JCC Maccabi Games: Sports are only part of the experience

by Maxine Fischbein, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

24 Alberta Jewish athletes between the ages of 13 and 17 continue to bask in the afterglow of the JCC Maccabi Games, held in Toronto August 2 to 6.  The games, attracted close to 2,000 athletes representing 55 delegations from North America and around the world, giving young adults competing at a variety of levels the thrill of participating in a large sporting event while forming Jewish bonds through their shared interest in sports.

This time, getting there was not half the fun. A strike by WestJet flight attendants led to mayhem as families scrambled to book alternative flights. Fortunately, with the help of organizers, Team Alberta made it to Toronto intact and raring to go.

In addition to the United States and Canada, countries at the games included Israel, Argentina, Great Britain, Hungary, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The entrance of the Team Israel delegation is always an emotional one for the athletes, says Evan Horwitz, who served as chaperone and coach for Team Alberta golfers. “The opening ceremonies were just incredible,” agreed four-time Team Alberta Delegation Head Chloe Soibelman. “You really feel a part of something much bigger than you…. Our kids, who come from small communities, look around and say, ‘Not only do I not have to hide who I am here, I am so proud of being part of this, Jewish peoplehood, Jewish joy,”

Team Alberta – 7 girls and 17 boys – came home with 15 medals said Soibelman, who became involved in the games when two of her kids participated as athletes. “I had the incredible opportunity to take my first-ever delegation to Israel, which included my youngest child,” Soibelman recalled, adding that the games will once again be held in Israel in 2028.

According to Soibelman, medals earned by Team Alberta included gold in U17 Group Basketball and bronze in both U15 Girls Basketball and U17 Boys Soccer. Three swimmers, one dancer and two girls softball players also came home with hardware, the latter athletes earning bronze in their first-ever win at the games, Soibelman said. While winning is always nice, these games mean so much more.

Just ask Team Alberta’s Joey Abrahamson, one of 14 Calgary kids who participated in the games. The Grade Nine Student competed in golf and came home with the Midot Medal, a tribute to his sportsmanship and menschlichkeit. The medal is awarded with input from coaches representing delegations other than one’s own.

Joey lost his medal just a few hours after receiving it, but the story has a happy ending. The woman who had been driving Joey and some of his teammates found it in her car two weeks later. It’s a keeper!

According to Horwitz, a Florida delegation head was particularly impressed with the way Joey carried himself, exhibiting excitement, humility, kindness to others, and plenty of team spirit. “Joey was very accommodating to the kids who weren’t playing as well, and he really just treated everybody nicely,” recalls Horwitz.

The Midot Medal is given to only four percent of JCC Maccabi Games participants said Joey’s justifiably proud mother, Sharon Abrahamson. A man of few words, Joey told AJNews that receiving the medal “felt good.”

For Joey, another highlight of the games was the warm hospitality he experienced thanks to a caring and generous family with whom he and some teammates were billeted. “They were really good, lots of fun,” recalled Joey, adding that his hosts treated their guests to some very special experiences including a private tour of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Toronto Maple Leaf’s dressing room.

Participating in the games is a huge privilege, and an important component is giving teens the opportunity to extend a helping hand to less fortunate peers. In that spirit, this year’s JCC Cares program brought athletes together to pack backpacks filled with toiletries and other daily necessities that were then delivered to kids in need, said Chloe Soibelman.

“In general, kids aren’t excited about this kind of program, but once they get there, they become super engaged,” said Soibelman, adding that, in the end, the teens themselves describe the experience as both “meaningful and memorable.”

According to Soibelman, another heartwarming component of the games is JCC Access, a program that brings young adults with developmental and intellectual challenges to the games. They enjoy their own programming but are also “present, included, and celebrated,” said Soibelman, adding that one very special moment was seeing an Access athlete awarded a medal at the pool.

