|
Today was the last day of the ISRAEL CONNECT (IC) program. We started the day with loading up buses and transitioned into a closing ceremony luncheon where we heard from top Maccabi USA leadership, the IC Co-Chairs Beth Margolis and Tonja Magerman, past Maccabiah athlete and ambassador to Team USA, Olympian Lenny Krayzleburg, and Israeli Paralympic Tennis Player, Noam Gershony. Noam shared his story of his time in the IDF, when he was a pilot and his plane collided with another plane, this left him paralyzed from the waist down. He began playing Paralympic tennis and competed in the 2012 London Paralympics. The athletes were truly touched by his incredible story.
We also heard Juniors Swimming athlete, Mila Fejzo perform the American national anthem as today is July 4th in America. As Americans we are celebrating the colors of red, white, and blue, and getting excited to compete and represent the USA!
Our age divisions are now split between Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv and we are looking forward to some great competition between the other Maccabi delegations. The rugby tournaments started today, we are looking forward to the preliminaries for Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Softball, Tennis, and more tomorrow. Go Team USA!
|
