Co-Presidents' Report
Milestones are like a time machine. They grant us the opportunity to revisit and reflect on the past, to celebrate the present, and to create a vision for the future. It has been an immense privilege for us to lead Maccabi Victoria through this momentous milestone of its centenary year.
In its 100th year, Maccabi Victoria proudly stands on strong foundations of governance, integrity, responsibility, safety, and above all, inclusion and diversity. These foundations have carried us to where we are today: thriving clubs connecting almost 4,000 athletes throughout the year, a range of sold-out programs and events bringing together both the Maccabi and broader sporting communities, and a continued commitment to connecting the Jewish community through sport. Our impact goes far beyond numbers. Over a century, Maccabi Victoria has become a pillar of Jewish life in our community. It has been the place where friendships are forged, where our community comes together across every generation, and where our children inherit a strong sense of identity, resilience, teamwork, and belonging.
Our year began with a successful Junior Carnival that saw 136 Victorians head to Perth for a week of playing sport, building friendships, strengthening their Jewish identity, and representing Victoria with great spirit and sportsmanship. We are so excited to carry that momentum into the 2026 Carnival, to be hosted in Melbourne, which will see 600 young Jewish athletes come together from Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, ACT, New Zealand, and Israel.
Our 100th anniversary celebrations kicked off in earnest in March, with the re-enactment of the first Australian Maccabi event, a cricket match between NSW and Victoria. Over 30 cricketers and families came from Sydney down to Melbourne to be part of the weekend put together by Paul Platus (Vic) and Benji Einfeld (NSW). The Saturday evening, hosted by broadcaster Mark Fine, saw past and present players come together to relive their glory days, the rivalries, the carnivals, the friendships and create new memories. The night was filled with memorabilia in the form of newspapers for everyone to recount top scores, hat tricks and milestones. The next day began with the Joel Rambach memorial cricket match to honour someone who gave so much to Maccabi cricket on and off the field. Then the highlight of the weekend – a replica match between NSW and Victoria to honour those who started it all. Pairs of all ages and levels went out onto the pitch together and returned together and in front of 100 plus spectators we saw the true spirit of Maccabi. We celebrated our history, honoured those who had come before, and cemented and created new memories and friendships.
March also saw a new flagship event for our United in Play initiative – a multicultural football day out at Knox Soccer Centre. Designed to connect the Jewish community to other interfaith and multicultural communities through sport, United in Play has grown from the Henry Jolson Pathways Program, and is set to expand to include additional sports in 2026. Our March event was a huge success, bringing together hundreds of young soccer players from different backgrounds to play the sport they love, share a delicious falafel lunch, and hear from a young Muslim girl whose incredible story told of how sport saved her, brought her to a new country, introduced her to new friends and helped her create a new home. This is the true power of sport, and this event was a wonderful reminder of why Maccabi is so important for our own Jewish community to stay connected and how playing sport for Maccabi can benefit the greater community.
We continued to honour our past and connect the community by commemorating Yom Hashoah with our annual #Just Like You campaign. In conjunction with AJAX Junior Football Club and The Melbourne Holocaust Museum, we delivered the message across all our Clubs at matches and trainings, educating our opposition teams and reminding our participants how lucky we are to be representing our Jewish community on fields and courts every day.
Friendship and connection continued to feature in our calendar, with Friends of Maccabi holding another sold-out luncheon with keynote speaker Simon Hollingsworth Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and CEO of Australian Athletics, who shared his incredible journey from the track to the Boardroom and his insights into how the discipline of sport shaped his professional path across elite sport and public service. This event is more than the speaker and the lavish lunch, it brings Maccabi stalwarts together to remember the accolades, the highs and lows of their sport and reconnect.
September in Melbourne is a special time and the place to be is the MCG, so how fitting it was to celebrate Maccabi’s 100th year at the “G” on the morning of the first AFL Preliminary final. In front of a sold-out crowd, an all-star panel of Andrew Dillon, AFL CEO; Andrew Bassat, St Kilda President; Barry Carp, Collingwood President; Eddie McGuire AM, Media personality and past Collingwood President; and Harry Sheezel, North Melbourne star, were all kept in line by our wonderful MC, broadcaster Tiffany Cherry. The banter was lively; the hot topics were debated and the laughter flowed. This has become one of the most sought after events on the Maccabi calendar and it keeps growing each year.
This past year has continued to show us just how alive the Maccabi spirit is. We’ve welcomed new members on to our board, backed our clubs with administrative and marketing support, funding, and networking opportunities, and we’ve supported over 110 families with fee relief for club sport and Junior Carnival. We continue to deliver an All Abilities program to ensure that no one misses out on the opportunity to be a part of Maccabi due to disability, and are in the process of reviewing our strategy to continue to ensure we’re catering to the community’s needs. We’ve delivered hundreds of hours of sport sessions through our Pathways program, brought out some friendly (but fierce!) competition with the Maccabi Cup interschool competitions, and celebrated the next generation of Maccabi athletes with our Maccabi spirit awards.
In the pool, Maccabi Aquatics continues to thrive through our joint venture social enterprise with Bialik College, and proves what can be done when community organisations come together. We would like to thank the Maccabi Aquatics board and team for their incredible efforts to drive this initiative.
This is not just activity—it’s impact. It’s proof, of what happens when a community pulls together with purpose, pride, and passion. One hundred years in, Maccabi Victoria is not slowing down—we are only getting stronger.
We continue to look to the future and work on securing a home for Maccabi Victoria. 2025 has been a busy year of planning and discussions with multiple groups and multiple sites. Whilst we don’t yet have anything concrete, we are closer than ever, since the loss of 97 Alma Rd. The Caulfield Racecourse continues to offer us several projects – including The Neerim Hub (with discussions being held with the Caulfield Racecourse Trust and McKinnon Basketball Association), and Project Generation.
Working towards such a vision takes a village, and we are so grateful for the Maccabi village that stands alongside us on this journey. We would like to thank our dedicated board – Caryn, Simon, Jason, Ilan, Sheiny, Dean, Renee, and James – for their passion, leadership, and commitment to the Maccabi dream. Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do, and we want to acknowledge our committees – both the ones who help us to deliver on Maccabi Victoria’s strategy, and those who keep our clubs running and thriving. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. We also want to thank the Maccabi Foundation – ably led by Dale Smorgon – and our key donors whose generosity allow us to continue connecting the community. We would also like to acknowledge the office team, whose commitment supports every part of what we do.
Through the 100 years from the now-infamous interstate cricket match of the 1920s to today, one thing has remained constant – Maccabi’s role in connecting the Jewish community through sport. We have spent this year collecting and creating the moments and stories that have shaped our first century, and we look forward to sharing them with you next year in our Maccabi Victoria 100 Moments coffee table book.
This year we haven’t just celebrated 100 years of Maccabi Victoria—we celebrate you. Every player, coach, volunteer, parent, and supporter who’s carried the torch. You’re the reason we exist, the reason flags have been won, and the reason Maccabi Victoria is so core to the heart of Jewish life in Melbourne.
We invite you to continue this journey with us of reflecting, celebrating, and not just dreaming – but doing – to ensure that Maccabi Victoria’s future will shine even brighter than what has come before.
Sharon Roseman and Dean Mohr – Co-Presidents, Maccabi Victoria
