Day Three: Heat Waves and Pool Raves

Sydney put on its best Melbourne impression on Thursday as the weather shifted from one extreme to another. We began the day with in blistering heat with the mercury hitting a scarcely believable 40 degrees as participants sweated through their morning sporting exploits. Somewhat fortuitously, today was scheduled for indoor sports with futsal, basketball, volleyball and rock climbing on the agenda for the morning session.

It was clear to those who inquired that participants had only one thing on their mind today. “It is extremely hot, all I’m doing is looking for shade and air conditioning wherever I can find them!” proclaimed Riley Kovkin of New South Wales. Victorian Sam Rudzki shared Riley’s train of thought, “is it air conned?” Sam asked me longingly before quickly added, “Because if it is, I’m there!” before I even had a chance to retort.

Despite a fairly enjoyable morning sporting session, chaos quickly ensued as participants complained of heat stroke, exhaustion and tiredness. Following lunch, as the temperature continued to climb, a decision was made by carnival management to cancel our afternoon sporting session (which was due to comprise of futsal, basketball, volleyball and tenpin bowling) due to health risks associated with the weather.

“We were really looking forward to playing basketball with our friends,” said Felix Moses and Liyam Rabinowitz of New South Wales and Victoria respectively, “although everyone is sweaty and tired and we completely understand the decision to cancel.”

Following the departure of participants from the sporting arena, an equally perilous weather situation threatened to ruin yet another event. A nasty looking storm front was poised to strike Sydney and its surrounds during the evening – during which time, the kids of Carnival were meant to be enjoying a pool party at Botany Aquatic Centre. A decision was put off as long as possible before eventually deciding to go ahead with the party despite the potential for further rain.

“The forecast wasn’t looking great but we made a decision based on what we could foresee,” stated Carnival manager Justin Shelton, “after seeing how well all the participants enjoyed the night I’m glad we went ahead with it. Despite a few showers here and there the night was a success.”

Participants echoed Justin’s sentiments as many noted the arctic conditions on offer in the water. “The music is pumping and we’re having loads of fun, but the water is freezing!” asserted Georgia Goodson and Jasmine Simon, both native Victorians.

In summary, despite the temporary obstacles thrown our way by Mother Nature, the Carnival schedule managed to go ahead almost entirely as planned – with the exception of afternoon sport. Tomorrow is community day and will see participants head to various organisations located in and around Sydney to volunteer some of their time to those who need it most. It is a very important day for Carnival and Maccabi, one which will hopefully see the kids represent their community to the best of their ability.

Thanks for reading.

Tune in tomorrow evening for another instalment of all the news from #MaccabiCarni!

By Jake Rosengarten