Over the last 10 days, our entire delegation of athletes, coaches, managers, medical providers, security, and supporters have grown together through our shared experiences in Budapest. This gem of a city - full of history, culture, and charm - has been an incredible backdrop for the 2019 European Maccabi Games.
Our athletes have done their best while wearing "USA" on their uniform. They have made us proud in the way they played and in the way they demonstrated sportsmanship even during the most intense of matches. And their accomplishments have resulted in 155 medals: 75 gold, 43 silver, and 37 bronze.
One highlight of the games was the opportunity for our Youth Male Basketball team to play against a team of Israeli Special Olympians. The display of sportsmanship on and off the court was a perfect embodiment of the Maccabi spirit.
Congratulations to all the athletes who participated in these Games. Even though our time in Budapest is coming to a close, this is certainly not an ending. Rather, it's the next step in your Maccabi journey, which we hope will include participation in future games and involvement in other areas of the organization, such as recruiting other athletes/coaches, serving as an ambassador, helping stage Fun Runs in your community, and so much more. If you are interested in connecting further than our email system, please reach out to
Koty Marine
to get more involved.
It's been a true honor and pleasure to serve as the Co-Team Managers for this delegation. Whenever you bring a diverse group of individuals together as part of a multi-sport event, it's difficult to truly know what to expect. Along the way, we certainly faced challenges which required extra patience and an extra calm disposition, but we hope our teams always felt supported and cared for throughout these Games. To us, achieving that is a gold medal!
But we too are part of a great team that includes more than 50 volunteers who dedicated personal resources and time to the success of our team. In particular, we want to thank our incredible managers -- Cathy Backal, Bryan Bierman, Shane Carr, Stuart Chason, Steve Graber, Stuart Greenberg, Limor Gurevich, Sasha Klimchuk, and Cori Neidenberg -- who really went above and beyond to make sure our teams had what they needed to be successful. We also thank the entire medical team, led by head doctor Marc Backal, and the entire security team, led by Joe Gehr, for being our partners in maintaining the health and safety of our delegation. And we are truly grateful to Debbie Adams, Jeff Bukantz, and Marshall Einhorn for their constant support and partnership in planning for these games and to Shane Carr and Dan Kurtz for their wisdom, candor, and advice while leading this team.
Make plans now to be part of our team at the 21st World Maccabiah Games in Israel in July 2021. We can't wait to see you there!
Chazak v'Amatz,
Fanchon Auman and Matthew Halpern
Co-Team Managers
