By Sarah Wolberg
THE Maccabi Games coming to Denvers Loup JCC on Aug. 1 will be the single largest Jewish sporting event ever in Denver.
The games will unite Jewish teens from as close as Houston and as far away as Hungary in a six-day sports competition that aims to unite the global Jewish community.
The event, which will cost the JCC about $1.4 million, will take place in Denver this year for the first time in its 28-year run.
Jewish athletes will also flock to Baltimore, Richmond and Omaha for the Maccabi Games held there concurrently.
Ben Moke, Denvers Maccabi Games director, thinks the games Denver location will greatly benefit the widespread Jewish community of Colorado.
It will be great to unite Denvers Jewish community; people from the southeast, and the west side, and central Denver, Moke said. It will reach Jews all across Colorado.
The games will bring 1,300 Jewish teens, ages 12-16, to Denver from Aug. 1 to Aug 6. Denvers own delegation will contribute 212 of those athletes.
Over 1,000 Denver adults have volunteered to help at the games, acting as security, caterers to hungry athletes, and scorekeepers at matches.
Host families have volunteered to accommodate the 1,100 out-of-state athletes. Read the related IJN editorial
Though it took a while to get enough places to house our athletes, we were very optimistic because of the great response we got from Denver-area Jewish families. We had lots of last-minute volunteers who really helped us out, Moke said.
Host families must have been Jewish adults with enough space to house two or more athletes for the week.
Some host families must host athletes for Shabbat dinner.
The games are not during Shabbat. However, the delegations from further locations, like Israel and Europe, will need to have an extended stay based on their long flights.
Most of the foreign teams will be coming the Thursday or Friday before the games and leaving the Sunday after, Moke said. For them, we are providing homes for Shabbat and kosher homes for all athletes if necessary.
We are still looking for kosher families to host more observant athletes however.
Moke received support from many Denver synagogues in raising money for and sponsoring the events of the Maccabi Games.
BMH-BJ, Beth Evergreen, Beth Shalom, Bnai Havurah, Rodef Shalom, Temple Emanuel, Temple Sinai and the HEA all stepped up to help us out, helping us hold evening events for the athletes and lending us the man-power for organizing the week, Moke said.
The congregations were helpful in hosting and organizing the athletes evening events. HEA and Rodef Shalom helped the JCC rent out the entirety of Water World for one evening, BMH-BJ is hosting an event at the Denver Zoo, and the Boulder JCC is holding the weeks closing party.
ATHLETES will also participate in community service projects through Days of Sharing and Caring.
The projects include a field day with the Special Olympics; filling backpacks with school supplies for underprivileged children in partnership with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation; donating blankets to needy children through Project Linus; delivering meals to the ill through Project Angel Heart; and projects with the Mizel Museum, Shalom Park and Denver Health.
We have these kids 14 hours a day and they are only participating in their sports for two or three of those hours, Moke said.
We wanted the kids to work on these meaningful projects to get a full understanding of the Jewish approach to community service.
In addition to organizing supplemental events for the athletes, Moke and his team, including Assistant Games Director Beth Berger, Administrative Assistant Charlene Engleberg and Colorado Delegation Head Yuri Tavbin, had to organize the many aspects of the athletic competition so that it would run smoothly.
The Childrens Hospital is providing doctors and nurses to give medical attention to injured athletes. Many independent doctors and athletic trainers are also giving their services.
The Maccabi Games also needed sports centers and arenas to hold sporting events, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, flag football, swimming, track and field, tennis and bowling.
While some of the tennis matches will take place at the JCCs recently refurbished tennis center, others will take place at Gates Tennis Center, and many of the other sports games will take place at outside locations.
The swimming events will all take place at the University of Denver, Moke said. They have a great natatorium with a gorgeous pool; its unreal.
Other events will take place at DPSs South High School and George Washington High School, Machebeuf High School, Gold Crown Field House, Inverness Golf Course, Green Gables Golf Course and Monaco Lanes.
We put events at these outside locations because we didnt want to affect the operation of the JCC, Moke said.
We have a gorgeous swimming pool at the JCC, but we wanted the pool and other facilities to stay open and accessible for JCC members.
However, the games will attract much of the JCC staffs attention for the week.
The Maccabi Games will use a lot of the JCCs space and energy, Moke said. We will still have summer camps going on, but at a smaller scale.
Were also setting up two 60-foot by 90-foot tents in the middle parking lot for the event. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral across the street has generously lent us their gravel parking lot, which can fit about 300 cars. Also, parking on the street will still be open.
We want to affect the operation of the JCC as little as possible. The JCC will still be running as usual, Moke said.
The few inconveniences for the JCC however, are far outweighed by the benefits for Colorado, Moke said.
The influx of athletes and coaches will certainly boost Denvers tourism industry. We anticipate quite a few visitors apart from the athletes. About 400 more people are traveling to Denver just to observe the games, Moke said.
Obviously, its great for us, but we dont see it in terms of benefits to the JCC, Moke said.
The real purpose of the Maccabi Games is to bring the Denver Jewish community together.
Forty percent of the individuals who get involved in the Maccabi Games are unaffiliated in the Jewish community, but sports bring everybody out, and the interest keeps them in the Jewish community and keeps them connected.
Moke maintains that the sporting events, while important, are not the major draw of the Maccabi Games for athletes, volunteers and spectators.
Its a sports competition, but thats only a piece of it. Its really about uniting Jewish teens from all over the world, Moke said. Sports are the vehicle that connects the teens, but the Jewish values and the sense of community are what kids will take away from this.
