JCC of Greater Washington Competes in 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh

The 2025 Jewish Community Center Maccabi Games were held Aug. 3 to 8 in an “Olympic Village”-style setting on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. According to Jeremy Schlafstein, the sports program manager at Bender JCC of Greater Washington, the delegation from the JCC of Greater Washington included 72 athletes, competing this year in basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer and more. The team is also comprised of teen athletes from across the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region, and they competed against teen athletes from all over the world.

This year marked a milestone for the Maccabi Games because it was the first time they were hosted in Pittsburgh to accommodate the growing interest in participation of the games, according to a press release from JCC Association of North America.

Held annually since 1982, the JCC Maccabi Games are North America’s largest Jewish youth sports event. Modeled after the Olympics, the Games not only focus on athletic competition but also aim to foster Jewish identity, community building and cultural exchange through sport.

“The JCC Maccabi mission complements our movement’s continental approach to teen engagement, offering Jewish youth a supportive environment that fosters mutual respect and healthy competition, and where they can interact in an atmosphere of sportsmanship, peoplehood and celebration. We couldn’t imagine better community partners than our friends at the University of Pittsburgh and a collection of regional civic, corporate and government leaders working together with our remarkable Jewish community to make this dream a reality,” JCC of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jason Kunzman stated in the press release.

According to Schlafstein, each night had a planned event in which the participants socialized outside of the sports environment.

“They’re billed as a sports event, which they are, but they’re really a teen social engagement opportunity that has a sports flavor,” said Phil Liebson, COO of Bender JCC.

“They may have been playing across the field or diamond or ice or whatever sport their entire lives, but now they’re actually getting together and finding commonality,” added Liebson. “It gives them a chance to be who they are and learn about other Jewish teens in the area and across the world.”

Just like the Olympic games, the Maccabi games also have a tradition of pin swapping. Liebson said they stepped up their pin game with an Alex Ovechkin-inspired pin that said “895 Team Greater Washington,” a nod to Ovechkin’s career goal tally, along with a “DMV” and “Greater Washington Bender JCC, JCC Maccabi Games” pin.

“All the kids, the coaches, the spectators, everyone has to wear credentials,” said Liebson. “What will end up happening by the end up of the games is all the kids’ lanyards will be filled with all their pins.”

More than 3,000 Jewish teens and coaches, along with thousands of spectators, volunteers and community members, are gathered for the Games this summer.

“The launch of our first-ever Campus Games marks a bold and timely evolution for the movement, showing Jewish teens what’s possible when they come together with pride, purpose and shared identity for a positive college campus-based experience. Today, when Jewish connection and unity are more important than ever, JCC Maccabi gives teens a joyful, formative experience that will stay with them for life.” said Samantha Cohen, senior vice president and continental director of JCC Maccabi, in the press release.

Local leaders of the delegation are echoing this sentiment.

“Hopefully they’ll just have a great experience where they want to come back and do it again next year,” added Schlafstein. “Maybe be a little closer to their Jewish identity and hopefully develop lifelong friendships.”

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