The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba is pleased to announce that the 12 Manitoba athletes representing Canada at the upcoming Maccabi Games were the recipients of a $10,000 grant from the Foundation. Each athlete received $833 to help offset the costs of representing Canada at the Games, taking place in Israel from July 12-23, 2009.

In addition, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba was happy to present Mindy Lichtman with the Les and Raymie Bursten Memorial Award. Mindy, who will be representing Canada in golf, received $300, which will go towards her training costs for the Games. “I am greatly appreciative that this family, that I did not know, chose me as the recipient of this award” says Lichtman. “It made me feel very special and thankful that the members of the Jewish community are as wonderfully selfless as this. Without their help I would not have been able to compete in Israel this summer, which is an opportunity greater than I could have imagined.”

Lichtman, 24, was introduced to golf by her father when she was only four years old and has been passionate about it ever since. Mindy’s first major competitive experience was at 14 years of age, when she won the Manitoba Optimist competition and qualified for a chance to compete at the National Optimist Junior Golf competition in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her best placement in the rankings was when she played for University of Manitoba Bison’s Gold team. In 2006, she placed seventh overall in the Canadian University College Championships, where she was a mere four strokes away from making the Canadian team. Mindy also plays in the Manitoba Amateur, Manitoba City and District and plays in the Manitoba Mixed Championship with her husband. “The trip to Israel will be an experience of a lifetime,” says Lichtman. “I have never had a chance to compete overseas and I hope to do well and represent Canada to the best of my abilities.”

The Les and Raymie Bursten Memorial Award, is open to athletes residing in Winnipeg and must be used to subsidize their training costs. The award was established to promote sports in our community and to assist athletes with training costs associated with attending the Maccabi Games in Israel.

With Les and Raymie Bursten’s passion for sports, supporting athletes’ training for the Maccabi Games was a perfect match. Their legacy to the community will be carried on through the yearly distribution of the Les and Raymie Bursten Memorial Award at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.

Manitoba athletes at the 2009 Maccabi Games:
Daniel Worb - Baseball (Youth)                              

Michael Leger - Judo (Adult)                                                                      

Ethan Pollock - Track and Field Men (Adult)                       

Mitchell Billinkoff - Table Tennis Jr. (Youth)                                   

Gilad Carroll, Kevin Oman – Basketball - Youth Boys (Youth)                        Mindy Lichtman - Golf - Open Women (Adult)                       

Evelyn Yanofsky - Soccer - Open Women (Adult)           

Yael Kaplan - Basketball - Junior Girls (Youth)                                    

Meira Raber, Sheara Raber - Soccer - Junior Girls (Youth)                                   

Ben Arenson - Soccer - Open Men (Adult)

To learn more about the Maccabi Games click on the link below: