Maccabiah revival for Aussie women’s hockey
It was 2009 when Australia last fielded a women’s hockey team at the Maccabiah Games. But after a 13-year hiatus, there will be a Green and Gold women’s hockey squad once again, at the 2022 Games in Israel this July.
Playing a big role in the team’s reformation is Maccabi Australia life member and former president Lisa Borowick, and her daughters Shani and Tali, who play for Maccabi Victoria Hockey Club’s (MVHC) women’s side.
The seed was planted in early 2017, when Lisa asked her daughters – who at the time were playing in a Maccabi U16 boys’ team – to begin actively recruiting Jewish girls to play competition hockey.
MVHC established a women’s team that year, which now plays in Hockey Victoria’s women’s Metro 1 south competition, forming a pathway system towards Maccabiah.
Lisa, who will be the squad’s manager at the Games, said, “I can’t wait to see the Aussie women take to the hockey pitch in Israel.”
Australia’s men’s squad won silver at the 2017 Games and will be medal contenders again.
Meanwhile, in round 1 of the 2022 Hockey Victoria season last weekend, Shani Borowick scored both goals in the Maccabi women’s 2-1 win over Casey at Elwood.
The club’s men’s pennant E south-east team won their season opener 3-1 versus Doncaster 3-1, with goals to Daniel Guttman, Bjay Hoffman and Ben Kaye.
In the men’s Metro 2 central league, Maccabi lost a high-scoring game 4-6 to Old Carey Black in which Jordan Treger scored a hat-trick, and Lior Aufgang a goal.
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