It’s difficult to think about the 2009 JCC Maccabi Games in the past tense. The event required so much time, energy and thought to plan and execute — and then it swept into San Francisco like a Pacific gale.
And now it is over.
This is a bittersweet moment to be sure. As parents of JCC Maccabi Games athletes, we have witnessed the impact the Games can have on a teen’s view of oneself and of his or her relationship to Judaism.
Yet the perspective of hosting the Games — being responsible for the experience of 1,500 teens, most from other cities and even countries — is awesome.
Thanking everyone who deserves to be thanked is literally impossible in this column. Yet there are people who helped make the vision of bringing the Games to San Francisco to a reality.
Richard Goldman, the Koret and Taube Foundations and the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation Endowment Fund all believed deeply in the community-building aspect of hosting the Games and provided an early foundation.
The City and County of San Francisco offered immediate, vital support more than two years ago.
And the University of San Francisco came on board early as the hub of the Games. We dared not submit our hosting bid until we had secured USF’s partnership.
But it’s an entire community that hosts the JCC Maccabi Games, which are held in three or four U.S. cities every summer. More than 1,000 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and nearly 500 host families welcomed visiting teens into their homes. The warmth displayed by everyone involved made us proud to be San Franciscans.
Of course, the lifeblood of the Games is the actual games (or races, dances and matches). The competitions blended passion, pride and sportsmanship. It was remarkable to watch the athletes form friendships that led to more camaraderie as the week went along. Many of the teens got to know each other well enough early in the week that by Wednesday and Thursday they seemed like old friends.
A great deal of thought went into ways of engaging the athletes away from the competition. One major example of this was Hang Time, a place where athletes relaxed and socialized between games. Our theme was “Tel Aviv at 100,” celebrating and examining Tel Aviv’s history. Dozens of volunteers and JCCSF staff made this a major attraction during the week. It was a great example of “meeting teens where they are” in order to impart valuable lessons and build a sense of Jewish identity.
Another example: the Days of Caring and Sharing. Athletes worked with volunteers from the Neighborhood Parks Council and S.F. Recreation & Parks staff to clean and beautify 16 city parks. The spirit of tikkun olam was evident among the teens.
We also worked hard to make this a zero- waste event. One example was providing stainless steel water bottles rather than disposable plastic bottles. Typically, fields are strewn with waste at the end of each day’s competition. Instead, after a sorting through our waste, we calculated that we had only 6 percent “landfill” and 94 percent compost/recycling at the end of these Games.
The most lasting impression from the hosting experience? Perhaps it was the genuine commitment to its success shown by so many people.
Time and again we saw volunteers, host families and staff go beyond the call of duty to solve problems or simply make things easier for our visitors. If we learned anything, it is that when everyone cares so much and is willing to work as hard as this community did on this event, the end result is bound to be outstanding.
At the planning level, it heartened us to work with dozens of partners within and outside of the Jewish community. We believe bonds were formed that might not have been otherwise.
Though the actual Games are over, we believe their legacy will be felt for years to come.
Thousands of people of all ages saw the rich rewards of becoming more active in the community. We hope everyone involved uses this as a springboard to more or deeper community participation. Whether that means taking a class, volunteering, attending services or something else, we are all enriched by each other’s involvement.
There is much made of what teens learn from their JCC Maccabi Games experience. And we do believe that they learn important lessons.
But we adults learned a great deal from them, as well. Here are just a few that come to mind. That working hard and playing hard should go hand-in-hand. That giving your best really is all anyone can ask of you. And that smiling a lot is a great way to make friends.
Howard Fine and Randi Dodick Fields served as co-chairs of the JCC Maccabi Games in San Francisco. Fine is vice president of the JCCSF board and Dodick Fields is a board member.