Plans to farewell the Maccabiah delegation
Australia’s largest ever Maccabiah delegation will get the send-off they deserve before heading to Israel, with functions planned in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in May and June.
The events will allow friends and family to farewell Australia’s representatives before they compete in the 20th Maccabiah Games, and provide the first opportunity for athletes across various sports to meet each other, and to feel the build-up and hype of the Games before they board the plane to Israel.
Importantly, the events will also provide an opportunity to pause and reflect as well; the 20th Maccabiah is also 20 years from the tragedy that befell Maccabi in Australia with the bridge collapse at the 1997 Games. The farewell will incorporate a commemoration to honour and remember our friends and team-mates who we lost 20 years ago, and whose memories remain with Maccabi Australia, particularly every time the country returns to Israel for another Maccabiah.
While taking a moment to look back and remember the past, the event will also celebrate the outstanding preparation our team has made for 2017 and send them off in style.
The team captain will be announced and presented with the Maccabiah torch, uniforms will be unveiled and athletes will hear from Paralympic athlete and Maccabiah wheelchair gold medallist Adam Kellerman, who has a truly inspirational story to tell about his sporting journey and successes.
1997 Maccabiah squad member Josh Frydenberg, the Liberal member for Kooyong in Australia’s House of Representatives, will also be in attendance for the Sydney function.
“We want this farewell to be one of the highlights of our athletes’ Maccabiah journeys,” Australia’s Head of Delegation Tom York said.
“The first time squads from various sport get together for the first time is one of genuine excitement for athletes, who will start to feel the buzz, and the moment all their hard work has been put towards, is not far away now.
“We have made it our priority to make this Games all about our athletes, so to give them a fitting farewell has been a real passion of mine.
“I hope it becomes a function that becomes part of the Maccabiah calendar every four years; a great communal event, a reward for our athletes, a moment for family to be proud, and to inspire others to try to make it in four years time.”
