Representing Country & Culture at the Maccabiah Games: Tori Bevan & Abi Fuzaylov
This past July, Chatham students and women’s ice hockey teammates, Tori Bevan and Abi Fuzaylov shared a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—they competed on the first-ever U.S. women’s ice hockey team in the first-ever women’s ice hockey tournament at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932 and are sometimes known as the Jewish Olympics. Held every four years in Israel, they welcome Jewish athletes from around the world and all Israeli citizens regardless of religion. In the most recent games, 10,000 athletes competed from 60 different countries.
“There was no place for the Jews [to compete and be represented] because Israel didn’t exist yet. The Maccabiah leagues were created throughout Europe, Turkey, and Central Asia. They slowly got more and more people to come and gained more traction. Now, it’s a really big event in Israel.”
Tori, Abi, and their U.S. teammates
Tori, a sophomore majoring in biology and planning to pursue her Master of Physician Assistant Studies, had been aware of the games since she was 13. That was when she and her parents started receiving emails to gauge her interest in competing on a women’s ice hockey team for the U.S. The prospect didn’t truly come to fruition until 2022 when the Maccabiah Games had gathered enough players from Israel, the United States, and Canada to host a women’s ice hockey tournament. When Chatham women’s ice hockey coach, Mike O’Grady suggested that Tori participate in the games, she was already planning on it. That’s when they convinced Abi—a junior majoring in biology and also planning to pursue her Master of Physician Assistant Studies—to participate as well. Abi simply decided, “Why not?”
And so the teammates embarked on a journey like no other. They had twenty teammates from across the U.S. who ranged in age from 17 to 45. Some were professional ice hockey players while others were college athletes like Abi and Tori. The teammates gathered in Philadelphia for a three-day intensive training camp where they practiced twice a day and worked to develop as a team. “Skating with the girls who play in the professional leagues who are a lot better than me and [getting to] learn from them was cool,” said Abi. Tori opted to approach the process from a low-pressure standpoint: “Being so competitive, I sometimes lose my love for having fun in the game. I went in thinking, I just want to have fun while I'm doing this, and I did and I think it made me grow as a hockey player.”
Following their Philadelphia training, the team headed to Israel for three and a half weeks where they continued to train and prepare to compete in the Maccabiah tournament. Their time in Israel was not just training however. After completing daily 6:00 am workouts with the team, they embarked on sight-seeing tours and hikes for their first week, ensuring that they got to see historic landmarks as part of a program called Israel Connect. As they immersed themselves in Israeli culture, visitors from other countries and Israeli children were able to learn more about the sport of hockey from watching the women practice and compete—"Kids would come watch and ask for our sticks and clothes,” said Abi. For both women, the experience of spreading the game to other countries and cultures was one of the major highlights of the experience.
Tori and Abi
Tori, Abi, and their teammates
“When you talk to your friends in the US, this isn’t as big of a deal as the Olympics, but in Israel, this is the Olympics. This is what got people through tough times in our history.”
A photo taken by the women during their sight-seeing
They were also moved by the powerful connection to Judaism that they felt during their time in Israel. Per Tori, “Every single person there was so proud to be Jewish, proud to be representing their country, and proud to be playing their sport.” Abi noted the profound personal effect it had on her: “I am not the most religious person. I don't know if embarrassed is the right word but I [previously] wouldn't tell people that I was Jewish because of the reactions. Going there and being with everyone who is the same as me opened my eyes. I'm very proud to be Jewish after going to the [Maccabiah Games]."
The U.S. women’s team first beat the Israeli women’s team before placing second to the Canadian women’s team and earning the silver medal. When asked if they’d ever return to compete in the games again, Tori is straight-forward, “I want redemption.” Abi seconded her, “When we lost the gold medal game, I thought, if I have a chance to do this again, I will. I don't want to leave off on that note.”
But before the teammates can return to the Maccabiah Games in 2026, they have quite a few more games to play as Chatham teammates. Plus, they have big plans for the 2022-2023 season: “We know that we can do really big things and hopefully we can bring that to the team this year,” said Abi. Stay tuned for their next big adventure on the ice this fall.