82-year-old is first to register for State Games > Recreational > Stories > Old Colorado City

YourHub.com \\ Old Colorado City \\ Stories \\ Sports \\ Recreational

82-year-old is first to register for State Games

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: YourHub on 2/6/2007

By Mike Moran, State Games of America

Retired Colorado Springs Utilities employee Willie Gatza, who won seven gold medals in Swimming at the 2006 Rocky Mountain State Games, is the first Colorado athlete to register for the 2007 State Games of America, Aug. 2-5 in Colorado Springs.
Not content to simply chase medals at the U.S. Olympic Training Center's state-of-the-art aquatics pool in seven swimming events again, the 82-year-old Colorado Springs woman has also entered the Track & Field competition at the Air Force Academy in the javelin, shotput and discus!
She will be part of the field of 10,000 athletes from across the nation coming to Colorado Springs for the national event in August to compete for medals.
Already, entries have been received from amateur athletes in 17 states, including Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Colorado.
Registration is open online at www.stategames.org for eligible amateur athletes in 29 sports.
The State Games of America is a property of the National Congress of State Games, and the event is hosted by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. The event will be held in Colorado Springs again in 2009. A record 9,462 athletes from 46 states competed in the event in 2005 in Colorado Springs.
"It is great to be back again in Colorado Springs for our premier event," said National Congress of State Games President Kevin Cummings, who heads up the Bay State (Mass.) State Games. "The city has been a great host to our event in the past, and I know our respective state games' athletes from across the nation are excited about returning to this special city."
The State Games of America (SGA) is the premier, national multi-sport event for athletes of all ages and abilities held every biennium. Medal winners from 49 state games nationwide earn the right to compete against other winners and match their skills and competitive desire in a national arena.
In order to qualify for the State Games of America, participants must have won a gold, silver or bronze medal in a SGA sport in their local State Games in a qualifying year (2005 or 2006 Summer, 2006 or 2007 Winter), won a medal in the 2005 State Games of America or be residents of Colorado for at least 30 days prior to competition. College students, U.S. military personnel and their families who are stationed in Colorado, are also eligible to participate.
The State Games concept was developed in New York in 1978 with the Empire State Games. In 2006, more than 500,000 athletes competed in State Games nationwide. State Games feature various sports of the Olympic and Pan American Games as well as sports that have regional popularity within each state.
Prominent State Games athletes include Olympians and others: Jeff Blatnick, Ralph Boston, Tracy Caulkins, Calbert Cheaney, Curt Clausen, Diane Dixon, Tom Dolan, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, Dan Gable, Rowdy Gaines, Harvey Glance, Nicole Haislett, Nancy Hogshead, Roy Jones, Adonis Jordan, Nancy Kerrigan, Rusty LaRue, Danny Manning, Henry Marsh, Eric Montross, Chris Mullin, Tab Ramos, Glenn Robinson, Alberto Salazar, Doug Smith, Rex Walters, Lones Wigger, Jr. and Paul Wylie.
Sports Offered:
5K Run/Walk
Diving
Martial Arts
Tennis
Archery (3D)
Field Hockey
Powerlifting
Track & Field
Archery (Target)
Figure Skating
Racquetball
Triathlon
Badminton
Flag Football
Shooting
Volleyball
Basketball
Golf
Soccer
Weightlifting
Billiards
Gymnastics
Softball (Slow Pitch)
Wrestling
Bowling
InLine Hockey
Swimming
Cycling
Judo
Table Tennis

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.