“The games are more than just a sports tournament for Jewish kids. They are an engagement opportunity, an experience in Jewish joy for Jewish kids who happen to play sports,” Soibelman said.

They are also an opportunity for kids to learn other important life skills.  Calgary hockey player Noah Stoffman – a veteran of three JCC Maccabi Games (Detroit, Pittsburgh and Toronto) – served on the 2025-2026 JCC Maccabi Youth Leadership Board, thus helping to plan the Toronto games.

Notably, Stoffman – a Grade Ten student who plays AA/AAA hockey— is also the 2026 recipient of the Norman Ronald Silver Sports Leadership Award, presented last spring by the Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary.

“Noah has volunteered as a summer junior hockey instructor at WinSport for the past two years and has held leadership roles at school and in hockey,” said Noah’s father, Dan Stoffman. “As a parent, I’ve seen him grow as a person through the games and love the connections he has made through athletics and the Jewish community as a result of his participation.”

Sharon Abrahamson seconds the emotion. “It’s been a really great experience for Joey, not just from a Jewish perspective but all around, to be able to go to a new city and meet new people without his parents hovering over him and telling him what he can and can’t do,” Abrahamson said.

“It is the very first thing that has given Joey any sense of Jewish identity…. He’s always been an athlete first. That’s always been his identity,” added Abrahamson. For him to be able to go as an athlete, to all of a sudden be with thousands of other Jewish kids that are also athletes, it really did something in him. He feels much more of a Jewish connection.”

Joey has since become a member of BBYO, alongside some kids he got to know because of the Maccabi games and others he had previously gone to school with at The Calgary Jewish Academy. It was the opportunity to compete in sports that first drew Joey to the JCC Maccabi Games where he competed on a mixed-delegation hockey team at the 2025 games in Pittsburgh. A dedicated hockey player for the Bow Valley Hockey Society in Calgary, last year he played on an Under 15 Body Contact Division 2 Team.

Swapping hockey stick for golf club at the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games, Joey had a particularly great day on the course when, following a couple days of competition, the golfers enjoyed a scramble, team play where each participant golfs each hole. The team chooses the best shot, which is counted toward the score, and all players then take their next shot from that spot on the course. Several of the chosen shots were played by Joey.

Horwitz was impressed by all his Team Alberta golfers. “Some of them hadn’t played in tournaments before, but, honestly, all 12 of them held up really well,” recalled Horwitz, adding that they were playing in challenging conditions, the mercury rising to a punishing 35 degrees. “They didn’t win, but they still had a great time and met other nice kids.”

“Mixed teams really give kids the opportunity to form bonds with teens from elsewhere,” said Chloe Soibelman, referencing hockey, soccer, softball, baseball and basketball. “You don’t have to be the best athlete in your sport. There are varying levels. In some of the individual sports there are recreational categories.”

“The sports aspect is only part of the experience,” said Horwitz. “You have to play a sport to be able to go, but it’s much more than just the sport itself.”

“When I went as a hockey player, I was on mixed teams with kids from Florida and places where hockey wasn’t that big, so our teams never did well, but I’ve still got buddies who I talk to regularly that I met at the games,” added Horwitz. “With these kids, it’s the same way…. They are quiet on Monday when they don’t know anyone from any other delegations, and then by Thursday they’re sad to say goodbye to kids from Cincinnati or Boston or wherever it might be.”

Horwitz praised the creativity games organizers brought to planning down time for the athletes, providing a hub where a couple of thousand kids enjoyed snacks, a variety of activities, and the simple pleasure of “hang time.”

Some of the sports, including hockey, took place at the hub, giving athletes an opportunity to take in sports competitions other than their own. “It was a cool way to bring people together,” said Horwitz, adding that it maximized excitement and energy.

Opening and closing ceremonies and evening events provided other great opportunities for the athletes to mix. One major icebreaker at the games was pin trading, an easy way for even the shyest kids to engage with others. “Some of the kids made it their mission to score pins from every delegation attending the game,” Horwitz said, adding that the Israel pins are especially treasured.

