After weeks of anticipation, a Nemesis risen and vanquished, a Color War Divider eager to start a war, Maccabia 2011 arrived with a vengeance. After a ruach filled final song session on the final Friday evening of 2nd Session, the Divider made a surprise appearance on the screen in camp’s Beit Am, and sent the camp to the Lake, eager to learn about the future.

At the lake, camp was surprised to see a fire sign that read “Shabbat Shalom” now believing that another Fake-Out was in the works.  But to the surprise of all, Maccabia Generals of the past appeared with lit torches, dressed in their team colors, and passed  their flame onto 4 masked Generals, whom the camp believed would be leading them through the upcoming war.  From their, everyone was sent to the Rec Hall, anticipating what would come next.  As they sat patiently for the next step, out of nowhere, a laser light show filled a screen in the front of the room, and the camp sat in wonderment watching laser lights amaze and entertain them.  With belief that this could be it starting to sink in, the masked generals  revealed themselves as general of the past, and the cam sat in silence as 8 names were read aloud, those taking the responsibility of leading the teams in this year’s war.  Debby Shriber, the camp director, raised the axe to the stump, the symbol of the entire games, and with one downward swing, the axe found it’s rightful place inside the stump, and these games were officially opened, pitting the Blue Beasts versus the White Gladiators.

The following 5 days were filled with fierce competition that included: Chop, Hatchet Hunt, Tug of War, Line-ups and formations, Marble, Bucket Brigade, Apache Relay, Rope Burn, and of course, Sing.  The event score swung back and forth, each team taking it’s turn in the lead.  Even inclement weather couldn’t dampen the spirit and energy of the games.  The competition did press the pause button and went on hiatus for one half day in order for bad weather to pass through, extending the games to a fifth day. In the end, after a powerful and well rehearsed Sing competition, with the teams being split by a 4 point margin at the beginning of the event, the White Team swept all 3 performance categories (Entrance, March and Fight Song) and earned the title of 2011 Crane Lake Camp Maccabia Champions.

This was a Maccabia nobody will soon forget!

Check out some awesome video footage of the 2011 Maccabia games: