Colorado Springs – An opportunity to win a medal and compete against some of the country’s best athletes in 24 sports is open to all Coloradans as part of the State Games of America set from July 28-31.
Organizers of the event, which is expected to include 9,000 athletes from every state and along various skill levels, held a news conference Tuesday detailing plans.
“What we’re trying to do is bill this kind of as ‘Colorado against the world,”‘ said Tom Osborne, president and CEO of Colorado Springs Sports Corp. “We’ll have about 4,500 athletes from outside Colorado and 4,500 from Colorado.”
Held every two years, the State Games of America started in St. Louis in 1999. It is an outgrowth of the Empire State Games that started in New York in 1978. The Games feature sports from the Olympic and Pan American games, as well as sports with regional popularity.
Former Olympic gold-medal wrestler Rulon Gardner will light the torch for the Games as part of opening ceremonies July 28 at World Arena.
Sports ranging from billiards and table tennis to figure skating and swimming will be held, and any Colorado citizen can enter competitions in each, under various age and skill levels.
National champion figure skaters Rachel Flatts and Ryan Bradley will compete, as will 10-year-old table tennis national champion Austin Preiss of Manitou Springs.
Preiss recently returned from California, where he met Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and won a 6-foot-tall trophy for beating comedian Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show.
“Austin started playing when he was 3,” said his father, Scott, the U.S. national table tennis coach and a former national champion. “That’s all he saw when he opened his eyes. He’s really looking forward to representing Colorado in these games.”
The Games should be a boon to the Colorado economy, Osborne said. As of Monday, he said, 3,932 hotel room nights worth $463,777 have been booked by ticket buyers.
“It’s not the Olympic Games, but it’s going to be a good place for people who want to see some of the country’s best athletes competing at their sports,” Osborne said.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com
