The Makabi Lithuanian athletics club held a mini-Maccabiah May 21 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the club’s founding in Lithuania. The Maccabiah Games are an annual international sporting competition in Israel to which Lithuanian Makabi sends athletes. In the mini-Maccabiah, 74 athletes from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Ukmergė competed in five sports: indoor soccer, three-on-three basketball, volleyball, men’s and women’s table tennis and chess. Everyone received participation medallions.

The Kaunas basketball team defeated the Vilnius and Klaipėda teams. Kaunas player Elvis Ušpicas won in foul shots (9 players) with six hoops in a row.

The Vilnius team on home ground won in indoor soccer and volleyball.

Sixteen contestants from 5 cities competed in ping pong. Lithuanian young table tennis team member Neta Alon won, defeating her father in the final, well-known ping pong trainer Henas Alon. Neta will now go on to play at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel in July. In the battle for third place Feliksas Lermanas of Ukmergė defeated Danielius Comikas of Kaunas. Šiauliai player Lazaris Soloveičikas defeated Makabi president Semionas Finkelšteinas of Vilnius for fifth place.

Twelve contestants competed in chess matches. Vilnius players took first and second place and the champions of the team finals are now Daniel Dubrovin with 10.5 points and FIDE master Boris Rositsan with 9.5 points. Vladimir Segal placed third with 8.5 points.

Kaunas Jewish Community chairman and international soccer referee Gercas Žakas refereed all the matches in all sports well. All participants participated at a friendly luncheon following the games.