The JCC Maccabi Games is an Olympic style event held annually for Jewish youth between the ages of 13 and 17, hosted by JCC Association of North America. It is the largest Jewish youth sporting event in the world. Each summer, approximately 3,000 Jewish teen athletes from over 75 communities around the world convene for a week of individual and team athletic competition in one of several host communities in North America. The games were first held in 1982International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Memphis, Tennessee, with sponsorship by the Memphis Jewish Community Center. More than 500,000 athletes from around the globe have participated in the Games' over 40 year history. The JCC Maccabi Games' aim is to foster Jewish identity while developing national interest in Olympic sport through the Jewish Community Center's affiliation with the United States Olympic Committee.
JCC Maccabi works in partnership with Maccabi World Union, Maccabi Canada and Maccabi USA to create a global experience that provides a springboard for local JCCs to create year-round engagement.
Generally the Maccabiah Games are held once every 4 years in the summer in Israel. Due to the war with Iran, the Maccabiah 2025 was postponed to summer 2026. and will take place from June 30 to July 14, 2026,
There are 14 competitive sports contested each year including: Baseball In-line hockey Volleyball Soccer Basketball Swimming Tennis Table tennis Dance Golf Track & field Lacrosse
Locations held
1982: Memphis 1984: Detroit 1985: Columbus 1986: Toronto (Canada) 1987: Cleveland, North Miami Beach 1988: Chicago 1989: Pittsburgh 1990: Detroit 1991: Cleveland, Omaha, Wayne, NJ 1992: Baltimore 1993: Boston, Pittsburgh, Sarasota, St. Louis 1994: Cleveland 1995: Columbus, Houston, Long Island, Los Angeles, Orlando 1996: MetroWest, NJ; St. Louis 1997: Hartford, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Sarasota, Seattle 1998: Charlotte, Detroit 1999: Cherry Hill, Columbus, Houston, Rochester 2000: Boca Raton, Cincinnati, Richmond, Staten Island,Tucson 2001: Atlanta, Miami, Monmouth, Philadelphia, Sarasota 2002: Baltimore, Montreal, Omaha, Springfield 2003: Houston, St. Louis, Tenafly 2004: Austin, Boston, Columbus; Greater Washington, MD 2005: Dallas, Richmond, San Antonio; St. Paul, MN 2006: Baltimore; Greater Phoenix, AZ; Stamford; Vancouver, BC 2007: Baltimore, Boca Raton; Deal, NJ; Orange County 2008: Akron, Detroit, Minneapolis, Northern Virginia, San Diego 2009: New Orleans, Orange County, San Francisco, San Antonio; Westchester County, NY(USA) 2010: Baltimore, Denver, Omaha, Richmond, San Rafael 2011: Springfield, Philadelphia, Israel 2012: Houston, Rockland, Memphis 2013: Austin, Orange County 2014: Cherry Hill, Boca Raton, Detroit 2015: Milwaukee, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale 2016: Columbus, St. Louis, Stamford 2017: Birmingham, Albany/Schenectady, Miami 2018: Orange County/Long Beach 2019: Atlanta, Detroit 2022: San Diego 2023: Israel, Fort Lauderdale 2024: Detroit, Houston 2025: Tucson, Pittsburgh 2026: Toronto, Kansas City
References