2026 JCC Maccabi Games

This August, nearly 3,000 Jewish teen athletes from around the world came together in Kansas City and Toronto for the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games - a week-long Olympic-style competition filled with Jewish pride, friendship, and unforgettable moments.

With a wide range of sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, baseball, and more, the Games united young athletes from 90 communities across 11 countries, alongside more than 10,000 local community members, thousands of volunteers, and 400 local host families who opened their homes to visiting athletes.

But JCC Maccabi has always been about much more than what happens on the field.

During the week, teens connected with Jewish culture, values, and identity while building friendships with peers from across the globe through volunteering, social and cultural events, and shared experiences - strengthening their sense of belonging.

The largest Israeli Delegation in Games History

Approximately 170 Israeli athletes and coaches joined the Games this summer - the largest Israeli delegation in JCC Maccabi Games history. Among them were 30 teens from Israel’s northern border communities and the Gaza Envelope, giving young people impacted by the ongoing war an opportunity for joy, connection, and meaningful encounters with Jewish teens from the Diaspora.

In addition, more than 20 Ukrainian teens and adults took part despite the ongoing war, marking the largest Ukrainian delegation in the Games' history. Six teens from Jewish military families also traveled from across the U.S., Japan and South Korea, connecting with a Jewish community that can be difficult to find amid frequent relocations.

Inspiration On and Off the Field

Participants also had the opportunity to meet an extraordinary group of Jewish and Israeli role models, including former hostage Omer Wenkert, former professional basketball player Tamir Goodman, Israeli Olympians Jared Firestone and Asaf Yasur, actor and singer James Maslow, social media activist Yoel Levy, and professional hockey players Chelsey Goldberg and Zach Hyman.

Through sports clinics, conversations, and special programs, these encounters gave teens another opportunity to connect with Israel, Jewish heritage, and the global Jewish community.

 Photos credit: Shawn Goldberg

This year also marked a new milestone for JCC Maccabi Access, with a record 35 athletes with developmental disabilities participating in the Games, including three athletes from Israel through a partnership with Eitan: Everybody Can.

Since 1982, the JCC Maccabi Games have created unforgettable experiences for generations of Jewish teens. More than four decades later, that legacy continues - with new friendships, new memories, and a new generation carrying the Maccabi spirit forward.