a call from the bus just after they had gotten underway. “My coach (Tolbert) already called to say they were discussing what colors they wanted their uniforms to be next year.”
