The Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) has announced the schedule for the World Championships of bobsled and skeleton, to be held in Lake Placid, NY from February 13-26, 2012. Skeleton athlete Brad Chalupski is slated to compete in the men's skeleton championships, to take place on Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25, 2012.
The FIBT (www.fibt.com) conducts competitions in five disciplines: 2-man bobsleigh, 4-man bobsleigh, women’s bobsleigh, men’s skeleton and women’s skeleton. In addition to the Olympic Winter games and World Championships, the FIBT conducts World Cup, Intercontinental Cup and America's Cup events.
Official News Releases from the IBSF and the Israeli National Bobsled and Skeleton Teams.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Skeleton Team to Appear at Event in Boston December 16
Skeleton athlete Brad Chalupski will speak at a Shabbat dinner at the Vilna Shul in Boston, Massachusetts on 16 December 2011. The event is co-hosted by Havurah on the Hill and Boston-Haifa Connection.
Event details can be found at http://www.jewishboston.com/events/11447-shabbat-w-boston-haifa-bradley-chalupski-world-cup-skeleton-athlete.
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Event details can be found at http://www.jewishboston.com/events/11447-shabbat-w-boston-haifa-bradley-chalupski-world-cup-skeleton-athlete.
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Havurah on the Hill (www.vilnashul.org) is a program of the Vilna Shul in Boston, MA, and a volunteer-run organization engaging young Jewish adults through dynamic learning opportunities and a welcoming community. One Friday evening each month, HOH invites participants to celebrate Shabbat, Jewish culture, learning and community at the historic Vilna Shul in Beacon Hill, Boston.
Boston-Haifa Connection (www.cjp.org) is a program of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. Boston-Haifa Connection has been changing lives and opening hearts since 1989, building “living bridges” between the sister cities and strengthening the social fabric of both societies.
Friday, November 18, 2011
IBSF Announces New Partnership For 2011-2012 Season
The Israeli Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is proud to announce Mondetta Clothing as a partner for the 2011-2012 competitive season.
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Mondetta (www.mondetta.com), deriving its name from French and Latin for "small world", is an apparel company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1986 after fleeing from dictator Idi Amin, the company is guided by its slogan "A Spirit of Unification."
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Mondetta (www.mondetta.com), deriving its name from French and Latin for "small world", is an apparel company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1986 after fleeing from dictator Idi Amin, the company is guided by its slogan "A Spirit of Unification."
Monday, November 14, 2011
Expressing Zionism Through Sports: The Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Team
By Samantha Vinokor - Retrieved from http://vizionsofzionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/expressing-zionism-through-sports-the-israeli-bobsled-and-skeleton-team/
More than half of the geography of the State of Israel is comprised of the Negev desert. Israel is a country that prays for rain, and has become an innovator in the field of irrigation and water technology due to deficits of that most coveted resource in the Middle East. Thus, it may come as a shock to many that Israel, a country full of desert sands, is also home to its own Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Bobsled and Skeleton, for those unaware, is a winter sport involving racing downhill on tracks of ice and packed snow. Israel doesn’t have a track, but does have a team, headed by Skeleton racer Bradley Chalupski. Bradley, a New Jersey native, got involved with sliding while attending law school at Seton Hall University. He saw the sport being played at the 2006 Olympics, and decided to try it for himself. After participating in training camp with the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and competing in regional events with the American team, he narrowly missed making the US National Team.
It was around that time that Chalupski was approached by the Israeli Federation. At first he was hesitant to compete for Israel. “I didn’t want to be an opportunist. I have a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, so I was raised very secular; I hadn’t been to Israel before and didn’t really feel a connection with it.” After soul-searching and talking with friends, family, and members of the Jewish community, Bradley began to change his mind. A connection with Judaism and the Jewish people began to emerge as various friends all had the same reaction to his query: You’re Jewish; of course you can represent Israel. Bradley, a Birthright Israel alum, was captivated by the natural beauty of the Negev desert during his inaugural trip to Israel, and began to develop a personal connection with the country.
