The JCC Maccabi Games began in 1982 with 300 teen participants. Today, more than four decades later, JCC Maccabi is a unique and powerful platform that promotes teen engagement and builds Jewish identity and community on an unparalleled scale.
Each summer, approximately 3,000 13 to 17-year-old Jewish athletes from around the world convene for a week of individual and team athletic competition in one of several host communities in North America. The Games are co-sponsored by JCC Association of North America, Maccabi World Union, Maccabi Canada, and Maccabi USA.
Athletes, coaches, chaperones, and family members proudly represent each delegation. Local families host teens, and thousands of local volunteers, donors, and sponsors contribute to the success of the Games. The magic of the JCC Maccabi experience unites JCCs, host communities, and every person touched by the Games.
Although the central activities are sports and athletic endeavors, the broader context of the Games embraces Jewish expressions of pride, peoplehood, identity, and values. JCC Maccabi medals are awarded not only for sporting achievements but also for expressions of six core midot (values) that underpin all aspects of the JCC Maccabi experience: Repairing the World, Respect, Joy, Pride, Big-Heartedness, and Jewish peoplehood.
The Olympic-style opening ceremony instills pride and excitement for all and always includes a moving tribute in memory of the Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Until 2022, the International Olympic Committee never paid tribute to the 11 athletes and coaches. Other components of the Games include JCC Cares, a community service-learning project; JCC HangTime, an opportunity to learn about Israel directly from shlichim in Israel’s Maccabi Movement, and time to socialize with fellow athletes, making lifelong Jewish memories and friendships.
For the majority of JCC Maccabi athletes, 63% of whom report being otherwise unaffiliated with any other Jewish youth organization, JCC Maccabi remains their primary connection to Jewish community, global Jewish life, and Israel. Surveys of past participants indicate that it is not only the sports that attract and excite them; opportunities to meet Jews from around the world, participate in an exclusively Jewish teen program, and celebrate Israel are equal attractive features of JCC Maccabi. They may come for sports, but they leave with stronger identities as Jews.
