Maccabi Junior Carnival reached its conclusion for 2016 with
a frenetic last day filled with sport and festivities. We began bright and
early as participants headed to their indoor sports, which comprised of rock
climbing, basketball, futsal, volleyball and ten pin bowling.
Whilst a number of sports have been played in a purely
social capacity throughout the week, this was certainly not the case at boys
futsal. Amongst some unbelievable showings of individual skill on the pitch,
there were also some wonderful team efforts. The Victorian side that were
crowned champions in the year 8/9 category did so through teamwork and
co-operation rather than individual brilliance.
More highlights came as a handpicked all-star team of
participants faced off against a side comprising of the best footballers in the
ranks of both youth leaders and management. In a closely fought match the
leaders managed to defeat the participants with the score line at full-time
reading 4-1.
Following a hearty lunch, participants returned to their
various sports. The futsal arena now welcomed the year 6 and 7’s which saw a
New South Wales side overcome a hard-fighting group of Victorians to claim the
title.
At the conclusion of sport came the formal aspect of the
afternoon as carnival participants, leadership and important Maccabi figures
gathered at All Sorts Alexandria for the official Carnival closing ceremony.
Speeches from Carnival manager Justin Shelton, NSW team leader Joel Weiner,
President of Maccabi Australia Barry Smorgon OAM and an intimidating haka from
team NZ ensured Carnival was finished in style. Awards were handed out to a
participant or two from each state before representatives from team WA promoted
Maccabi Junior Carnival 2017 which is to be held in Perth.
Carnival had officially come to an end but the final social
event of the schedule still remained. Attractivity, a new arcade-style facility
located in Alexandria, welcomed Carnival with open arms and allowed unlimited
use of their extensive premises. Laser tag, bowling, arcade games, dodgem cars,
a ropes course and a 4D rollercoaster style game kept participants entertained
all evening long.
As parents arrived to collect their children, it slowly
became clear to participants that Carnival was over and the waterworks began. It
was great to see how much the friendships developed on Carnival meant to these
kids – hopefully they will last a lifetime.
Participants had a wide variety of perspectives on the week
that was – the following is a selection of just a few:
"Carni was great. The parties
were my favourite part. It was great being able to make new friends and share
some awesome experiences with them." - Ben Becker (NSW)
"It was amazing. My highlight
was white night. The entertainment was cool and being able to meet new people
was really fun. We think we have made some friendships that will last a lifetime"
- Lorri Gunn & Chloe Pamamull (VIC)
"It was amazing. My highlight was
soccer. I enjoyed it being competitive and the functions were really good as
well. On community day I went to friendship circle and it was great having that
feeling of helping someone who really needs it. It felt good." - Nicholas
Descy (QLD)
"It was really fun having people
from all different states down in Sydney and being able to show them our
lifestyle. Having been to Carni last year it’s been awesome seeing all the people
I formed friendships with last year and also making strong new relationships."
- Sabrina Staub (NSW)
"I only met my 3 billets on
carnival and we have quickly become one big family. I’m sure we’ll stay friends
for years to come " - Felix Moses (NSW)
This carnival we welcomed two all
abilities members to our team of youth leaders, both named Michael. They proved
excellent assets to the team – Mikey Sarif shared his thoughts on his experiences
leading on Carnival.
"I’ve loved Carnival and I love
looking after these kids. It’s been really challenging but also very rewarding.
I’ve always wanted to do this but I never got a chance to do it as a kid - it’s
kind of like a dream come true."
It’s been a fantastic week for
everyone involved in Maccabi Junior Carnival 2016 and a huge thank you must go
the way of Carnival manager Justin Shelton and his organising committee. We
hope everyone enjoyed their time on Carni and will be back to join us next year
in Perth!
Thanks for reading!
By Jake Rosengarten
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