Hosting the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson this summer will be a true community effort. More than 1,000 volunteers, 350 host families, and up to 100 local athletes ages 12-17 will be recruited to join staff members of the Tucson Jewish Community Center in creating a memorable Olympic-style sports competition for Jewish teens.
The teens are the main focus, says Josh Shenker, Tucson J chief operating officer and Maccabi Games director. He’s been Tucson’s delegation head since 2017.
“Are the teens going to like this? Is this going to enhance their experience?” is always on Shenker’s mind. He says the same applies to Tucson J President and CEO Todd Rockoff, Tucson J Maccabi Games Assistant Director Marcus Mendleson, and the 11 Maccabi Games volunteer committees.
The Tucson Games will be held July 27-Aug. 1, with around 1,000 teens from North America, Mexico, Israel, and other countries participating. Tucson last hosted the Games in 2000.
Access is a JCC Maccabi Games experience for participants with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This is the first year Access will be a permanent part of the Games, following a three-year pilot period, says Rockoff, one of the founders of the committee that created Access.
Rockoff expects 30 to 40 Access participants at the Tucson Games, with up to five coming from the local community.
“There’s a blend of distinct activities, where those kids will compete amongst themselves, and then there are opportunities for them to participate with the rest of the JCC Maccabi athletes,” Rockoff says. “It’s dually beneficial.”
A “JCC Cares” social service project is integral to every JCC Maccabi Games experience. Past Tucson delegations participated in activities such as touring a civil rights museum in Birmingham, Alabama, and making dolls to give to children in hospitals in Detroit.
Tucson’s JCC Maccabi planners are seeking a project “that will be meaningful for the kids and leave a real and tangible benefit for our community,” Rockoff says, “something that people can look at and say, ‘Here is a presenting situation in Southern Arizona and here’s what we did to help.’”
Mendleson’s role includes overseeing Jewish programming for the Tucson Games.
“For some of the kids coming, this will be their only Jewish involvement in their day-to-day lives,” he says.
According to the JCC Association, 64% of the teens who participated in the 2024 Games were not involved in another Jewish teen organization. As a result of the Games, 88% of the participants felt an increased sense of Jewish pride, and 91% learned or confirmed that being Jewish is important to their identity.
Along with the JCC Cares project, which emphasizes the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (“repairing the world”), Mendleson says the main focus of Jewish programming will be “Hang Time,” a space at the J that will be available to the teens throughout the competition, where they can hang out with their friends and meet new friends.
Israeli staff members, including senior community shlicha (Israeli emissary) Yuval Malka, next summer’s Camp J shlichim, and three to five JCC Maccabi shlichim who will be here exclusively for the week of the Games, will staff the Hang Time space. In December the J will welcome an additional Israeli emissary, who will be the lead JCC Maccabi Shlicha, to head up Hang Time programming, and remain through November 2025 as part of Post Games efforts.
Barney Holtzman, chair of Tucson’s Maccabi Games steering committee, joined the Tucson delegation in Detroit last summer.
“I got to see what it meant to the Tucson kids to connect with and join in a positive event with other Jewish teens, to celebrate with them, and to hang out and get to know people from all across the country,” he says. “It was really a special event.”
The J will look to both the Jewish community and the broader community for volunteers for the week of the Games “to fill a whole variety of roles from serving lunch to keeping score to being a greeter,” Rockoff says, adding that the endeavor “is meant to be a benefit and a fun activity for the entire community.”
Tucson’s Games will include baseball, basketball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, 3×3 basketball, dance, golf, swimming, star reporter, and tennis.
The star reporter role, Mendleson explains, is designed for kids who don’t want to participate in athletics. While each city can put its own spin on the experience, It typically involves interviewing athletes and coaches and posting social media videos.
“It’s an amazing addition to the Games,” he says. “You see some of these kids who can be maybe more shy, and all of a sudden seeing them taking control among athletic kids who sometimes can be more outgoing, and seeing them blossom in their way, is incredible.”
Due to Tucson’s summer heat, outdoor activities will be held early in the day. All events will have plenty of water and ice on hand, says Rockoff, who notes that as a delegation member in other cities, he has picked up on small but important details such as the most effective placement of water stations.
Rockoff says JCC Maccabi steering committee members who attended the Games in Detroit and Houston last summer “not only enjoyed the Games but came with clipboards to interview their counterparts,” returning with many ideas to make the 2025 Games memorable.
Competition venues throughout the city will be used along with the J, although as a security measure, details will not be shared publicly.
Besides the economic benefit of bringing thousands of visitors to Tucson, Holtzman says, the Games inspire a sense of Jewish pride and connection for the teens and foster a positive view of the Jewish community.
“It’s no secret that there’s a lot of negative press about Jews and Judaism and Israel out there right now,” he says
For Jewish teens to participate in “a positive gathering and doing good” for the whole community, he says, “it’s great and very important at this time.”
More information about the JCC Maccabi Games including an interest form for athletes, hosts, and volunteers is available on the J’s website.
