Ten teen athletes from Afula-Gilboa accompanied by Yossi Harrari, Director of the Sport Department in the Afula Municipality; Edan Shafran, Director of the Sport Department in the Gilboa Regional Council and Donna Ron, Living Bridge Coordinator for P2K arrived in Springfield on August 11, 2002. Athletes and chaperones received a warm welcome at the JCC by host families and the Springfield team delegation head Betsy Bertuzzi after a very long trip. From August 11 through August 21, the delegation got to know the Springfield Community, JCC, and the Mall, as well as touring to Boston, New York, and Camp Shalom. During the first week athletes were also busy with sport practice sessions together with their Springfield teammates. Afula-Gilboa youth from Israel were part of the Springfield team for the JCC Games. Participating athletes and the sports they played were: From Gilboa: Hovav Cohen, Soccer; Amiram Sama, Bowling; Efi Sabag, Bowling; Naama Ozer, Swimming; and Arad Artzi, Tennis. From Afula: Faina Tsiporin, Tennis; Ulia Zbolotniy, Tennis; Mark Rozenberg, Ping Pong; Eden Youchela, Bowling; Yair Nizar, Basketball.
The delegation performed very well both in sports and in making social connections. Six of the A/G teens received medals, and all of the youths made meaningful connections with their host families and the other teen participants in the games. Tears were plentiful at the closing ceremony and final party at Shakerbowl. The week of the games was definitely awesome. The games were opened with a dignified ceremony, which one felt honored to be a part of. The weather was as hot as it is in Israel and so the A/G delegation felt right at home.
VIP treatment was accorded to the A/G delegation the whole time. EVERYONE at Maccabi Central, in the JCC and within the Games framework, whether coach at the sports venues or volunteer at the lunches and dinners were wonderful, helpful and friendly.
The organization and logistics of the event were excellent and showed the Israeli group the best face of American "how to". The fleet of yellow buses was constantly transporting people to and from the JCC to various sport venues and to the terrific evening events which had been exquisitely planned for the enjoyment and safety of the 800 teens involved.
JCC Springfield did a splendid job on all counts!!!! So many kind, generous and warm people were involved in the organization and implementation of this event that it would take pages to mention everyone, and the fear of forgetting to mention someone's name is always present. Therefore we from the Afula-Gilboa delegation wish to thank everyone, including the SNEC steering committee, for making possible such a wonderful people-to-people opportunity for all of us. We all look forward to seeing each other again and hope that Afula-Gilboa will continue to participate in future JCC Maccabi Games events.
Tishrei 5763 - September 2002