SwimRVA received exciting news this week as Rapids Head Coach Jonathan Kaplan was named as the Head Coach for Team USA Swimming at the Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer. Over the course of the competition, Jonathan will be coaching a roster of 24 elite swimmers, composed of 12 men and 12 women.
The Maccabiah Games is an Olympic-style, multi-sport competition that is open to Jewish athletes from around the world. The Games are organized into four divisions:
- Open – The Open games are generally unlimited in age, and are intended for the best athletes from each delegation, bound by the governing international rules in each sport.
- Junior – The Junior Maccabiah games are open to any qualifying athlete aged 15–18.
- Masters – The Masters games are for older competitors; they are divided into a number of different age categories.
- Paralympic – The Paralympic games are generally open to all athletes with a range of physical and intellectual disabilities.
With these divisions, the Games strive to bring athletes of all ages and backgrounds together to share their culture, history and values. With just over 10,000 competing athletes, the Maccabiah Games is the third-largest sporting event in the world by number of competitors, behind the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Occurring once every four years, the Games feature 85 participating countries across 42 sports.
Olympic-caliber athletes are no strangers to the Maccabiah Games. Notable swimmers that have competed for Team USA include Mark Spitz, Lenny Krayzelburg, Jason Lezak, Anthony Ervin, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Scott Goldblatt.
The experience begins with Israel Connect, a program that allows all participants to visit important historical and cultural sites such as the Western Wall, Yad Vashemm, Masada, and more in efforts to create a connection between the athletes and the State of Israel. Athletes will then travel to Natanya for the Games, which will kick off with an opening ceremony attended by over 30,000 people. For the sport of swimming, the meet format will mirror a traditional four-day competition with prelims and finals opportunities. A closing ceremony will take place after all sporting events have concluded, with a closing speech and large artistic displays of music, singing, and dance.
SwimRVA is thrilled for Jonathan and this well-deserved opportunity! We cannot wait to follow his journey leading Team USA and look forward to the wealth of valuable experience that he will gain and inevitably bring back to strengthen our program even further.