The Badger State Games are a series of annual Olympic-style multi-sport events for amateur athletes from the state of Wisconsin, held twice per year in Wausau. It is a member of the National Congress of State Games. The summer games have been held annually since they began in 1985, originally in Wisconsin's capital city of Madison, then briefly in the Fox Cities area before being relocated to their current home in Wausau in 2012. The winter games have been held in Wausau since they began in 1989.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 August 2011, Tom Held, "Badger State Games will end after 25 years" Some sports are represented at both summer and winter editions of the games.
History The Wisconsin Amateur Sports Corporation, a non-profit organization, began organizing the first edition of the Badger State Games in 1984. The plan was closely associated with Madison's bid for the 1987 National Sports Festival, which was ultimately awarded to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.Hughes, John. "Visit buoys Sports Fest hopes", Wisconsin State Journal, February 1, 1984. The inaugural Badger State Games were held in Madison in 1985, with ceremonies including an Olympic-style torch relay that circled the state over the course of two weeks. Wisconsin became the sixteenth state to hold a statewide multi-sport event, with the National Congress of State Games created in 1988 to serve as their governing body.
In its first few years, the event continually grew, and was met with enthusiasm from the state government and local businesses who contributed to fundraising efforts."Badger State Games Assistance - Joint Committee on Finance", Wisconsin Legislative Documents, 2001-03. It was consistently held in Madison during the last weekend of June. The first winter games were held in 1989 in Wausau, which exceeded attendance expectations despite temperatures of . A special snowmobile-based torch relay was held in anticipation of the Winter Games. These games also continued to be held annually, during the first weekend of February. By the end of the 1980s, the event had grown significantly and eight regional festivals were established to extend opportunities to even more athletes."Boyceville heads to Madison for Badger State games", Chippewa Herald, June 20, 2001.
Otto Breitenbach became the executive director of the Wisconsin Amateur Sports Corporation in 1988, and he was credited with raising the profile and scope of the games during his nine-year tenure.Mertz, Adam. "Badger State Games discontinued after 26-year run", Wisconsin State Journal, August 2, 2011. By 1997, when Breitenbach retired, the Badger State Games was "considered by many to be the current standard bearer" among statewide multi-sport events,Cohen, Andrew. "'Amateur Athletics At Its Finest'", Athletic Business, April 1997. and the country's largest relative to state population.
At the 2006 summer games, Bill Wambach of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, a long-time competitor, broke the national high-jump record for the 80- to 84-year-old division with a jump of 1.26 meters."Flying high: Sun Prairie's Bill Wambach, 80, sets a national high jump record at the Badger State Games", Wisconsin State Journal, June 26, 2006.
In 2007, American Family Insurance became the primary sponsor of the games, and both the winter and summer events were officially renamed the American Family Insurance Badger State Games for two years."Snowmobiling, trap shooting now part of Badger State Winter Games", La Crosse Tribune, January 26, 2008.
After the 2008 summer games, the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation announced that the event would leave Madison and move to the Fox Cities region for at least three years.Robus, Clint. "Getting their final BSG kicks? These Badger State Games might be the last for some Madison participants", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 2008. The decision was made after the Fox Cities Sports Authority offered a grant of $180,000, which the Greater Madison Visitors and Convention Bureau refused to compete with.Baggot, Andy. "Know Your Madisonian: Vincent, group hope Badger State Games can rebound", Wisconsin State Journal, June 20, 2010. The games had been in decline for several years up to that point, and there was no opening ceremony for the games' final year in Madison because of construction at James Madison Memorial High School.
Following the 2010 Winter Games, the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau withdrew its large annual contributions to the event, leaving it without a host city. The 2011 Winter Games were ultimately held at venues across the state, although many were able to remain in the Wausau area. That same year, the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation announced that it would discontinue the Badger State Games, after operating at a loss for two years. The WSDC stated that the Games had served their purpose, and that the current market for amateur athletic events had become overly saturated, lowering participation in recent years."Badger State Games Ends, WSDC Restructures - Full Press Release", The Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau agreed to purchase both the winter and summer games, holding both events in the Wausau area. It was announced that the summer games would not move to Wausau until 2015, following the completion of the WSDC's deal with the Fox Cities Sports Authority,"Badger State Winter Games - Game on! Badger State Games to continue!" Accessed 23 October 2011 but the 2012 summer games were ultimately held in Wausau."Badger State Games make summer debut in central Wis." , WKOW-TV, June 23, 2011.
The Wausau CVB changed the format of both events in 2015, spreading the dozens of events across a period of months rather than holding them all in the same weekend. This allowed for more sports to be represented, and more athletes to participate in more events.
Sports Summer Games As of 2018, the summer games take place over four months and include events in 24 sports.
5K run/walk Adventure racing Archery Baseball BMX racing Bowling Cornhole Flag football
Freestyle kayaking Golf Gymnastics Individual time trial Lacrosse Martial arts Pickleball Skateboarding
Soccer Softball Swimming Track and field Trap shooting Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling
Winter Games As of 2018, the winter games take place over three months and include events in 21 sports.
