His place in the sun

Amnon ‘The Cannon’ Nissim has opened a matkot museum in his Tel Aviv apartment.

By ABRA COHEN
matkot on the beach_521 (photo credit: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons)
matkot on the beach_521
(photo credit: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons)
If you’ve been to the Tel Aviv beach during the summer, you will have heard the smacking of a beach paddle ball as Israelis of all ages play matkot along the waterside.
Interspersed with beach umbrellas, bikinis and sunbathers, the game – known unofficially as Israel’s national sport – is often played one-on-one with a round wooden paddle (about 30 centimeters) and a squash ball. Despite signage that warns paddlers against playing in certain areas on the beach, not much keeps players from clobbering the ball back and forth at high speed for hours on end.
Amnon Nissim, who has been playing the game for over 60 years, says there are photos dating the game back to 1925 (including a well-known 1931 photo at the Nahum Gutman museum).
Known as “The Cannon” or “Amnon the King” in the matkot community, the charismatic Nissim is wildly passionate about the game – to the extent that he transformed his spacious three-room apartment in Tel Aviv’s artsy Neveh Tzedek neighborhood into the world’s only matkot museum in 2003, and has dedicated his free time and retirement to the sport.
Raised in the apartment where he now lives, he is an only child of Yemenite parents (his father was a rabbi).
He has never married.
Every square inch of his apartment is covered in matkot memorabilia – from photos and paddles to tournament T-shirts – making it no surprise that he is well known among the professional players in the sport. He points out paddles in the museum that are made of carbon fiber instead of the traditional wood. He explains that pro players, like his friend Morris Zadok, who runs a matkot store in Bat Yam, have obliterated many wooden paddles during intense games.
There are people who pick up paddles only on the weekend, but there is also a contingent of players who live to play the game.
The museum, which he put together with the help of Zadok (known as “Morris the Great” in matkot circles), sees visitors from all over the world and is easy to spot, as the telephone pole opposite the apartment is covered with colorful matkot paddles.
Zadok and Nissim initially met over a game of matkot, and they have a strong bond because of their shared interest in the sport.
“Since I’ve known Morris, my life has changed,” says the latter.
Playing often, judging matkot events and building and maintaining the museum has helped enhance public knowledge of the game and bring more players into the sport.
During warm-weather months, Elvis songs and other vintage tunes often waft from Nissim’s open windows down to Shabazi, a busy pedestrian street below.
Retired from the IDF, tanned and slender, Nissim, who is vegetarian and eats a salad every day, goes to Tel Aviv’s Gordon Beach seven days a week to play at least two hours of matkot.
“Israel is the place for a game on the beach. Matkot is special for that, and you don’t need shoes,” he says, adding that there are about 200 serious players who live locally and hone their skills not only on the sand, but also on the cement off the boardwalk.
While many see Tel Aviv as the center of matkot, the sport is played along almost the entire 187-km. Israeli coastline. With tournaments during the summer months (the next will be in Ashkelon in August), matkot has a competitive side, too, even if there are not many rules.
“The only rule is that we are playing each other, not against each other,” says Lony Rozenfeld of Bat Yam, who has been playing the game for over 50 years.
Still, for tournaments, there are some guidelines, such as how far players stand from each other and how many consecutive hits they can get without dropping the ball.
A main draw for many players is the simplicity and friendship inherent in the game.
“It’s a very simple game,” says Zadok. “[And] you don’t have to pay for anything – you just go to the beach, play, have fun and meet friends. I’m crazy about it.”
While the game has made it to a few other countries, the majority of the sport’s players have stayed within Israel’s borders. Even though there have been hopes of getting it recognized as an Olympic sport, its lack of clear winners and losers has kept it out of the running so far.
Asked why he enjoys matkot so much, Nissim answers, “Why do people eat?”