Four Jewish Community Centers in the Bay Area fielded delegations that competed in the 2013 JCC Maccabi Games, which took place last week in Austin, Texas, and this week in Orange County.
The JCC Maccabi Games — different from the recently completed Maccabiah Games, a quadrennial competition for elite athletes held in Israel — are held every summer at two or three locations around the United States or Canada. Jewish teens from North America and beyond compete in a variety of sports, and there is also a Maccabi ArtsFest option available.
The JCC of San Francisco sent 21 teens to the games in Texas and 26 to the games and ArtsFest in Orange County. Each JCCSF delegation won some medals, including a gold in Israeli dance.
The Peninsula JCC in Foster City sent 30 teens to the Orange County games. Because the PJCC couldn’t field complete teams in some sports, its players teamed up with JCCs from other areas to form full squads, such as a girls soccer squad made up of players from the Bay Area, Youngstown, Ohio and St. Paul, Minn.
The JCC of the East Bay had 19 kids participating in five sports in Orange County, and a “Team East Bay” Facebook page offered not only post-game results but also live scoring updates during some games.
The Addison-Penzak JCC in Los Gatos fielded a team of 16 athletes and was the only local JCC participating in lacrosse and in-line hockey. The Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael and the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto did not send any athletes to the games this year.
The JCC Maccabi Games includes
13- to 16-year-olds from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Great Britain, Panama and other countries. — arno rosenfeld