Bradley credits his girlfriend with giving him the push that he needed to play for Israel when she said, “You have to do this. You’re Jewish and it’s Israel. Israel is a part of every Jew, and you have an obligation to do this, to try and qualify the country for the Olympic games.” Thus, the unaffiliated University of Maryland alum began to connect with Israel and his personal Zionism through bobsled and skeleton.
Now, Bradley appreciates and relishes in the opportunity to bring awareness about Israel and Jewish people to the world through sports. He takes pride in the opportunity to represent Israel, noting that “Sport is always a prism for national pride. You don’t have to look any further than the Munich Olympics. When people look to attack a country, athletes are up on the list, because they have a place in the national psyche.” He views his own connection to Israel, as forged through the sport, as a success of the Zionist movement, being that it brought him to Israel and back to his Jewish heritage. He hopes that people will view it as inspiring that Jews can do this. As he said, it means something to people when they are able to say that “Jews can be crazy too!” Jewish and Israeli participation in sports is a vehicle by which people can view Israel as a country just like any other, a participant in the world of global sports, and hopefully, one day, a champion at the Winter Olympics.
For more information about the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, contact Tamar Simon. Tamar.Simon@gmail.com and check out the IBSF Twitter @TeamIsraelSkele
More than half of the geography of the State of Israel is comprised of the Negev desert. Israel is a country that prays for rain, and has become an innovator in the field of irrigation and water technology due to deficits of that most coveted resource in the Middle East. Thus, it may come as a shock to many that Israel, a country full of desert sands, is also home to its own Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Bobsled and Skeleton, for those unaware, is a winter sport involving racing downhill on tracks of ice and packed snow. Israel doesn’t have a track, but does have a team, headed by Skeleton racer Bradley Chalupski. Bradley, a New Jersey native, got involved with sliding while attending law school at Seton Hall University. He saw the sport being played at the 2006 Olympics, and decided to try it for himself. After participating in training camp with the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and competing in regional events with the American team, he narrowly missed making the US National Team.
It was around that time that Chalupski was approached by the Israeli Federation. At first he was hesitant to compete for Israel. “I didn’t want to be an opportunist. I have a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, so I was raised very secular; I hadn’t been to Israel before and didn’t really feel a connection with it.” After soul-searching and talking with friends, family, and members of the Jewish community, Bradley began to change his mind. A connection with Judaism and the Jewish people began to emerge as various friends all had the same reaction to his query: You’re Jewish; of course you can represent Israel. Bradley, a Birthright Israel alum, was captivated by the natural beauty of the Negev desert during his inaugural trip to Israel, and began to develop a personal connection with the country.
Bradley credits his girlfriend with giving him the push that he needed to play for Israel when she said, “You have to do this. You’re Jewish and it’s Israel. Israel is a part of every Jew, and you have an obligation to do this, to try and qualify the country for the Olympic games.” Thus, the unaffiliated University of Maryland alum began to connect with Israel and his personal Zionism through bobsled and skeleton.
Now, Bradley appreciates and relishes in the opportunity to bring awareness about Israel and Jewish people to the world through sports. He takes pride in the opportunity to represent Israel, noting that “Sport is always a prism for national pride. You don’t have to look any further than the Munich Olympics. When people look to attack a country, athletes are up on the list, because they have a place in the national psyche.” He views his own connection to Israel, as forged through the sport, as a success of the Zionist movement, being that it brought him to Israel and back to his Jewish heritage. He hopes that people will view it as inspiring that Jews can do this. As he said, it means something to people when they are able to say that “Jews can be crazy too!” Jewish and Israeli participation in sports is a vehicle by which people can view Israel as a country just like any other, a participant in the world of global sports, and hopefully, one day, a champion at the Winter Olympics.
For more information about the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, contact Tamar Simon. Tamar.Simon@gmail.com and check out the IBSF Twitter @TeamIsraelSkele
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Skeleton Team Featured in Birthright NEXT
Skeleton athlete Bradley Chalupski was profiled by Birthright NEXT on their website, "Alef: The NEXT Conversation". Full text of the article can be found here:
http://alefnext.com/jews-and-sports/an-israeli-winter-olympic-team-to-warm-the-jewish-soul/
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
http://alefnext.com/jews-and-sports/an-israeli-winter-olympic-team-to-warm-the-jewish-soul/
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
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