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Page 8 August 4, 2010 The Spotlight
Local teens head to Maccabi Games
Four-day event a celebration
of sports, service and
heritage for Jewish youth
BY MALLORY BULMAN
news@spotlightnews.com
In the competitive world of
sports today, it’s easy to get caught
up in medals, championships and
tournaments. However, the 17 Capital
District teens traveling to Richmond,
Va., to compete in the annual Maccabi
Games will focus on community
service and celebrating culture.
The competition, for Jewish
athletes ages 13 to 16, combines
sports with community volunteering
and cultural exposure. With
competitors from all over the United
States, Canada, Europe, Mexico,
Israel and South America, the
athletes get the chance to “build
a relationship with teens from
other places,” said delegation head
Andrew Katz.
Athletes are able to apply for
selection at the February open house
and are judged on athletic ability and
community service experience.
The athletes picked departed for
Virginia on Sunday, Aug. 1, and will
stay with volunteer host families in
the area. Upon arrival, the teens will
take part in Opening Ceremonies
at the University of Richmond to
celebrate the beginning of four days
of competition.
Not only will the athletes compete
throughout their time in Richmond,
but they will participate in the “Days
of Caring and Sharing” program,
where the teens will work with local
children from nearby YMCAs and
Boys and Girls Clubs. The athletes
will help the children with art
projects, fi eld games and relays.
“It’s more of a giving back type of
project,” said Katz.
The Maccabi Games offers a
multi-faceted experience, as athletes
get the chance to compete in their
specific sport, make connections
with teens from all around the world,
as well as learn and celebrate Jewish
culture.
“I think that it’s going to be
interesting. … I think [the community
service] is a good aspect. … We’ll
be getting into the community of
Richmond and working together
as a team,” said Sarah Fielman, 15,
a swimmer from Selkirk who will
compete in the games. The aquatic
director of the JCC encouraged
Fielman to apply for a chance to
swim in the Maccabi Games.
“It sparked an interest with me,”
she said.
Fielman said she was interested in
taking part in an activity that would help
her learn about not only her culture, but
others’ as well. Being a part of a sporting
event that also embraces Judaism is
intriguing to her.
“I’m really excited. I’ve never
done anything like this,” Fielman
said.
Another swimmer, 14-year-
www.spotlightnews.com
old Samantha Ebersold from
Slingerlands, said she “instantly
became interested” in participating
in the Maccabi Games after hearing
her cousin talk about his experience
playing baseball in the Westchester
Maccabi Games of 2009.
“To me, the most exciting part
of going to Richmond is getting to
go and do the thing I love the most,
while getting to meet others who
have the same interests as me and
who are Jewish,” she said.
Ebersold said she feels a “nervous
excitement” to meet her host family,
one of the many Richmond families
that will house the athletes during
their six-day stay.
“I think it will be nice to have
[Judaism] in common with
everybody there,” she said.
Adam Chaskin, assistant coach
for Siena men’s basketball, has been
involved with the Maccabi Games
since 1988. Chaskin said he comes
back every year because he thinks
it’s a “terrific organization and a
terrifi c experience.”
Chaskin fi rst got involved with the
local JCC while living in Washington,
D.C. He has coached all around the
world, including coaching the US
National Basketball Team in Israel.
He said for a lot of kids, who might
be part of the only Jewish families
in their communities, it’s great to
connect with other people who
share their heritage and identity.
Chaskin will lead the Albany-
Schenectady delegation’s soccer
team in Richmond this year.
To keep up with statistics,
information and more for the
Richmond Maccabi Games, visit
www.maccabirichmond.com.
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IN BRIEF
Library to hold
public reading
In honor of the 65th
anniversary of the fi rst use
of the atomic bomb, the
new John J. Bach Branch of
the Albany Public Library,
455 New Scotland Ave.,
Albany, will host a public
reading of John Hersey’s
“Hiroshima” on Friday,
Aug. 6.
The event will begin at
12:30 p.m. and last until
the book is completed,
probably around 4:30 p.m.
The event is free and open
to the public and the public
is encouraged to join in the
reading. Those interested
in reading can sign up
to participate when they
arrive.
“Hiroshima,” by John
Hersey, was fi rst published
in The New Yorker
magazine in 1946; it tells
the story of the bombing
by following the story of
six of the survivors. The
book version has been in
print since 1946.
For information, call
Dan Wilcox at 482-0262 or
e-mail dwlcx@earthlink.
net.
Lupus Alliance
to hold meeting
The Lupus Alliance
of Upstate New York
will be holding a “Lupus
Connections” meeting
on Wednesday, Aug.
11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
at the Holiday Inn Grill
Room, 205 Wolf Road,
Albany.
The meeting is
designed to assist lupus
patients in an informal
way to access information
and better understand
ways to cope with chronic
illness. They also seek to
connect individuals with
the Lupus Alliance and
lupus patients and also
help significant others
become better educated
about the disease.
For information or
to pre-register, call the
Lupus Alliance of Upstate
New York at (800)
300-4198, e-mail info@
lupusupstateny.org or visit
www.lupusupstateny.org.
Registration must be made
by Aug. 4.
Center looking
for volunteers
The Louise Corning
Senior Center, 25 Delaware
Avenue, Albany, is looking
for volunteers to assist
as clerks in their thrift
shop, “The Madison
Emporium.”
The emporium is open
Monday through Friday
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
several shifts are open.
For information, contact
Monique at 465-3325.
65566