Jordan Weinstein – Class of 2017

Jordan Weinstein

Jordan began playing rugby during the spring 1972 season at the University of Michigan. At the tryout, he won every sprint and impressed the coaches. That landed him on the A side as a wing against the University of Dayton for the season’s first match to his surprise. During his first touch of the ball during that match, he raced 80 meters for a try, his first of his 18 years in which he played.

As a member of the University of Michigan team, they won the Toronto Sevens, as well as their own Sevens tournament.  Individual accomplishments included playing for the Midwest against Ontario.

The University of Michigan had a fierce rivalry with Ohio State and prior to the football game between the teams, thousands of spectators watched the rugby match. During his time at Michigan, the team lost in the Big Ten Championships twice. After leaving Michigan, Jordan moved to Toronto and played for York University.

In 1979 he returned home to Worcester, Massachusetts and was the co-founder of Worcester Rugby Club where in the early years they were better known for sevens than rugby 15s. That has certainly changed since then. For his contributions to the club, he was inducted in their first Hall of Fame class.

Maccabi USA Rugby, Maccabiah Games and Maccabi World Union

An article in Rugby Magazine caught his attention about a tryout for the first Maccabi USA Rugby squad to play at the 12^th World Maccabiah Games in Israel.  Head Coach Ray Cornbill selected him to be part of this team and they came home with a bronze medal. Roger Glass, Maccabi USA Rugby Chair, organized the team.

Immediately after the Games, he became a member of the Board of Directors and was appointed Chairman of the USA Maccabiah Rugby for the 13^th and 14^th World Maccabiah Games in 1989 and 1993.  From 1989 to 2013, Weinstein served on the Maccabi USA Executive Committee.  He has held numerous national leadership positions, including USA Maccabiah Team Open Sports Chair and he has been an Officer of Maccabi USA from 1993 to 2013, and was the First Vice President from 2009 – 2013.  Weinstein was the General Chairman of the USA Maccabiah Organizing Committee from 1998 – 2005, and he was Head of the USA Delegation at the 16^th and 17^th World Maccabiah Games in 2001 and 2005, respectively.

Weinstein’s leadership with Maccabi World Union, the world Maccabi governing body, is well known. He has been a member of the Maccabi World Union Executive and the International Maccabiah Committee since 1992.  He served on Maccabi World Union’s International Maccabiah Sports Committee since its inception in 1994, serving as its Co-Chairman for the 18^thand 19^th World Maccabiah Games from 2006 through 2013. During his tenure on the committee up to the present, Maccabiah Rugby has been in his portfolio.