The countdown to next year’s 19th Maccabiah Games is well and truly on as we approach the June 30 deadline for athletes to nominate for the Games in Israel.
Have you nominated yet?
We’re doing everything we can to spread the word around the country to entice our community’s best athletes to throw their hat into the ring. We’ve travelled to Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne for Road Shows to answer final questions; we’ve held regular info nights – sport-by-sport and club-by-club – and have built a Maccabiah website full of all the information you need before you nominate.
I’m delighted to announce that Sydney-based Steve Solomon, who just received confirmation that his 4x400 metre athletics relay quartet has qualified for the London Olympics, has nominated to join our team in Israel. Three years ago, Steve was the captain of our junior football side in Israel. His qualification for the athletics squad to go to the London Games is truly remarkable and we wish him mazel tov and all the best with his preparation.
Our community’s two most famous cricketers - Michael Klinger and Julien Wiener – have also both nominated for the Games in a significant boost to our open cricket campaign. Klinger still holds hope of winning a spot in Australia’s Ashes squad at the same time next winter, but pending his professional commitments, he cannot wait to return to Israel. He last attended a Maccabiah as a 17-year-old.
Junior walking champion Jemima Montag – who hails from a family with a strong Maccabiah tradition – will also join our athletics team, while we’ve also received nominations from former Melbourne Heart A-League youth player Alon Blumgart for the opens mens football side.
We have more than 200 nominations as I write this, including a masters tennis player from South Australia with a world ranking. We look forward to the flood of applications we’ll receive in the final week before the system closes.
We’re working hard to create a few firsts as well, aiming to send an archery team, an open female gymnastics team, junior girls football squad and open cycling team for the first time.
And we’ve also just held our first set of trials, with the Australian Jewish Golf Championships at Royal Pines, Gold Coast, doubling as the National Golf Council’s first selection event. Barry Reichman, Jason Rubinstein and Trevor Sidley led the opens field, with John Dally, Keith Robertson and Brian Harrisberg the best masters golfers.
I recently returned from Israel, where I attended the Maccabi World Union conference. The level of advanced preparation was very pleasing. I am glad to report that the organising committee are ahead of the game, from what I’ve seen in the past.
Another exciting addition to the program, which was announced during the conference, is a “Maccabi Man and Maccabi Woman” Iron Man series. Athletes who contest the ocean swim, triathlon, cycling time trial and half marathon will accrue points and vie for the title of the Maccabiah’s supreme endurance athlete. I can’t wait to see who puts their hand up from our team!
Overall, it appears that there will be over 8,000 athletes and officials attending, which will be huge.
Will you be a part of it?
Make sure you visit our website and follow the simple prompts to get your nomination in for what’s shaping up as an unforgettable 19th Maccabiah Games.
Info: visit our site to nominate.
Written by:
Harry Procel
Maccabi Australia
