Jewish Exponent Article

Today's Jewish Exponent has an article about the games. Elana is quoted (and described as "pixieish"???). Anyway, below is an excerpt. The full article can be found at http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/19126/.

Wishing Them Well

Athletes from every age division -- from early teens to late 70s -- came together last week for a send-off reception held on the 43rd floor of the Comcast Center in Center City. At eye level with Liberty One and the Pyramid Club, athletes, family members and Maccabi USA personnel schmoozed and got to know one another in an informal setting in advance of rejoining one another next month at the opening ceremony at Ramat Gan stadium.

For 14-year-old Elana Molotsky, just making the games and being among so many athletes was a victory itself. The pixieish gymnast from Mount Laurel, N.J., was all smiles at the send-off, but clearly with lots of energy to burn.

"If I go and I win, then hallelujah," said Molotsky, one of the area's youngest competitors. "If I don't, then I competed internationally -- and how can you go wrong with that?"

Maccabi USA Party

Some pictures from the Maccabi USA Team send-off party at the Comcast Center last Thursday. Elana is being intereviewed by a reporter from The Jewish Exponent in the first picture (with some random bald guy in the middle), and the second is a the members of the delegation (athletes and administrators) who were present. Elana is way up at the top in the middle.

Graduation Pictures

Bars Pictures

Just 9 days until departure! Elana is training hard and hoping to make a splash. Just a few more random practice pictures.

Last week Elana recieved a huge box with lots of TEAM USA apparel and uniforms, including a bag to put it all in!

In the midst of all of this Elana managed to graduate 8th grade and move on to High School with a "A" average! Picutres of graduation later today or tomorrow...

Maccabi USA Press Release

Some interesting info in the below release from Maccabi USA:

Maccabi USA Fields Its Largest Team Ever for the 18th Maccabiah Games

Philadelphia, PA, May 13 - Maccabi USA will be bringing a Team of over 900 to the 18th "Chai" Maccabiah Games to Israel in July. In addition to the athletes and coaches, Maccabi USA will be bringing Medical, Management and Photography Teams. The USA Team will join 7000 Jewish athletes from over 60 countries to participate in the world's third largest international athletic competition. Maccabi USA will be bringing over 200 supporters, family and friends for a total of over 1100 people.

Team members come from across the USA and represent 38 states and the District of Columbia. The states include: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. California, with 218 Team members, represents 24% of the Team. The Team is rounded out with USA residents from Canada and Israel.

There will be 88 Teams participating in 26 sports, including: Baseball, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cycling, Fencing, Field Hockey, Futsal, Golf, Gymnastics, Judo, Karate, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Ten Pin Bowling, Tennis, Track & Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo and Wrestling.

More Pictures from the Gym Show

Along with the video (below), here are some pictures from the June 13th gym show. Elana was honored and then presented with a very special gift from Kris and the team - a journal for her trip, including notes from every team member and coach.

Elana said it was, "one of the best gifts she's ever gotten."

On June 13th Elana's gym held their annual "show" for the parents. This is intended as a recital of sorts, mostly intended for the littler kids. The USAG level team performs some tumbling as well, probably just to show off a bit. This year, the gym honored Elana's Maccabi accomplishment and asked her to perform her floor routine. While not the cleanest of performances, it certainly was well done and well received. Enjoy!

Thank You Kris!

Thanking Kris is way overdue! Kris is Elana's coach and is responsible for getting her where she is. She was the first to mention Maccabi trials last summer and suggested changes in Elana's routine and programs to maximize her chances of making the team. They've been together since Elana was 6! She has been a rock thoughout, keeping Elana focused and motivated.

Serious props to anyone who can coach 18 teenage girls at anything for a living.

TV Coverage

Latest release from JLTV regarding coverage:

Here's the most recent update from JLTV. Click on the link ("here") at the end of the article and there are some cool animation/graphics they'll be usuing in the telecast.

JLTV Prepares For Its Live Maccabiah Coverage
JLTV Website
390 Athletes in Delegations from 18 countries paraded through Tel Aviv in 1932. Cheering crowds lined the route: the First Maccabiah had come to the First Hebrew City!
The Maccabiah Games coverage begins Sunday, July 12 on JLTV with a historic LIVE broadcast. For the first time, the Games will be televised outside of Israel to 100 million households across America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Over 30 million of the homes are located in Moslem countries, including Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
Opening Ceremonies are being held on Monday, July 13th and coverage of the Maccabiah Games will continue through July 24th. Between the end of July and the end of September, JLTV will continue to run retrospective coverage of the 18th Maccabiah Games.
To date, the World's Jewish Television Channel has produced 74 historical short-features of past Games from 1932 to 2005 in our Maccabiah Moments program. In addition, the network is producing 63 Maccabiah Nation's program features, highlighting the countries represented in the Games, focusing on general information and Jewish community life.A sample of the hourly opening interstitial is included in this bulletin without narration (please click here).

Here's the "Geinger" Elana has been working on - watch the release and catch on the high bar. We're not sure if it will make an appearance in Israel, but she's working hard!