Maccabiah Games Rules: All Israeli citizens and Jewish persons nationally may compete in the Maccabiah. Events are held in the juniors, masters, and open divisions. Junior athletes qualify between the ages of 15-18. Similar to the Olympics Games, countries bring teams to the Maccabiah in order to compete against one another. Along with this, events or competitions only take place if four countries offer competitors to the given sport for males, and three for females and juniors.
Maccabiah Games Brief History: The Maccabiah Games were born in the mind of Yosef Yekutieli, a 15 year old boy that dreamed of the event on the heels of the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. Over a decade and a half later, Yekutieli, along with the Jewish National Fund, opened the first Maccabiah Games on March 28, 1932. Early events centered on athletics, football, and swimming. Their second event took place in April of 1935 and fielded 1350 competitors, a growth of 950 over the previous 400.
The games have been held roughly every four years since then, with a lost period between 1938 to 1950 due to Nazism in Europe and World War II.
Learn More About the Maccabiah Games: To learn more about the Maccabiah Games and the martial arts events there, go to Maccabi USA.
