It was with heartfelt pride that the SAZF Cape Council recently held a farewell for the WP Maccabiah participants.
The Maccabiah, known as the ‘Jewish Olympics’, brings together Jews from throughout the Diaspora to Israel to participate in various sporting events and interact with fellow Jews.
This year’s Western Cape delegation numbered 74, a significant increase from the 17 who participated four years ago. WP Maccabi Chairman Darryn Lazarus commented that increasing the numbers of participants has been one of the main objectives of the organisation. They also aimed to create sustainability through regular training sessions, matches and tournaments and introducing new sporting codes.
SA National Chairman Cliff Garrun said that the national delegation is the largest ever, and for the first time South Africa would be represented in Junior Basketball, Junior Girl’s Football, Senior Futsal and Junior Fencing. All four codes are predominantly made up of WP representatives and are reflective of the continuous work done by WP Maccabi and its outstanding leadership in the past few years.
Other sports being represented by Western Cape participants are: Junior Swimming; Junior Boys Football, Junior Rugby; Junior Tennis; Junior Table Tennis; Junior Chess; Junior Netball; Junior Cricket; Open Football; Senior Cricket; Senior Golf; Senior Tennis, Senior Cycling and Senior Bowls.
Prior to the kits and gifts being handed over to the participants, a banner was unveiled, which formed part of the SA Maccabi march at the opening ceremony on 18 July, where some 35,000 Jews were present. The banner depicted former president Nelson Mandela, whose birthday is celebrated on that day, and states ‘Celebrating Our Legacy …. Mandela Day… 18 July 2013’. Thank you to all the sponsors of the kits, gifts and more.
Should you wish to obtain further details regarding WP Maccabi, please contact wp@maccabi.co.za