The JCC Maccabi Games®, a flagship program of JCC Association of North America, has announced exciting developments for 2025 and 2026. Celebrating over 40 years as one of the largest in-person gatherings of Jewish community in North America, the Games have engaged more than 500,000 individuals to date. This summer, JCC Association will launch the inaugural JCC Maccabi Campus Games in Pittsburgh, a new continental pilot that will enhance the Games’ capacity to accommodate an overdemand of participants. Also in 2025, Tucson will host the JCC Maccabi Games and Access, providing an inclusive platform for participants with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Kansas City and Toronto have been selected as the host cities for 2026, exemplifying the program’s significant and ongoing growth.
“Now more than ever, engaging our youth and uniting our community in positive, prideful Jewish identity-building experiences is essential. We are excited about the future of JCC Maccabi and how our upcoming host cities and compelling new initiatives will inspire the next generation of Jewish youth to embrace their identity and leadership opportunities,” said Samantha Cohen, senior vice president and continental director of JCC Maccabi. “JCC Maccabi is poised for unparalleled growth and impact, and the launch of innovative programming combined with groundbreaking philanthropic support underscores the Games’ stability, momentum, and our trajectory to achieve even greater reach and influence than ever before.”
The recent success of JCC Maccabi has been fueled by unprecedented investment from a growing number of donors who recognize the profound impact the Games have on young participants, their families, and entire communities. This collective commitment has driven more than $8 million in funding toward the $18 million strategic expansion goal of JCC Maccabi, with support from significant continental partners. Among them are The Marcus Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Samueli Foundation, Seed the Dream Foundation, David and Sharon Wax, Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs, and others. The ongoing strategic expansion began in 2022 with the re-launch of the JCC Maccabi Games after the pandemic; the inaugural JCC Maccabi Access Games; and the first quadrennial JCC Maccabi Games in Israel in 2023, which, in partnership with RootOne, brought more than 1,000 Jewish teens from 10 countries to compete; as well as other new initiatives in the pipeline.
The JCC Maccabi Games are a transformative Olympic-style sports and Jewish identity-building experience designed to strengthen Jewish teens’ connections to global Jewish peoplehood and build community in a joyful celebration of Jewish pride. For many of the 3,000 teens who participate each year—over 60% of whom are not involved in other Jewish programs—JCC Maccabi serves as their primary connection to Jewish life. The program also inspires thousands of volunteers and spectators each summer, encouraging community involvement and leadership. The Games’ 40-year legacy unites young Jewish athletes worldwide in an experience that goes beyond sports, bringing Jewish values to life through cultural and educational programming, JCC Cares community service, and meaningful mifgash (encounters) with Jewish teens from throughout North America, Israel, and the world.
Partnering with the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh, the inaugural JCC Maccabi Campus Games—August 3 to 8, 2025—will mark a significant step forward in JCC Maccabi’s mission to foster Jewish pride, strengthen Jewish identity, and provide new opportunities for teens to connect. This innovative model will provide an unparalleled opportunity, bringing over 2,000 Jewish teens and thousands of family members and community volunteers onto a university campus to celebrate Jewish life in a powerful, historic display of Jewish pride and unity. In response to the rise of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, the JCC Maccabi Campus Games provide a unique opportunity to bring together Jewish teens and communities in a university environment, while offering colleges a meaningful platform to demonstrate their commitment to combat antisemitism and promote inclusivity and allyship with the Jewish community.
The Games will create a pathway to Jewish life on campus by partnering with university-focused organizations like Hillel. This structure will introduce JCC Maccabi teen athletes to student life opportunities and inspire them to maintain their Jewish connection as they transition to higher education in the years ahead. Athletes will compete at the University of Pittsburgh in an Olympic village-style atmosphere that will include athletic competition, dormitory housing, social and educational programming, and dining. The Campus Games pilot will explore an alternative to the Games’ traditional home-hospitality approach, boosting participation capacity and long-term engagement and fostering connections within and beyond the Jewish community.
This summer’s events in Tucson from July 27 to August 1, 2025, will celebrate 25 years since the Tucson JCC first hosted the Games and mark the JCC’s 70th anniversary, including 36 years on its current campus. The JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson will spotlight the continuation of Access, now a permanent feature of the program that supports Jewish teens and young adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Successfully piloted from 2021 to 2024 with nearly 50 participants, Access will remain an integral part of the Games, enriching the experience for all involved. The Tucson JCC, a founding task force member of JCC Maccabi Access, will leverage its experience as it hosts the Access Games. By solidifying Access as a permanent program, Tucson is creating a clear roadmap, positioning Access as a catalyst for engagement nationwide, ensuring that Jewish young people with disabilities and their families have access to meaningful, inclusive opportunities.
Looking ahead, the 44th annual JCC Maccabi Games will take place from August 2 to 7, 2026, in Toronto and Kansas City. The Prosserman JCC and Schwartz/Reisman Centre in Toronto is set to host, marking its second time as host since first welcoming the Games in 1986. The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City also will make a highly anticipated return as a host in 2026, having last held the event in 1997. With commitments from these JCCs and a growing number of communities eager to host in the future, the JCC Maccabi Games are positioned for sustained growth in the years ahead.
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About JCC Association of North America
JCC Association of North America leads the JCC Movement, the most expansive and inclusive platform for Jewish life in the U.S. and Canada, which comprises more than 170 Jewish Community Centers and Jewish Community Camps (JCCs). By virtue of its size and scope—serving more than 1.5 million people weekly, in person, and online—and with guidance and support from JCC Association, the JCC Movement dynamically influences efforts to create Jewish community, vibrant Jewish life, and intentional and measurable Jewish outcomes in local communities and across the continent. Learn more at JCCA.org or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Please note that JCC Association of North America should not be referred to as JCCA or the JCC Association but initially as JCC Association of North America and as JCC Association in subsequent references.
About JCC Maccabi
JCC Maccabi®, a signature program of JCC Association of North America, is one of the continent’s preeminent Jewish youth-serving and community-building platforms and is crucial in inspiring Jewish identity building, strengthening communal connections, and serving as a key leadership development pipeline. For over 40 years, the JCC Movement has engaged more than 3,000 Jewish teen athletes, 600 coaches and delegation heads, and an additional 12,000+ family members, spectators, and volunteers annually through the Olympic-style sports competition of JCC Maccabi, one of the greatest Jewish peoplehood projects of our time. For the majority of JCC Maccabi athletes, 63% of whom report being otherwise unaffiliated with any other Jewish youth organization, JCC Maccabi remains their primary connection to the Jewish community, global Jewish life, and Israel—creating a remarkable and unmatched opportunity for engagement, support of their Jewish identity, and a lasting impact on their lives.
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