Alpine skiing Archery Billiards Bowling Cornhole CrossFit Curling
Disc golf eSports Fat-tire bike racing Figure skating Ice hockey Martial arts Nordic skiing
Pickleball Pistol shooting Ski jumping Snowmobiling Snowshoe running Table tennis Trap shooting
Editions
+ Summer Games No. Dates held Primary venue Participants Sports Notes 1 July 12 - 14, 1985 Dane County ColiseumMadison 5,000 17 Hughes, John. "Let the games begin", Wisconsin State Journal, July 12, 1985. 2 June 27 - 29, 1986 Camp Randall StadiumMadison 6,000 22 Kroshus, Jay. "Earl, crowd give a warm welcome to Badger Games", Wisconsin State Journal, June 28, 1986. 3 June 26 - 28, 1987 8,000 22 Mayers, Jeff. "Bigger, better Games open", Wisconsin State Journal, June 27, 1987. 4 June 24 - 26, 1988 Wisconsin Field HouseMadison 10,000 25 Hinz, Roy. "Bremser ignites Badger State Games", Wisconsin State Journal, June 25, 1988. 5 June 23 - 25, 1989 Capitol SquareMadison 12,000 25 Hinz, Roy. "Games begin", Wisconsin State Journal, June 24, 1989. 6 June 22 - 24, 1990 14,000 24 Hinz, Roy. "Games' flame brightens night", Wisconsin State Journal, June 23, 1990. 7 June 28 - 30, 1991 Wisconsin Field HouseMadison 18,000 24 Aehl, John. "She's a good sport: Brown fires up Badger State Games crowd", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 1991. 8 June 26 - 28, 1992 Capitol SquareMadison 15,000 24 Youngblood, Kent. "Winners are everywhere at BSG", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 1992. 9 June 25 - 27, 1993 20,000 25 Youngblood, Kent. "Games suited for all", Wisconsin State Journal, June 25, 1993. 10 June 24 - 26, 1994 Wisconsin Field HouseMadison 18,000 24 Youngblood, Kent. "Craig answers the call", Wisconsin State Journal, June 25, 1994. 11 June 23 - 25, 1995 Mansfield StadiumMemorial High SchoolMadison 25,266 24 "Opening day for Badger State Games", Wisconsin State Journal, June 24, 1995.Cohen, Andrew. "Madison welcomes a little bit of Atlanta", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 1996. 12 June 28 - 30, 1996 22,000 26 13 June 27 - 29, 1997 20,500 26 "Badger State Games kick off with ceremonies tonight", Wisconsin State Journal, June 27, 1997. 14 June 26 - 28, 1998 20,000 26 "Games, Wisconsin style", Madison Capital Times, June 29, 1998. 15 June 25 - 27, 1999 Verona Area High SchoolVerona 18,000 26 Mulhern, Tom. "Badger State Games continue to roll in 15th year", Wisconsin State Journal, June 25, 1999. 16 June 22 - 25, 2000 20,000 27 Mulhern, Tom. "It's time, so let the games begin", Wisconsin State Journal, June 22, 2000. 17 June 22 - 24, 2001 20,000 27 "Games, continued", Wisconsin State Journal, June 23, 2001. 18 June 27 - 30, 2002 16,000 26 Anderson, Eric. "Memories", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 2002."18th Annual Badger State Games Strengthens Tradition of Sports for Everyone", Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, July 15, 2002. 19 June 27 - 30, 2003 14,000 26 "Sunday Sports Extra", Wisconsin State Journal, June 29, 2003."Rain Fails to Dampen Spirit of 2003 Summer Games: Plans for next summer's 20th anniversary are underway", Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, July 2, 2003. 20 June 24 - 27, 2004 10,400 28 "Fun and Games", Madison Capital Times, June 28, 2004."New Waukesha South High School Natatorium Named Site of 2005 Badger State Swimming", page 20. Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, May 10, 2005. 21 June 17 - 26, 2005 16,000 28 "Give Badger Games medal for inspiration", Wisconsin State Journal, June 27, 2005."Summer 2005 Media Kit", Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, 2005. 22 June 17 - 25, 2006 Mansfield StadiumMemorial High SchoolMadison 16,000 28 "Summer 2006 Media Kit", Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, 2005. 23 June 15 - 24, 2007 10,000 30 Mulhern, Tom. "Opening Festival all about fun, drawing crowd", Wisconsin State Journal, June 22, 2007."Three New Sports Added To Summer Games", Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, April 16, 2007. 24 June 27 - 29, 2008 8,045 30 Harris, Andrea. "Badger State Games Plan Book", Connective Campaigns, 2011. 25 June 26 - 28, 2009 Titan StadiumOshkosh 6,268 25 Bleach, Michael. "Relocation to Fox Valley brings a twist", Wisconsin State Journal, June 21, 2009. 26 June 25 - 27, 2010 5,480 25 27 June 16 - 26, 2011 5,000 19 28 June 22 - 24, 2012 Wausau 1,000 3 29 June 15 - 30, 2013 1,300 11 "Threat of severe weather won't stop Badger State Games" , WKOW-TV, June 21, 2013. 30 June 14 - 29, 2014 1,400 15 "Badger State Games", retrieved July 4, 2014. 31 June 12 - 28, 2015 1,500 18 "Badger State Games", retrieved August 15, 2015. 32 May 6 -August 20, 2016 2,000 22 "Badger State Games", retrieved September 22, 2016. 33 May 4 -August 26, 2017 26 "Badger State Games", retrieved September 1, 2017. 34 May 4 -August 19, 2018 24