Israel Seen - Israeli Mamanet Fever

Israel Seen – Israeli Mamanet Fever

Cachibol leagues give mothers a chance to work out, have fun, meet other women from their children’s school and set an example for their kids.

Instead of nagging their kids to go outside and play, 10,000 Israeli mothers are setting an example by playing cachibol (also called Newcomb) in a national league network called Mamanet.

Joining a team based in her child’s school, each Mamanet player gets to know other moms in a totally different setting than class trips or PTA meetings.

Established in 2005 by Kfar Saba mother of two Ofra Abramovich, Mamanet has become Israel’s largest social sports project and has inspired the creation of Abbanet for players’ husbands and partners, and Kidnet vacation tournaments for their children.

“Instead of being the ‘soccer mom’ who drives her children to practice and cheers them on by the sidelines, the mother becomes the star of the game, and the children become her fans,” says Abramovich. “This allows the mother to serve as a role model for good sportsmanship, dedication to a team and commitment to physical exercise.”

Thousands of mothers in Italy, Austria, Cyprus, Spain, Canada, Belgium, France, Bulgaria and the United States are adopting this unique Israeli model. Mamanet’s second international conference in Eilat is planned for this October.

When Abramovich first hatched the idea after a friend invited her to play cachibol — similar to volleyball, except players catch the ball before passing it to a teammate or over the net — the mayor of her hometown wasn’t enthusiastic about providing funds. Refusing to give up, Abramovich called the mayor’s wife, who prevailed upon her husband to support the initiative. Kfar Saba now boasts 27 Mamanet teams with 300 players.

“Today, every mayor wants a league in place because of how it contributes to the city,” says Abramovich, explaining that volunteer work is part of the Mamanet mission.

Among the different volunteer projects are playing cachibol with women in prison and in a battered-women’s shelter; doing activities with children from a therapeutic boarding school; training youth-at-risk to be referees; and running regional sport nights for breast-cancer awareness.

The Mamanet phenomenon extends to all sectors of the Israeli population. Participants run the gamut from Bedouin Arab to ultra-Orthodox moms. Because cachibol doesn’t require special athletic training, Mamanet’s slogan is “Any mother can!”