Maccabiah Team Dominated by Valley Athletes

Eighty-eight young Jewish athletes, about half from the Valley, will represent Southern California in the North American Maccabiah Youth Games in Detroit from Aug. 19-26. The mini-Olympic-style competitions are modeled after the international Maccabiah Games held in Israel every four years.

The boys and girls range in age from 13 to 16 and have been selected via tryouts. They will compete in basketball, swimming, track and field, tennis, table tennis, soccer and karate.

The Los Angeles athletes won 38 medals in the 1988 Maccabiah competition in Chicago.

The purpose of the Maccabiah Youth Games is to give Jewish youth the opportunity to compete against other Jewish athletes and to take pride in athletic achievements.

More than 2,200 amateur athletes from 60 North American cities and 11 countries, including Israel, the Soviet Union, Australia, Mexico, Canada and several from South America, are scheduled to compete.