- Empire State Games
The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for
amateur athletes from the state ofNew York , encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. The Games consist of a number of competitions - the Summer Games (often referred to as the Empire State Games, typically held in late July), the Winter Games (held at Lake Placid in February), the Games for the Physically Challenged (similar to theParalympics ), and the Senior Games (specificially for athletes age 50 and older). The Empire State Games is a member of theNational Congress of State Games .The first Empire State Games took place at
Syracuse University in 1978, the first State Games to be held in theUnited States . The success of the event sparked the creation of other State Games across the country. The 2008 Empire State Games took place fromJuly 23 throughJuly 27 ,2008 in Binghamton, and the 2009 Summer Games are scheduled to be held in theHudson Valley .Regions
New York State is divided into six regions for the Empire State Games, and each region fields its own athletic teams through tryouts before the Games begin.
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Col-end*Adirondack Region
**Counties: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington
**Cities: Albany, Glens Falls, Plattsburgh, Schenectady, Troy
**Uniform color: bright yellow*Central Region
**Counties: Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins
**Cities: Binghamton, Elmira, Ithaca, Oswego, Rome, Syracuse, Utica
**Uniform color: powder blue*Hudson Valley Region
**Counties: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester
**Cities: Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie
**Uniform colors: green and gold*Long Island Region
**Counties: Nassau, Suffolk
**Uniform colors: red and silver*New York City Region
**Counties: Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island)
**City:New York City
**Uniform color: orange with blue trim*Western Region
**Counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates
**Cities: Buffalo, Corning, Niagara Falls, Rochester
**Uniform color: dark blueSummer Games
There are three divisions in the Summer Empire State Games: open, scholastic, and masters. The scholastic division is restricted to
high school ers who are entering 9th grade, 10th grade, or 11th grade. Once an athlete begins 9th grade for the first time, he or she may compete in the scholastic division for the next three years. All other athletes must enter the open or masters divisions.Athletic Events
Open & Scholastic Divisions
Open and Scholastic Events:
*Archery
*Basketball
*Boxing
*Diving
*Fencing
*Gymnastics
*Shooting
*Soccer
*Swimming
*Track and Field
*Volleyball
*Wrestling Open only:
*Bowling
*Canoeing andKayaking
*Cycling
*Judo
* Rowing
*Sailing
*Softball
*Synchronized swimming
*Weightlifting Scholastic only:
*Baseball
*Field hockey
*Ice hockey
*Lacrosse
*Tennis Masters Division
The Masters division competes separately from the open and scholastic divisions, but has many of the same events.
* Archery
*Badminton
* Basketball
* Bowling
* Bridge
* Canoeing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Fencing
*Handball
*Horseshoes
*Golf
* Gymnastics
*Orienteering
*Pickleball
*Racquetball
* Rugby
*Shuffleboard
* Softball
* Swimming
*Table tennis
* Tennis
* Triathlon
* VolleyballHost Cities
* 1978 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1979 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1980 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1981 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1982 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1983 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1984 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1985 - Buffalo (Western)
* 1986 - Buffalo (Western)
* 1987 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1988 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1989 - Ithaca (Central)
* 1990 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1991 - Albany (Adirondack)
* 1992 - Albany (Adirondack)
* 1993 - Rochester (Western)
* 1994 - Syracuse (Central)
* 1995 - Ithaca (Central)
* 1996 - Buffalo (Western)
* 1997 -Capital District (Adirondack)
* 1998 - Rochester (Western)
* 1999 - Long Island
* 2000 - Binghamton (Central)
* 2001 - Mohawk Valley (Central)
* 2002 - Syracuse (Central)
* 2003 - Buffalo (Western)
* 2004 - Binghamton (Central)
* 2005 - New Paltz (Hudson Valley)
* 2006 - Rochester (Western)
* 2007 - Westchester County (Hudson Valley)
* 2008 - Binghamton (Central)
* 2009 - Poughkeepsie (Hudson Valley)
* 2010 - Buffalo (Western)Syracuse played host to the first seven of the games, and in total has hosted the Empire State Games 12 times. Other cities hosting multiple times include Buffalo (4 times), Albany (3 times), Binghamton (3 times), Rochester (3 times), and Ithaca (2 times).
Winter Games
The Empire State Winter Games are held annually in Lake Placid in the month of
February .Events
*
Alpine skiing
*Biathlon
*Bobsled
*Cross-country skiing
*Figure skating
*Ice hockey (women only)
*Luge
*Short track speed skating
*Skeleton
*Ski jumping
* Ski orienteering
*Snowshoe racing
*Speed skating Games for the Physically Challenged
The Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged is open to athletes between the ages of 5 and 21 in the following divisions:
visually impaired , blind,hearing impaired ,deaf ,spinal cord injury ,amputee ,cerebral palsy , and Les Autres (which includes conditions such asmuscular dystrophy ,dwarfism , andarthritis , among others).Events
* Archery
* Slalomobstacle course
* Swimming
* Table tennis
* Track and Field
*Wheelchair racing Notable Empire State Games Athletes
Alpine Skiing
*Diann Roffe , WesternBaseball
*Andy Van Slyke , CentralBasketball
*Kenny Anderson , New York City
*Ron Artest , New York City, 1997-1998
* Walter Berry, New York City
*Sue Bird , Long Island
*Elton Brand , Hudson Valley, 1997
*Rick Carlisle , Adirondack
*Christian Laettner , Western
* Chris Mullin, New York City
*Sam Perkins , New York City
*Wally Szczerbiak , Long Island, 1997
*Dwayne Washington , New York CityBoxing
*Michael Bentt ,New York City
*Hector Camacho , New York City
*Joe Mesi , Western
*Mike Tyson , New York City
*Hasim Rahman Cycling
*Mike McCarthy , New York City
*George Hincapie , Long IslandField Hockey
*Tracey Fuchs , Long IslandIce Hockey
*Christopher Higgins , Long Island, 2000-2001
*Todd Marchant , Western
*Matt Murley , Central, 1997
*Lyndsay Wall , Western, 2001Skeleton
*Jimmy Shea , AdirondackSoccer
*Jerrod Laventure , Long IslandSwimming
*Kara Lynn Joyce , Western
*Bruce Derrick , CentralWrestling
*Jeff Blatnick , AdirondackReferences
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