Come enjoy a pizza dinner and learn more about the joint Boulder/Denver delegation going to the Games and Artsfest in Israel, trip dates, cost and logistics. Meet Jamie Skog, Denver JCC Maccabi Teen Coordinator, and Phil Rubinstein, Boulder JCC Jteen staff.
Tuesday, October 26 – 6:30 – 7:30 pm, at the Boulder JCC. Contact Sara Goldberg at 303-921-6952 or Phil Rubinstein at jteen@boulderjcc.org with any questions.

Thanks to Rhonda Wildman for these on-the-scene photos from today’s Boys 16U Gold Medal soccer match, which Team Denver won!

Team sports medal results:

Baseball – Boys 16U

Gold: Boca Raton

Silver:  Baltimore

Bronze: Houston

Baseball – Boys 14U

Gold: Los Angeles

Silver:  Boca Raton

Bronze: Philadelphia

Basketball – Girls 16U

Gold: Boca Raton

Silver: Israel

Bronze: Denver/Seattle

Basketball – Boys 16U Blue

Gold: San Antonio

Silver: Detroit

Bronze: Denver

Basketball – Boys 16U White

Gold: Chicago

Silver: Mid-Westchester

Bronze: San Francisco

Basketball – Boys 14U Blue

Gold: San Antonio

Silver: Mexico

Bronze: Rockland

Basketball – Boys 14U White

Gold: Philadelphia

Silver: Boca Raton

Bronze: Mid-Westchester

Flag Football

Gold: Miami/Raleigh

Silver: North Miami Beach

Bronze: Chicago/Springfield

Soccer – Boys 14U

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: Los Angeles

Bronze: Mexico

Soccer – Boys 16U

Gold: Denver

Silver: Vancouver

Bronze: Orange County

Soccer – Girls 16U

Gold: Rockland

Silver: Denver

Bronze: Philadelphia

Volleyball

Gold: Houston

Silver: Orange County

Bronze: Orange County/Vancouver

I’m Jewish. It was not always easy to verbalize, especially in a public forum. I spent my youth trying to de-emphasize my religion as it set me apart from my peer group. But, now, I rank being Jewish as the third trait with which I most identify, behind being female and an athlete. I am not highly religious. I do not attend Synagogue with any regularity. Sitting in services tests my every last nerve and I endlessly shift in my seat, counting the pages until the last prayer is completed. No, for me, the importance of being Jewish is the history, customs, and celebration. I gather my Jewish friends on the Jewish New Year and Passover and inflict upon them my terrible singing voice as I recite the prayers I learned many years ago. The evening I am writing this, we had a lovely Sabbath dinner, complete with wine and challah.

My trepidation about religion stemmed from my experiences with anti-semitism growing up. It was confusing and as a teen-ager I was not equipped to deal with this heady issue. I chose to ignore it instead, letting the remarks fester, and did my best to keep my Jewish-ness below the surface and unmentioned. I attended Brown University, which boasts a 25% Jewish student body. Inevitably, I met many Jews and slowly became more comfortable with my religion. I attended Hillel services, “The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life” at over 500 colleges and universities. I was slowly coming out of my shell.

Joanna (r) and her sister Laurie at the 1989 Maccabiah Games

In 1989, along with my sister, I represented the United States at the Maccabiah Games for swimming. The Maccabiah Games, the third largest world sport competition, are the Jewish Olympics and are held every four years in Israel. A very international contingent participates, with athletes competing from 50 countries. It was an amazing, life-changing experience. Prior to the opening ceremonies, US athletes from the different sports were brought together and we were broken up into small groups to discuss all matters of being a Jewish athlete. I was amazed to hear the stories from others that were similar to my own. They too, had experienced disparaging comments and felt the same shame I had at being Jewish. I shared this story:

My swim coach while growing up said “I realize your sister’s Bat Mitzvah is important, but can’t you swim on a relay?” Hmm. Do you really get it?

The most amazing part of the entire trip, though, was walking into the stadium during the opening ceremonies. I was surrounded by thousands of Jews from all over the world. And then, they played Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem, the words to which I knew so well from my years attending a Jewish Day School. I was overwhelmed with pride and decided I would never hide being Jewish again.

Religion. According to Wikipedia, religion is “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” Where does religion fit into your life?

Rhonda Wildman and Dr. Joanna Zeiger

Dr. Joanna Zeiger, 2008 World Champion Ironman and Former Maccabi Games Athlete as well as the 4th place Triathlete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, spoke to a group of fifty JCC Maccabi athletes and their Boulder Hosts Tuesday night at a private party held at Paradise Bakery on the Pearl St. Mall.  The event was organized by Boulder Maccabi host Rhonda Wildman, who wanted to give the visiting teen athletes the opportunity to meet a successful Jewish professional athlete while they were in Boulder.

Dr. Zeiger, who illustrated her talk with a slide show, told about growing up in San Diego and competing in swimming through her school years, occasionally facing anti-Semitism from team mates as well as competitors.  She also told of her experience representing the US at the International Maccabi Games in Israel in 1989, saying that just talking about the Games still gives her chills.

Dr. Zeiger with picture from her Maccabi team.

Zieger switched to competing in triathalons (swimming, biking and running) in the 1990′s, becoming successful enough that she was able to represent the US at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the first Olympics that included the triathlon.  Zieger came in fourth, just missing a medal.  She told about some of her other successes, including in the Ironman form of the sport (which combines a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile ride and a full marathon run — 26.2 miles).  She is in fact competing this weekend in the 1/2 Ironman at the Boulder Reservoir.

