Jewish sport shorts from around our grounds
MACCABI LIFE
Pilates in the Park
A fun, new and free Maccabi Life outdoor community exercise series in Sydney and Melbourne, called Maccabi LIFE in the Park, will begin simultaneously in both cities with a Pilates demo session – on Sunday, February 27, from 8.30am (for a 9am start).
The series aims to begin your year with vitality and motivation, so you can continue your fitness journey, and feel your best.
Bring a mat, water bottle, and towel, for the 45-minute class, to be led (in Sydney) by Alex Cohen from Bay Pilates, and (in Melbourne) by Jemima Hiscock from KX Pilates Caulfield.
Online registration is required.
The Sydney event will be at Centennial Park, near Willow Pond (enter via the York Road gates). To register, visit maccabiupdates.com/event-details/macccabi-life-in-the-park-pilates-nsw-1
The Melbourne event will be at Caulfield Park near the bridge by the lake. To register, visit maccabi updates.com/event-details/maccabi-life-in-the-park-pilates-vic
FOOTBALL
Swibel gains game time
It was a big week in Jewish football, from the A-League to the NSW state leagues.
After getting his first decent time on the field as a sub for the Western Sydney Wanderers a fortnight ago against Melbourne City, former Hakoah FC junior and Sydney FC player Jordi Swibel, 22, was again shown confidence by the club’s new coach, Mark Rudan, in an exciting 2-3 away loss against Western United on February 20.
Swibel was injected into the game in the 73rd minute, when United held a 3-1 lead.
Earlier in the game, Israeli striker Tomer Hemed, who had missed a couple of games due to a thigh injury, scored a penalty goal for the Wanderers in the 51st minute, before being rested in the 67th minute.
The Wanderers slipped to 9th after a 0-1 away loss to the Newcastle Jets on February 23 – a game in which Hemed started on the bench, but played for the last 35 minutes, when the Wanderers were already a goal down. Swibel was not called on to play in this game.
On Sunday, February 27, the Wanderers will host Hemed’s previous club, the Wellington Phoenix, in a must-win match for the Red and Blacks.
Meanwhile, after a solid pre-season, Hakoah FC’s NSW NPL Youth League 2 boys’ season got under way on Saturday, February 19, with mixed results against the Northbridge Bulls.
Hakoah’s U18 team had a narrow 1-2 loss, and their U15s and U14s both had losses, but their U16s posted a dominant 3-1 win, and their U13s also won, 1-0.
And a solid number of Jewish players are involved in the NSW Women’s Football League One 2022 season, which kicked off on February 20.
UNSW FC – whose squad includes Hannah Charak, Lara Joffe, Ronit and Sophie Goldman, and Lila Greenberg – beat the South Coast Flame 3-2 in round one, while Nepean FC, whose squad includes Jordan Weizman, fell 0-4 to St George FC.
SWIMMING
Talent pool in Melbourne
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre hosted the second leg of the 2022 World Para Swimming Series from February 18-20, featuring Jewish Paralympian and North Sydney Swim Club rep Matt Levy.
Levy, 35, had a great meet, winning gold in both the men’s 50 and 100 breaststroke finals, and bronze in the 100 free.
He continues to show the form he was in at last year’s Tokyo Paralympic Games, where he won a gold medal and a bronze.
At the same time and venue as the Melbourne World Para Swimming meet, the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships were held, featuring three Jewish swimmers.
Benno Negri, 23, was part of Melbourne Vicentre teams that won gold in the men’s 4×100 free relay, and silver in both the open mixed 4×50 free relay, and the men’s 4×100 medley relay.
He also came first in the men’s 200m free ‘B’ final (1:50.49), 5th in the 50 free ‘A’ final (23.55) and 6th in the 100 free ‘A’ final.
His brother Seba, 17, was in MLC Aquatic’s 4×50 free relay team that finished 4th, and he also swam in several individual events, including the men’s 50 fly, when he clocked 26.82 seconds to make the ‘B’ final.
And 15-year-old Surrey Park Swim Club rep Tali Gant also competed, coming 23rd in a field of 52 in the women’s 100 free (1:00.54) and 32nd in the women’s 100 breaststroke (1:21.14).
CYCLING
Ready for Rambam Ride
Safe cycling advocate and former cycling commentator Mike Tomalaris is a good sport.
He did a video message for Maccabi Cycling Victoria and Australian Friends of Rambam, to promote their fourth annual Rambam Ride.
It will be held from 7.30am on February 27 from Maccabi headquarters on Hawthorn Road, Caulfield, to raise funds for research into sudden heart failure, the biggest cause of death for Australians under 50.
There are options to ride 20km or 45km. As Tomalaris urges, please dig deep for a great cause.
To register or donate, visit mycause.com.au/events/rambamride4
MACCABI VICTORIA
Winter junior basketball registrations open
ALTHOUGH it is technically still summer, the time has come to think about the junior winter basketball season.
Registrations have opened at Maccabi Victoria Basketball Club for junior players who would like to play in the 2022 winter season in either the Waverley or McKinnon Basketball Association competitions, which start on April 30.
To find out more or to register, visit maccabibasketball.com.au/copy-of-winter-registration.
comments