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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. The 2009 Empire State Games were suspended but are scheduled to return in 2010 to Buffalo, New York.
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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.
| Adirondack Central | Hudson Valley Long Island | New York City Western |
- 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: Gold
- Central Region
- Hudson Valley Region
- Counties: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester
- Cities: Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie
- Uniform colors: Green
- New York City Region
- 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: Navy Blue
Summer Games
There are three divisions in the Summer Empire State Games: open, scholastic, and masters. The scholastic division is for NYS residents that are 17 or younger as of August 31 of the Games year. Some scholastic division sports have a minimum age of 13 years. The open division is for NYS residents that are 18 years of age or older as of August 31 of the Games year. The masters division consitis of 11 different sports and their age qualifications vary by sport.
Athletic Events
Open & Scholastic Divisions
Open and Scholastic Events:
- Archery
- Basketball
- Diving
- Fencing
- Gymnastics
- Rowing
- Shooting
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
Open only:
- Boxing
- Bowling
- Canoeing and Kayaking
- Cycling
- Judo
- Sailing
- Softball
- Synchronized swimming
- Weightlifting
Scholastic only:
Masters Division
The Masters division competes separately from the open and scholastic divisions, but has many of the same events.
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 - Games were suspended
- 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
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