Published: 25 March 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
COVID-19 HAS CLAIMED another sporting victim, with the 2021 Maccabiah set to be delayed by 12 months.
The Maccabi World Union is finalising moves to delay the ‘Jewish Olympics’ until July 2022. It follows in the footsteps of other major international sporting competitions such as the Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020, which have both been delayed until next year because of the coronavirus.
The Maccabiah has traditionally been held one year after the summer Olympic Games.
The postponement will have major ramifications for Maccabi Australia, whose preparations for next year started to ramp up in recent weeks with the finalisation of the management team and a series of standing-room only athlete information sessions in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
There have already been 274 nominations by Jewish athletes from around Australia to attend the 2021 Maccabiah.
Australian head of delegation Barry Smorgon said the 12-month delay, while inevitable and the right thing to do, was nevertheless “so disappointing” for the athletes, coaches and officials who had already begun their preparations.
“There was no practical way the Games could have been held next year,” he told The Jewish Independent.
“All management positions have been suspended and we will reconvene next year working on the assumption we will be in Israel in July 2022.”
Maccabi Australia is yet to determine what the impending economic downturn will do the size of the team in 2022 or for the cost of attending.
Australia sent 563 athletes to Israel in 2017, each paying about A$12,000 for the three-week trip. Organisers were anticipating a cost of around $13,500 per athlete in 2021, depending on the exchange rate. All costs paid by Maccabi Australia to MWU are paid in US dollars.
The lingering effect of the coronavirus on the business community might also affect fundraising efforts and the willingness of high net worth individuals who traditionally support Maccabi to give their usual amounts.
In addition to the team, another 500 supporters travelled to Israel for the Games in 2017. All up, 10,000 athletes took part. When competitors,family and friends are added up, it provides a massive economic boon to Israel.
Already, there is speculation that the Israeli government might be asked to step in and help underwrite the 2022 Games or to provide some fee relief if the costs of attending become too prohibitive for athletes.
“It’s an important issue for Israel,” Smorgon said. “The Maccabiah plays a huge role in Israel-Diaspora relationships and there is so much money spent in the country while the Games are on. You can’t get a hotel room anywhere.”
Junior athletes are the ones most likely to be affected by the date change. Some won’t be eligible to compete in 2022 because they would be no longer age eligible or they may be in their final year of school. Others will fall between the cracks because they’re not yet competing at a high enough standard for open competition.
“They’re the unfortunate ones in all of this because some of them might never get the opportunity to do it again,” Smorgon said.
The Maccabiah Games were first held in what was then Palestine in 1932, suspended during World War II and resumed in 1950. Australia has competed at every Maccabiah since 1957.
International cricketers Michael Klinger and Julien Wiener, as well as track and field stars Steven Solomon and Jemima Montag, are among the leading Australian Jewish athletes who have competed at the Maccabiah during their careers.
Photo: Australian team at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel (Times of Israel)
