For senior fall athletes, the transition into the winter season brings about the end of their athletic careers here at Bowdoin. The conclusion of such an ingrained aspect of their lives prompts many to look for ways to continue their sports outside of the College. For field hockey captains Rachel Kennedy '16 and Kim Kahnweiler '16, they found this in the 2015 Pan American Maccabi Games.
"When I was growing up, the Maccabi Games were something that my mom always wanted me to do, and for whatever reason, I never did them," said Kahnweiler. "Then, as I got to senior year and didn't want my athletic career to be over, that was kind of in the back of my mind."
The 2015 Pan American Maccabi Games are the 13th installment of the international, multi-sport competition that will be held in Santiago, Chile from December 26 to January 5. The Games are held every four years and bring together Jewish athletes from North, South and Central America, as well as Israel and other countries around the world.
"Maccabi USA endeavors, through sports, to perpetuate and preserve the American Jewish community by encouraging Jewish pride, strengthening Jewish bonds and by creating a heightened awareness of Israel and Jewish identity," Maccabi USA says on their website. "We strive to provide Jewish athletes the world over the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings."
In addition to the Pan Am Games, the Maccabi World Union hosts the Maccabiah Games, the world's largest Jewish athletic competition, in Israel every four years. The 19th Maccabiah Games brought together 7,500 athletes from 77 countries in 2013, making it one of the largest international sporting events after the Olympics.
Kennedy, Kahnweiler and 11 other athletes from across the country will make up the field hockey squad, joining the US team of about 650 athletes traveling to Chile in a few weeks.
"The program puts a huge emphasis on getting to know other Jewish athletes from around the world," said Kahnweiler. "I'm most excited for that part. I think it'll be really interesting to hear about other people's experiences of being Jewish in other countries."
Kennedy and Kahnweiler's field hockey careers will come to a close with many other high notes, including being selected as First Team All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) along with fellow Polar Bear Kimmy Ganong '17.
"I truly think that if I hadn't been fortunate enough to play on the Bowdoin field hockey team, I definitely would not have been recognized as an All-American," said Kahnweiler. "It just goes out to all my teammates who made me better every single year, every single practice. The recognition is nice, but I want to share it with the team. It goes to the team."
In addition, this fall, Kennedy was named NFHCA Division III Player of the Year, after becoming Bowdoin's all-time leader in goals and points and earning her second NESCAC and New England West Region Player of the Year honors. Kennedy is the first Polar Bear to earn the title since it was created in 2009.
"It's really exciting being honored and having personal accolades, but it's hard at the same time knowing that that’s the end and that I won't be playing on the field hockey team anymore," said Kennedy. "But it just adds to the great experience that we had and the great run that we had this season. Being able to play in a national championship game is something that I'm definitely going to be proud of even though we might not have had the outcome we wanted. In the long run, it's been such a successful season and career as a team and also personally."
After a season filled with accomplishments, Kennedy looks forward to ending her field hockey career with a new experience.
"I think it'll be really interesting to not only be surrounded by other Jewish-American athletes but also Jewish athletes from all over the world and be able to interact with them, talk to them and hear about their experiences," said Kennedy. "I just finished my athletic career at Bowdoin. I won't get a chance really to play ever again, so I think it's a cool way to go out, just being able to have my one last time playing and also being able to play with Kim, who I played with for four years here. I think balancing the Jewish aspect and also the athletic aspect is going to be a really rewarding experience."