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December 22, 2000/Kislev 25, 5761, Vol. 53, No.13
Students show sportsmanship at Maccabee Games in Phoenix
BETH OLSON
Editorial Assistant
Pupils from the Pardes Jewish Day School, The King David School and The Phoenix Hebrew Academy competed in the Maccabee Games 2000, Thursday, Dec. 14, at Solano Park in Phoenix.
The kindergarten through eighth-grade pupils competed in a variety of physical activities, including distance running, four-person relay, wacky relay, Hoola Hoop marathon, wheelbarrow race and three-legged race.
"All teams came equipped with team banners, team colors and lots of cheers," says Toby Indech, communications chairwoman for the Pardes school.
Based on points earned for winning races, good sportsmanship, cheering and good listening, the Academy won first place and Pardes and King David tied for second.
The local games were inspired by Israel's Maccabiah games held every four years since 1957, says Indech. The games originated in what was then Palestine in 1932, when 390 athletes from 17 countries participated; no games were held during World War II.
The name "Maccabiah" comes from the ancient Maccabees, Jewish rebels led by Judah Maccabi who liberated and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem from Antiochus Epiphanes, leader of the Greek army. They celebrated their victory with an eight-day festival that later became Hanukkah, meaning "rededication."
The Maccabee Games occur annually for the three local Jewish day schools.
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