Empire State Games

The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New 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 the Paralympics), and the Senior Games (specificially for athletes age 50 and older). The Empire State Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games.

The first Empire State Games took place at Syracuse University in 1978, the first State Games to be held in the United States. The success of the event sparked the creation of other State Games across the country. The 2008 Empire State Games took place from July 23 through July 27, 2008 in Binghamton, and the 2009 Summer Games are scheduled to be held in the Hudson 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.

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 blue

Summer Games

There are three divisions in the Summer Empire State Games: open, scholastic, and masters. The scholastic division is restricted to high schoolers 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 and Kayaking
* 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
* Volleyball

Host 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 as muscular dystrophy, dwarfism, and arthritis, among others).

Events

* Archery
* Slalom obstacle course
* Swimming
* Table tennis
* Track and Field
* Wheelchair racing

Notable Empire State Games Athletes

Alpine Skiing
* Diann Roffe, Western

Baseball
* Andy Van Slyke, Central

Basketball
* 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 City

Boxing
* 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 Island

Field Hockey
* Tracey Fuchs, Long Island

Ice Hockey
* Christopher Higgins, Long Island, 2000-2001
* Todd Marchant, Western
* Matt Murley, Central, 1997
* Lyndsay Wall, Western, 2001

Skeleton
* Jimmy Shea, Adirondack

Soccer
* Jerrod Laventure, Long Island

Swimming
* Kara Lynn Joyce, Western
* Bruce Derrick, Central

Wrestling
* Jeff Blatnick, Adirondack

References