Next year the Asheville JCC has an incredible opportunity to team up with other JCCs in North & South Carolina to bring Jewish athletes to the JCC Maccabi Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Kids ages 13-16 are eligible to participate in the games, which will take place July 30-August 4, 2017. The JCC Maccabi Games® is an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer in North America and is the second largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers in the world. The JCC Maccabi Games:
- provide Jewish youth with a supportive environment that fosters mutual respect and sportsmanship, where they can interact in an atmosphere of fun, democracy, and peace.
- cultivate a deeper understanding and instill an appreciation of Jewish values within Jewish youth, enrich their Jewish identity in an informal setting, and encourage their identification with the state of Israel.
- promote and encourage the health, physical fitness and well-being of Jewish youth through participation in recreational and athletic activities
- introduce Jewish youth to the international Maccabi Movement, which presents athletic, cultural, and social opportunities with Jews from around the world.
“Team Carolina” will include teens from Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Columbia and Charleston to participate in their favorite sporting competition – soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, table tennis, flag football, track & field, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball or dance. Please visit this website for more information: http://www.jccmaccabigames.org/
The cost for each participant will likely be around $900-$1,000, and includes transportation, housing, meals, team uniform, and registration. Group fundraising may result in scholarships to lower the cost of participating. Anyone interested in helping to organize group fundraising should contact Rochelle@jccavldev.wpengine.com. There is already a terrific committee of volunteers who are ready to help see this happen.
An initial deposit of $200 is due before February 1st in order to secure a spot on Team Carolina. Please send checks to the Asheville Jewish Community Center, 236 Charlotte St, Asheville, NC 28801.
At this time, we’ve been asked to provide Team Carolina with a list of interested athletes. Any parents with interested teenagers should contact Rochelle@jccavldev.wpengine.com.
