Young athletes from the Alper JCC of Miami and from Or Akiva banded together to bring glory to Miami and Or Akiva at the Macabbi Games held August 11 - 13 at St. Louis, Missouri. They returned to Miami with five gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.

In a program initiated by the Alper JCC in 2001, four teenage athletes traveled from Or Akiva to Miami in order to join the Alper delegation to the St. Louis regional Macabbi games. The joint delegation took St. Louis by storm and retuned home with a significant number of medals and, most important, with a lot of wonderful experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.

Paul Frishman, the Director of the Sports Department of the Alper JCC was the over-all coordinator of the joint delegation." While the sportsmanship and athletic competition at the games were incredible, it was the wonderful person to person connections that were made which makes the JCC Maccabi Games so special and so much more than just a competition", said Frishman.

The Israeli contingent was led by Or Akiva municipal spokesperson Danny Avnaim. Danny, who started his professional career working in the sport department of the Or Akiva Matnass (JCC) was extremely pleased with the joint effort. "All of the athletes competed well, and we came home with medals and wonderful experiences and memories" said Avnaim. "Most important, though, are the relationships that we developed and that we hope will continue for a long time."

Or Akiva provided one member of the Miami golf team, that came home with the gold! Gil Alkoby of Or Akiva has been playing golf on the Ceasaria Golf course since he was a child. "It was great having the opportunity to play golf in St. Louis and be part of the Miami team. I hope that we can arrange a golf tournament, in Ceasaria, where all of my new friends from Miami will come and play with my friends in Or Akiva".