ON DEMAND
LI Well Represented In Empire Games
By Christy Brothers/
info@longislandernews.com
The 2005 Empire State Summer Games kicked off Wednesday
and will run through Sunday. The games have over 6,000 athletes
participating from all of New York State.
This is the 28th Summer Games and the first time
the games are taking place in the Hudson Valley. Different events
and activities will take place at Marist and Vassar colleges and
SUNY New Paltz. Athletes, staff and volunteers will stay in dorms
at these colleges, said Empire State Games volunteer, Betsy Morgan.
“A lot of time and a lot of staff
goes into planning these games,” said Morgan. With over 30
sports represented, the planning needs to be meticulous.
Events for the Summer Games include men’s
and women’s basketball, rugby, tennis, boxing, volleyball,
softball, baseball, ice hockey, diving, swimming, synchronized swimming,
weight lifting, gymnastics, track and field, soccer, sailing, cycling,
canoe/kayaking, lacrosse, judo, archery, wrestling, bowling, shooting,
field hockey, fencing, golf and rowing.
The divisions include scholastic, open and masters.
Scholastic is for school-aged athletes, open is for anyone and masters
is usually for adults.
Centereach High School Girls’ Varsity Field
Hockey coach Laura Melfi said that the Empire games are not only
important, but a great experience for athletes. Meeting and competing
against new athletes helps build skills. “The friendships
they build are so important,” said Melfi.
One of Melfi’s players, Rebecca Kazaks is
participating in the Summer Games. Kazaks, who plays field hockey
year round, practiced for the games throughout the summer. Melfi
added that college coaches go to large sporting events like the
Summer Games to scout potential players.
The Summer Games has been a starting point for
many successful Olympic athletes from Long Island, including Gold
Medalist Sarah Hughes from Great Neck and WNBA star Sue Bird from
Syosset. There were 22 New Yorkers who competed on the US Olympic
team in Athens, Greece in 2004.
The New York State Office of Parks is responsible
for the Empire State Games. The games are partially sponsored by
the New York Lottery. Since the games began, there have been more
than 116,000 athletes that have participated. New York State was
the first state to develop such an athletic program and there are
now 44 states that are similar to the Empire State Games.
New York State has Senior Games, Winter Games
and Games for the Physically Challenged. Winter Games are always
held in Lake Placid, New York. But, for the last two years, Hofstra
University has hosted the Games for the Physically Challenged.
All six regions of New York State are represented.
The 2006 Summer Games will take place in Rochester, New York.
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