JCC Maccabi Games® and Access events are taking place this week in Ft. Lauderdale

JCC Association of North America’s 41st JCC Maccabi Games^® and Access events are taking place this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida ending August 11th. The event is hosted by the David Posnack JCC and welcomes nearly 2,000 Jewish teen athletes from around the globe. 

The Maccabi Games include Olympic-style sports from 64 delegations in the U.S., Canada, and six other nations around the world featuring tennis and other sports. In addition to the tennis players competing this week, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, girls’ volleyball, flag football, lacrosse, soccer, table tennis, swimming, and dance competitions are currently underway as well.

Samantha Cohen, SVP and head of JCC Maccabi says, “The JCC Maccabi Games have an awe-inspiring, lifelong impact, uniting young Jewish athletes through sport, values, and service... offering an introduction to the global Jewish community and Israel.” 

Cohen credits her own transformative Jewish journey to her early involvement as a participant in JCC Maccabi, saying she “arrived at the Games as a British tennis player and returned home a Jewish athlete.”

In addition, among those at the Ft. Lauderdale Games will be a group of 21 athletes representing seven communities participating in JCC Maccabi Access for Jewish athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“We are especially honored to host the Access Games for athletes with developmental disabilities,” explains Scott Ehrlich, CEO of the Posnack JCC.

The Games’ closing ceremony and celebratory dinner will take place August 11th and will feature the passing of the JCC Maccabi torch to next year’s host communities.

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Written by Florida Tennis Executive Editor and Publisher Matt Pressman. Source: JCC Association of North America. Photos: Fort Lauderdale JCC Maccabi Games & Access at David Posnack JCC / Facebook