For three Ottawa-area teens, the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games not only served as a chance to compete in their favourite sport but also provided them a unique opportunity to connect with other Jews their age through common interests.

This summer, the Games were held in Toronto and Kansas City and brought together roughly 3,000 teen athletes from across North America and the world. While there was no official Ottawa delegation, local athletes Jake Surkes Lithwick, Adam Medicoff-Sander, and Jonathan Fruchterman joined Team Windsor to compete in hockey and baseball.

While they were competing under Windsor’s banner, they still carried the spirit of the National Capital Region with them.

“It felt amazing to be a part of it,” said Medicoff-Sander, who was on the 17u Baseball team. “It was so special to represent our country, in our country.”

Fruchterman, who lives across the river in Gatineau, said that his experience was slightly different, since his hockey team was made up of athletes from many different cities, including Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Montreal. 

The Games in Toronto were one part of this year’s North American JCC Maccabi Games, with other events taking place in Kansas City. Approximately two-thirds of the participants competed in Toronto. Delegations from smaller communities were often combined into multi-community teams, creating opportunities for teens from different parts of the continent to form friendships.

For Surkes Lithwick, one of the most striking parts of the experience was simply being surrounded by other Jewish teens who shared his passion for sports.

“I played with 13 Jews on my baseball team, when, in my six years of playing baseball, I played with one in total,” he said. 

Fruchterman echoed this feeling. Growing up in Gatineau, he said he has rarely encountered large numbers of Jewish peers, making the experience of seeing thousands of Jewish athletes gathered particularly meaningful.
 “Seeing thousands of Jewish athletes at once was just insane,” Fruchterman said.

That sense of belonging extended beyond their respective sports. At a time when antisemitism is on many Jewish people’s minds, being able to openly express who they are, such as by wearing a Magen David or chai necklace, putting on tefillin, or simply being surrounded by people who understood their traditions and experiences, was poignant for the athletes and their parents alike.

During the opening ceremonies, the Ottawa teens were taken aback by the various speakers and events. One touching moment was when they heard from a former hostage, who spoke about his experience and offered a reminder that the Maccabi Games were about more than winning medals, but also about standing together as a global Jewish community.

There were also several memorable athletic moments. Medicoff-Sander competed on a mixed baseball team made up of athletes from several communities. After losing in the semifinals, the team rallied together to take home bronze against the Los Angeles team.

Even though some of the teammates had only met days prior, Medicoff-Sander said they quickly developed a strong bond.

“We really rallied around one another and started cheering each other on,” he said. “We became like a family.”

This is a testament to what the JCC Maccabi Games are all about: using sport as a vehicle for Jewish connection and friendship.

The experience also created friendship that extended beyond the Games. Surkes Lithwick made friends on his team from California and was invited to visit next year for Passover. Fruchterman also is hoping to visit friends he made through the Games in Detroit.

For the parents who joined their teens, there was a sense of hope for the future offered by the Games. It drove home the importance of giving young people opportunities to strengthen Jewish foundations.

“We have a responsibility to continue encouraging and supporting our kids as they grow,” said Rabbi Dara Lithwick, who accompanied her son to the games. “We need to encourage them to live their dreams and build bridges with one another in any way we can.”

To learn more about this year’s JCC Maccabi Games, you can check out their website here.