When It Comes to Maccabi Youth, They Put the Fun Before the Games

Take the Olympics. Subtract a few sports, notably rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming. Smile.

Keep the opening and closing ceremonies. And the individual medal ceremonies in between.

Add the trendy 1990s sport of in-line hockey and the time-honored sport of golf, and the lineup for the Maccabi Youth Games is complete.

Geographically speaking, the games, which begin today in Newark, N.J. and involve Jewish athletes from around the nation, will pit city against city. Pittsburgh battles Detroit battles Chicago battles Los Angeles. But that’s less than half the battle.

A larger part of the Maccabi Games transcends competition.

The athletes do not stay in hotels or modernized villages. They’ll stay with volunteer host families in New Jersey. One family will host several athletes.

There are nightly activities, including a dance and a barbecue, and a daytime trip to New York City.

Competition? What competition?

“The Maccabi Games are known for being one of the best experiences in a teenager’s life,” said Natalie Gabor, 14, somewhat of an authority on the topic.

“You play what you’re in love with and you have a good time. You can’t beat that.”

Gabor, a sophomore-to-be at Grant High, will participate in soccer and is one of 124 Valley-area athletes representing the Los Angeles team.

She’s getting the message.

“It’s not just medals, it’s a social event too,” said Dr. Jerry Bobrow, chairman of the Greater Los Angeles delegation. “You form lifelong friends not only from far away, but you get to know people from your local area as well.”

Parents are forewarned. This event is for kids only.

If an athlete is caught at the hotel of his or her parents, an entire team may be disqualified.

The nucleus during the five days of competition are the host families. Parents may visit kids at the host’s house, but anything else is jeopardizing an athlete’s eligibility.

“It’s a kid thing,” Gabor said.

Brittany Bierman, 14, of Northridge, will play for tennis gold.

Bierman has already rubbed tennis elbows with Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors. She met them while doing ballgirl duties at the past five L.A. Open tournaments.

Playing in the Maccabi Games “gives you a feel of what competitive things are like,” Bierman said. “It shows you how to deal with pressure and winning and losing.”

Just the same, “I’m not going to make it too intense or else I’ll forget I’m supposed to have fun at it.”

The games are played on a national scale every two years, with a regional competition being played during off years.

The Los Angeles team has been cleaning up.

“We’ve been very fortunate the past few years,” said Bobrow, whose son, Adam, will be going for table tennis gold. “We easily won the most medals last year at the regional. We won more than the next two cities put together.”