Woman have competed in all Maccabiah Games in a variety of sporting events, among them branches of sport that are less well-known in Israel, such as lawn bowling, netball and field hockey. More than 2000 female athletes participated in the 20th Maccabiah. The World Maccabiah Union now encourages international teams to include women in a variety of sports with the ambition of achieving equality with regard to the numbers of sportsmen and sportswomen who will be participating in Israel’s 21st Maccabiah.