After a brief question and answer period, the teens were released to spend a few hours exploring Pearl St. before going back to their hosts’ homes to prepare for their third day of competition in the 2010 Denver JCC Maccabi Games.

Baltimore soccer players Brandon and Anthony with Everlater's Ryan Wanger

Earlier in the evening, two visiting Baltimore teens got a taste of the local tech startup community with a visit to the Pearl Street office of Everlater, a 2009 Techstars company. Everlater provides free blog and travel journals (online and on iPhone). Thanks for the tour!

Today, at Lowry Soccer Fields, the Vancouver U16 boys competed against the U16 Orange County team. The game was filled with intensity and aggressive attacks as well as persistent defending. The passion of the players was evident after a play by Orange County which resulted in Jacob Sobel, the Vancouver starting goalie, being sent to the hospital in need of stitches.

My team faced great adversity today as our goalie got kicked in the head and had to go to the hospital….The score of the game was less important after that.” Commented Vancouver coach Philip Levinson. Despite being down 1-0, the Vancouver team was not defeated by this injury “…we did manage to tie,” says Levinson,  “and I feel our team is doing very well as we have not lost yet.”  When asked what his team could have improved on, coach Levinson answered adamantly that there was nothing, and he was “…very happy with [their] play.”

Regarding the Denver JCC Maccabi Games as a whole, coach Levinson believes this is one of the best Games he’s been to out of the nine years he’s participated. Orange County was strong throughout, and both teams played at a very high level.  We wish a speedy recovery to goalie Jacob Sobel and good luck to both teams!

The boys and girls tennis athletes of the Maccabi games took time from their competitions at Gates Tennis Center to answer a few questions about their Maccabi experiences. The six different athletes interviewed, although from all around the world, were united by the Maccabi games today.

Laurence Greenberg – 14 (Great Britain):

This is Laurence’s’ first year at the Maccabi games and he’s excited to be competing. He’s looking forward to succeeding in his tennis matches and meeting new people and girls. Laurence has been playing tennis since he was 7 years old and, at home, he practices around 20 hours a week. He was introduced to the Maccabi games after winning numerous tennis competitions in Great Britain and being asked to represent England in the Maccabi games.

Ryan Ladd – 15 (Austin, Texas):

Although this is Ryan’s first year at the Maccabi games, he’s been playing tennis since he was 10 but recently began playing competitively.  So far, the highlight of his Maccabi experience has been the opening ceremony, however, he’s looking forward to Water World.  He plays for his high school in Austin, Westwood High, and practices 24 hours a week. Ryan is looking forward to competing in the games and representing Austin, Texas in tennis.

Brooke Baevsky – 14 (Springfield, Massachusetts):

Brooke has been playing tennis collectively for about 5 years however this is her 2^nd year at the Maccabi games. Overall, Brooke’s favorite part of the games is meeting new people. She’s looking forward to the closing ceremonies and hopefully winning gold! At home, she plays for her high school, Longmeadow High, and practices between 1-3 hours a week.

Abbie Zislis – 15 (Denver, Colorado):

Abbie is very excited to be participating in the games and representing her hometown Denver.  She has been playing tennis for four and a half years and it is her favorite sport by far. Her favorite part of the games so far is the opportunity to meet new people from around the world.  She is looking forward to host family night, and other activities.  Generally she practices 3-4 times a week for a total of 5 hours.

Emily Barkann – 13 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania):

Overall, Emily’s favorite part of Maccabi is the fierce competition and games. She has been playing tennis for a total of 3-4 years and practices about 7 hours a week in Philadelphia. She enjoys spending time with her host family and is looking forward to host family night.

Good luck athletes!

Jeremy Bloom leads Albany team to open procession of athletes.

Many visiting and local dignataries were introduced, and Rabbi Bernard Gerson led the audience in a Shehechiyanu prayer.

The anthems of the United States, Canada and Israel were played by the Denver Brass Ceremonial Ensemble, and oaths were administered to the athletes, coaches and spectators.

This was followed by a moving tribute to the Munich 11 — the Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by terrorists at the 1972 Olympics.

Torch arrives on stage to light the Cauldron

Then, while the Denver Brass Ceremonial Ensemble played an original Fanfare, “Tekiah,” written for these Denver JCC Maccabi Games, the JCC Maccabi flame was paraded around the arena and then used to light the cauldron to officially open the Games.

The event wrapped up with a surprise performance by Denver’s own Flobots.

The Games themselves begin at 8 am Monday morning at venues all over Denver.

More photos and video will be posted on Monday.

Great Britain's team on their way to seats

Boulder athlete Ethan Fellows carried in Denver sign

Denver's Flobots close the show.

Wildman Family guests

Thanks to the well-organized Loup JCC Maccabi crew and hundreds of volunteers, the pick up went very smoothly, allowing most families to pick up their athletes in a half-hour or less.   Today’s arrivals were almost all domestic; the international teams from Great Britain, Israel, and Hungary began arriving last Thursday.

Nagel Family guests

The Opening Ceremonies are being held at Magness Arena at the University of Denver beginning at 6:30 pm.  If you haven’t already registered as a volunteer, host family or spectator, you must do so at once to be able to attend Opening Ceremonies or any of the competitions this week.  Competitions end on Thursday, and the visiting teams will reverse the arrival process beginning next Friday.  For more information, visit the official Denver Games website at www.jccdenvermaccabi.org.

Fellows Family guests

For Boulder team news and overall scores, you can also check the BJN JCC Maccabi page (follow our link on our home page or visit boulderjewishnews.org/jcc-maccabi-games-10/.

Volunteer Check-in, Credential Pick Up

Chicago Delegation gets final instructions before pick up