Empire State Games

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Empire State Games is a yearly Olympic-style competition for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions allowing athletes of all ages to compete. The Empire State Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games.

There are several different Empire State Games competitions - a Summer games, typically held in late July, a Winter games, held at Lake Placid in February, Games for the Physically Challenged, similar to the Paralympics, and the Senior Games, specificially for athletes age 50 and older.

The first Empire State Games took place at Syracuse University in 1978, the first "State Games" to be held in the United States, and an event which would spark other "State Games" across the country. Syracuse would go on to host the first seven editions of the event, from 1978 to 1984. Buffalo was host in 1985 and 1986.

1 Regions
2 Summer Events
- 2.1 Masters Events
3 Winter Events
4 ESG for the Physically Challenged
5 Recent Empire State Games
6 Notable Empire State Games athletes
7 See also

[edit] 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.

Regions of the Empire State Games
██ Adirondack ██ Central ██ Hudson Valley ██ Long Island ██ New York City ██ Western

The Adirondack region covers Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Rensselaer, Warren, and Washington counties, including the cities of Albany, Glens Falls, Plattsburgh, Schenectady, and Troy. Athletes competing as part of the Adirondack team wear bright yellow uniforms.

The Central region covers Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins counties, including the cities of Binghamton, Elmira, Rome, Syracuse, and Utica. Athletes competing as part of the Central team wear powder blue uniforms.

The Hudson Valley region covers Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties, including the cities of Middletown, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie. Athletes competing as part of the Hudson Valley team wear green and gold uniforms.

The Long Island region covers the two counties of Long Island: Nassau and Suffolk counties. Athletes competing as part of the Long Island team wear red and silver uniforms.

The New York City region covers only the five boroughs of New York City: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Athletes competing as part of the New York City team wear orange uniforms with blue trim.

The Western region covers Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties, including the cities of Buffalo, Corning, Niagara Falls, and Rochester. Athletes competing as part of the Western team wear dark blue uniforms.

[edit] Summer Events

There are two divisions in the Summer Empire State Games: open and scholastic. 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 division.

Open and Scholastic Events:

Open only:

Scholastic only:

[edit] Masters Events

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

[edit] Winter Events

[edit] ESG 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).