Maccabi has restructured its swimming program to meet contemporary needs.
Jeff Sher
During the last Maccabiah Games in Israel, masters swimmers considered the standard, level of interest and participation rates of young athletes in the Maccabi swimming programs and the limited success Australia has had at previous Maccabiah Games. The problem stems from a number of structural problems in the way the sport is managed in Australia. Given the structure of swimming in Australia, many of the elite swimmers join clubs that have the level of professional coaches, facilities and programs that enable them to achieve their goals. Maccabi swimming cannot provide this level of support or elite training programs. However, the sentiment was that something needed to be done to develop Jewish swimming – it was at this time that Jeff Sher – a Masters swimmer himself, decided that a new approach was required and he formed the National swimming committee.
This committee is made up of the Presidents of each of the swimming clubs around the country, some knowledgeable swimming administrators and people who are keen to see the sport develop. The committee has been able to set aside state parochialism and establish a common set of goals, principles and objectives.
The committee has been functioning for almost a year now and under the chairmanship of Clive Aaron (another Masters swimmer) and has achieved some outstanding success. This illustrated by the fact that there is now an annual development program in place – Junior swimmers under the age of 14 are invited to attend at least 4 sessions a year at which they get the opportunity to meet other aspiring swimmers. At these sessions elite coaches and speakers are invited to help the kids with their swimming but also establish a development pathway for them – the goal being the 2013 Maccabiah. These programs are already underway in NSW and VIC and are being managed by the Rifkin brothers – both of whom are on the Maccabi young leader program. As important as it was for Sher to develop a unified body to build swimming, his aspirations were also to ensure that there was a succession plan and young leaders were being developed.
The swimmers that attend these programs will be shortlisted for the international events that Maccabi has to offer, being the JCC Games, PanAM games and the Maccabiah. Critically important is that this initiative has long term goals and will be used to develop the sport, no longer will swimmers just be able to put up their hand up 6-9 months out from the Maccabiah and express an interest in going, they will need to have shown interest in and participated in the development programs as well as participate in the Jewish Champs held in both Victoria and NSW.
This new approach to Jewish sport has had other important consequences, in that all of the swimming clubs around the country now support one brand, one uniform and one mission. As a result they have been able to leverage resources, this has meant access to cheaper sporting equipment, a unified approach to sponsors and the avoidance of duplication of effort.
The greatest testimony to the success of the National Committee was the recent MAIG’s competition – In June of this year, it became apparent that the number of overseas participants for the swimming competition was going to be dramatically down on 2006 and the swimming program was in fear of being cancelled. The National swimming committee was asked to pull together a National Jewish Championships at late notice. With the will to succeed and under the leadership of Clive Aaron and Jeff Sher the impossible was achieved – some 95 swimmers enrolled in the pool and ocean swim program which was conducted over a three day period – the feedback was so positive that the event is now being planned for every 2 years and will become the selection platform for those wishing to go to Maccabiah.
The model created by the National swimming committee is one that should be admired and respected as it has taken the management of Jewish sport to another level and has provided a development pathway for young swimmers, a leadership succession plan for the next generation and has given impetus to a sport that was in decline.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the swimming program, the objectives of the National committee and/or just to enroll as a junior, open or masters swimmer in one of the many events on offer – please contact either Jeff Sher on 0412 000 299 or Clive Aaron on 0411 710 965
12-yr-old Jemima Montag won the 14.3 km race walk at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships becoming the fastest for her age in the country.
Jemima Montag
Club athlete and Wesley student Montag, representing Victoria, easily won the under 14 event at the meet in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster. In an outstanding performance and despite the heat, Jemima defeated the opposition convincingly winning by over 20 seconds in the time of 14 minutes 49.56 seconds. Jemima has attracted the attention of the top Australian walk coaches and selectors – so hopefully this is just the beginning of a great future in race walking.
Maccabi Victoria has held its first SnowSport Carnival.
Marcel Dayan reports on the highly successful event which was held at Mt Buller earlier this month.
Mark Kagan
The Lieberman Family
With the aim of complementing the popular Jewish Interschools SnowSports, the Maccabi Carnival aimed to enhance the social component of the event and open up the competition to the entire Jewish community. Sponsored by the AJAX Ski Club and hosted by Maccabi Victoria, the event was superbly supported by Moriah College, Bialik College and Mt Scopus College who contributed between them 98 of the 120 student competitors. In addition, there were a further 14 adult competitors.
The carnival opened on the Sunday evening with a student social event, which included rock climbing/abseiling, archery, bungy tramp, ball sports and quiz and trivia, allowing students to connect and form new friendships. Concurrently an adult social event was held at the AJAX lodge, encouraging parents and other members of community to meet in a new environment.
The Monday race day dawned foggy and very windy, but with a covering of 15 cm of fresh snow. The racetrack, already moved from Skyline to the Summit, was again moved 45 minutes before the start to Bourke St. Despite these difficulties the races went off smoothly and finished on time. The races included 4 divisions of student skiing, 3 divisions of student snowboarding, a Masters competition (over 50), an open competition and an all abilities division for both males and females.
The after race function at the ABOM was very well attended and the trophy winners were roundly applauded. Results are available on the Maccabi Web Site http://www.macvic.com.au/News and Events. Feedback from participants was very positive and the sponsors who made this event possible.
Next year organisers hope for participation from more Jewish students and Jewish schools in Victoria as well as from other Australian States and New Zealand and that ultimately this event will complement the Maccabi Junior Carnival in connecting our community through sport.
Victorian Maccabi Junior Carnival competitor nets a netbook….
Alana Swersky
13-yr-old Alana Swersky from Caulfield North was taking no chances to secure her spot for the 29th Junior Carnival, which promises to the biggest and best Junior Carnival to date. Alana can’t wait to go to her first Junior Carnival as “it’s a great opportunity to meet new people from all different states and make new friendships.” Alana, who was one of the many ‘early birds’ who registered on-line before 15 June to go in the running to win a Dell Inspiron 10 Netbook, kindly donated by In Demand was thrilled to hear of her win.
Mazal Tov Alana!
The Maccabi Ajax Masters swimming club has raised $10,150 for Multiple Sclerosis research.
The Melbourne-based club participated in the 2009 MSAC( Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre) 24 Hour Mega Swim in order to raise funds for people affected by multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is the most common disease of the central nervous system and affects over 18,000 Australians.
The 24 Hour Mega Swim attracted around 130 swimmers who not only swam in relay format over the 24 hours but also set about raising money for MS. The total amount of money raised at the MSAC pool was $27,321 of which Maccabi Ajax contributed $10,150 – a fantastic result.
The team of .. Jeff Sher, Clive Aaron Max Michael, Danny Burger, Nikki Burger, Jeff Lipshutz, Gavin Davis, Joe & Vicky Kuriel, Lev Cherkasski, Michael Schenberg, Mark Silver, Rachelle Buchbinder, Kerryn Cohen, Barry Friedman, Megan Ellinson, Jose Crestanello – swam a total of 78 kilometres over the period – this represents around 3.25 kilometres per hour.
The Club was presented with a number of awards including: The winning team at the event – the award presented for the combination of the highest amount of dollars raised as a team and the longest distance swum over the 24 hours.
This is a great achievement for the swimmers involved especially as the team was made up of the Masters swimmers from the Victorian swim club. The team is already planning their entry into next years event.
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