Horwitz knows that the friendships forged at the JCC Maccabi Games have the potential to last a lifetime. To this day he keeps in touch with friends and host families from games past.

Those connections and others he made years ago at camp and BBYO have made Horwitz’s recent move to Edmonton a comfortable and enjoyable one. Now 23 – and armed with a bachelor’s degree in Management and Organization Studies from Western University, Horwitz is at the beginning of his professional career and looking forward to playing hockey in the Edmonton Jewish Hockey League. The team that gets him will, no doubt, be cheering.  Horwitz knows a thing or two about the game, having played both AAA and Junior Hockey.

Horwitz – who served as a hockey coach at the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh – also plans to remain involved in the games, which is a family affair. His brother Jordan is also a JCC Maccabi Alum, and their mother Aviva Horwitz, an avid Maccabi Games volunteer, served for years as a parent organizer and now mentors and supports new cohorts of parents.

As with the Horwitz family, so with the Abrahamson clan. Joey’s mom Sharon hails from a family steeped in voluntarism. Already an active hockey mom, she jumped in with both feet when Joey became involved in the Maccabi Games.

Last spring, Sharon chaired a Calgary fundraiser to help defray the cost of participation for Team Alberta athletes. The Support the Sport comedy night, headlined by Edmonton radio host and stand-up comedian Rob Pepper included a silent auction and was, in equal parts, a fundraiser and a fun raiser thanks to the efforts of Abrahamson and other volunteers, most notably Reva Kislik, Kim Nagan and Aviva Horwitz.

The evening was a success thanks to sponsorships from RBC Nagan Wealth Management and B’nai Brith and donations by Team Alberta families and friends.

Fundraising efforts take place in both Calgary and Edmonton annually, with the athletes themselves pitching in as appropriate. Games participants must also complete five hours of service to the Jewish community. In the lead up to the 2026 games, Calgary athletes volunteered at a wide of variety of community events, including the Walk for Israel and Jonny Daniels events organized by Calgary Jewish Federation, the B’nai Brith Noa Tishby event, Temple B’nai Tikvah, and the Beth Tzedec Purim Carnival.

The host cities for the 2027 JCC Maccabi Games are Philadelphia and Austin, though the city in which Team Alberta will compete has not yet been confirmed.

“I haven’t decided yet on the sport, but I am definitely going back,” Joey Abrahamson told AJNews. If all goes according to plan, his younger brother Justin will be joining him as a first-time participant.

Joey has words of encouragement for other teens who are considering going to future games. “It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and have lots of fun,” said Joey, who got to hang with a lot of other kids, including a new friend from Philly. Chances are good they will meet again on his turf next year.

Potential JCC Maccabi participants and their parents should contact Delegation Head Chloe Soibelman if they wish to attend upcoming information evenings.  The one slated for Calgary will take place on Wednesday, November 4. Interested families can email Soibelman at jccmaccabi@edjfed.org for more information including the Calgary location and details on the Edmonton session which were not available prior to press time.

Soibelman also suggests that newbies reach out to previously participating athletes and their parents for their perspectives on the JCC Maccabi experience.

Some families have, in the past, chosen not to send their children to the games because of security concerns, especially since the spike in antisemitic acts following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. “This is a crazy world, and there are no guarantees,” said Soibelman. “What I can guarantee is that security of participants is paramount,” added Soibelman.

Fortunately, the games continue to attract thousands of kids with many of their loved ones attending the games as spectators. Soibelman says that 52 family members traveled to the Toronto games to cheer on Team Alberta athletes.

For veteran volunteer Aviva Horwitz, it is a source of joy that in the five years since her younger son Jordan went to the games, the number of Team Alberta participants has increased five-fold, giving more young athletes the chance to do what they love doing while forming Jewish connections to last a lifetime.