{"id":47898,"date":"2025-11-07T01:45:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T09:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47898"},"modified":"2025-11-06T10:06:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:06:05","slug":"jcc-maccabi-in-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/jcc-maccabi-in-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"JCC Maccabi in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Team Vancouver delegation at the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh, Pa. <\/i>(photo from\u00a0 <\/span>JCCGV)<\/i><\/p>\n

When the Jewish community of Greater Toronto hosts the JCC Maccabi Games this summer, it will mark the first time that the Jewish teen athletics event has taken place north of the border since Vancouver hosted in 2006. And Team Vancouver, based out of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, will bring a delegation of at least 20 athletes to be a part of it.<\/p>\n

The JCCs of Toronto will welcome approximately 1,600 Jewish teens from around the world Aug. 2-7, 2026, for this annual Olympic-style sporting event. The games will take over venues around Greater Toronto, offering a variety of team and individual sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the political climate being what it is these days, it\u2019s really fantastic timing to finally have a set of games in Canada again,\u201d said Kyle Berger, delegation head for Team Vancouver. \u201cI can feel the excitement already building and we expect to be taking our largest delegation since before COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n

The JCC Maccabi Games, which engages 3,000-4,000 Jewish teens each summer, is focused on athletic competitions, but, Berger said, the true meaning of the games lies in the unique Jewish peoplehood experience it offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the powerful opening ceremonies, with the parade of athletes, and through the week of competition and special events, there is nothing that brings Jewish teens together like the JCC Maccabi experience,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will be my 23rd set of games, but, when Team Israel enters the opening ceremony, with 10,000 people all waving their Israeli flags, cheering and singing together in a safe environment, it gives me goosebumps every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berger was involved with the games when Vancouver hosted in 2006 and said he appreciates how much hosting this event can bring a community together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch like the way hosting the Olympics in 2010 brought the cities of Vancouver and Whistler together, hosting the JCC Maccabi Games really is a full-community experience,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd anytime it is in Canada, it\u2019s special to be part of it and show off our amazing country. We will enter the opening ceremony with extra pride this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The games in Toronto, which will take place at the same time as another set of games in Kansas City, will be one of the larger sets of games in recent years. Athletes aged 13-17 as of the date of the games will be able to compete in their choice of team or individual sports that include ice hockey \u2013 with a girls division for the first time \u2013 baseball, basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, swimming, dance, track and golf.<\/p>\n

Aside from the opening ceremony, the games will feature social events for the athletes and coaches, as well as Jewish and Israeli cultural programming, social action projects and an emphasis on the six middot<\/i> (Jewish values) of tikkun olam<\/i> (repairing the world), respect, joy, pride, big-heartedness, and Jewish peoplehood.<\/p>\n

JCC Maccabi, a signature program of the Jewish Community Centre Association of North America, is part of the overall umbrella of the Maccabi World Union, which also includes the Maccabiah Games in Israel.<\/p>\n

For more information about the JCC Maccabi Games or the opportunity to have your teen be part of Team Vancouver this summer, contact Berger at kyle@jccgv.bc.ca<\/a> or check out jccgv.com\/program-category\/maccabi-games<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 Courtesy Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Team Vancouver delegation at the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh, Pa. (photo from\u00a0 JCCGV) When the Jewish community of Greater Toronto hosts the JCC Maccabi Games this summer, it will mark the first time that the Jewish teen athletics event has taken place north of the border since Vancouver hosted in 2006. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4507,218,7670,4508,3753],"class_list":["post-47898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-jcc-maccabi-games","tag-judaism","tag-kyle-berger","tag-sports","tag-youth"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}