Maccabiah management team commended
FORMER secretary general of the Australian Olympic Committee, Robert Elphinston OAM, has commended the Maccabi management on its work leading up to the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel in July.
FORMER secretary general of the Australian Olympic Committee, Robert Elphinston OAM, has commended the Maccabi management on its work leading up to the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel in July.
Elphinston was one of the key players in landing and organising the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and was the keynote speaker at a meeting of Australia’s Maccabiah Games management team near Phillip Island for a crucial weekend of planning ahead of the Games.
Elphinston facilitated the leadership workshop, which brought together management from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. It was the first time the group, have been brought together before the Games.
Elphinston reminded the management team that there are now less than three months to go until the Games begin, but he recognised that this was the best preparation he has seen in his involvement with Maccabi over the years.
“I’ve been at a couple of team workshops like this for Maccabi, and this is by far the most advanced I’ve been at,” Elphinston said.
The weekend allowed medical, media, security, logistical and sporting plans to be discussed amongst the leadership team.
Elphinston, an inspirational and engaging speaker whose current roles include consulting on which sports should be included in future Olympic Games, said he was impressed by what he saw.
“You have some amazing people who have committed a lot of their life to the Maccabi movement. The fact that you can take such a huge team – like 400 people – to the Maccabiah Games and be if not the number one nation, then close to it, is a remarkable effort. The whole Maccabi movement deserves recognition.”
He added that the young demographic of the audience re-assured him that the future of the organisation was also in bright and safe hands.
“You’re building a body of knowledge … [and] I’m seeing the legacy being passed on by the experienced to new, young people, becoming involved in the team leadership.”
AJN Staff
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