Inside: Global BBYO More Sports Pix '96 International Convention Awards THE SHOFAR The Newspaper of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization TAMMUZ / AV / ELUL, 5757 / SUMMER 1997 AZAA International Tournament: Memorial Day Hoops in St. Louis hile others barbecued their traveled to the Sectional Tournaments to W burgers Memorial Day week- compete for the chance to go to the end, the Alephs hooped it up final seven in St. Louis. Those represen- at the International AZAA Tournament in tatives were: Eastside AZA of St. Louis, Missouri. From May 23-26, 1997, Evergreen Region, Aviv AZA of 32 seven AZA teams from across the country Southern Region, Exodus AZA of Big met in a double-elimination tournament Apple Region, Shapiro AZA of with the team winner crowned interna- Lonestar Region, David Ben Gurion tional champion. AZA of Ohio Northern Region, Shoah The first annual AZAA tournament AZA of Philadelphia Region, and began in 1994, and has increased in size Genesis AZA of Wisconsin Region. tremendously. The tournament's goals With no outright favorite coming into are: to attract members who are athleti- the Finals, any AZA team could have cally inclined; to involve those who come out ahead. However the final tion. Congratulations to all those who The tournament was a part of a week- dream of playing basketball beyond the game was played between Ben Gurion competed in the 1997 AZAA International end convention hosted by BBYO's high school level; and to have fun. AZA and Exodus AZA. The game was Tournament. Next year, increased partici- Evergreen Region in Seattle and was Tournament Staff Co-Coordinator won by Exodus AZA in a close 3-point pation from both individual chapters and coordinated by Jamison Russ. Sixty AZA Lane Schlessel emphasized that the tour- victory. regions is expected. members from Felix Frankfurter AZA, nament strives for increased fraternity, The excitement shown by players this good sportsmanship, and the opportuni- year has been a huge triumph for the West Coast Sectional Irvine AZA, Galilee AZA, Machar AZA, Eastside AZA and Rainier AZA ty to encounter Jews from around the coordinators of the tournament. On the weekend of March 28-30, six participated in the weekend's events. world. This was seen by the thousands of Support for the event can be seen in west coast teams participated in a fun- players who competed in this year's tour- the sponsorship and the fundraising filled weekend of basketball in Seattle. The first game of the tournament pit- ted the Pacific Coast Region (PCR) nament. It began with individual chap- which each chapter undertook to reach Eastside AZA #1043 advanced to rep- against Southwestern Region ters competing to represent their its destinations. Each team should be resent the west coast in the AZAA tour- regions. The regions' representatives commended for its effort and determina- nament in St. Louis. continued on page 6 MBA: Mind, Body, and Attitude International Convention Milwaukee Hosts First Annual MBA he first annual International Mind, century; "Sex and Jewish Ethics", a program of Every participant at the convention also T Body, and Attitude (MBA) personal sharing, reflection, and decision making received a binder, with 150 pages of information, Convention was held April 11-13, about sexual attitudes in the nineties; "This is My that each could take home. The coordinators 1997 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Body, This is My Jewish Body", a three part series wanted the girls to use this convention as an edu- MBA offers BBG'ers the opportunity to learn about breast examination, diseases that afflict cational tool. The coordinators also wanted a pro- about their bodies, self-esteem, and relationships. women, and a Q&A session; athletic rounds, gram that participants could take back to their The theme of the convention was "BBG Wonder where participants chose between yoga, step aer- chapters and use for themselves as well. "It was a Women: All The World is Waiting and Powers You obics, indoor soccer, water aerobics, and weight groundbreaking and spectacular experience," Possess". The premise was "not male bashing, not training; a Rosh Chodesh session, where the says Wisconsin Assistant Regional Director for feminists, but a showplace for women and women discussed thoughts and feelings on Jennifer Friedman. were assisted by International S'ganit Shari women's issues," says Wisconsin Assistant women's issues; and a Havdallah service with FFF PROGRAM Katz, International MBA Chairwoman Rachel Regional Director Jennifer Friedman. music and poetry written and composed by The highlight of the convention was the enor- Myers, Wisconsin Assistant Regional International Youth Commission women. mous community service program, called "Food, Director Jennifer Friedman, International Chairwoman Marsha Dashefsky helped Family, and Fun." This program was a huge com- Youth Commission Chairwoman Marsha design the program in 1994. The name "MBA" munity service project in which the BBYO'ers Dashefsky, and the steering committee of was chosen by BBG members and adopted at the went to neighborhoods and collected canned Jessica Saperstein, Jori Wynn, Jori Matsoff, international convention. MBA's basic mission is foods that was later donated to shelters in the Leslie Goldman, Leigh Bornstein, Leah to empower women by teaching them self-confi- Milwaukee area. Additionally, the opportunity to Siegel-Picus, Olga Nicolaychik, Mara Karlin, dence and independence. join with the participants of the AZAA Sectional Mara Schulman, Tracy Katz, Terri Bomzer, and The MBA Convention in Wisconsin included Tournament was an amazing experience. Yonat Mayer. programs such as: "Being a Jewish Woman", a The convention would not have been success- Congratulations to all who planned the first program where groups of BBG'ers discussed the ful without the help of many individuals. The annual MBA Convention and to all who partici- attributes of famous Jewish Women in the 21st local coordinators Robyn Miller and Bari Lurie pated.