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. It was a member of the National Congress of State Games. The games consisted of a number of competitions: Summer Games (often referred to as the Empire State Games, typically held in late July) Winter Games (often referred to as the Empire State Winter Games, typically held in February) Games for the Physically Challenged (similar to the Paralympics) Senior Games (specifically for athletes age 50 and older)
In 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 the Empire State Summer Games were cancelled.
History
Early history One of the original organizers of the Empire State Games was Herbert Mols of Buffalo, New York. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU__5V9RAcc0) The first Empire State Games took place at Syracuse University in 1978, the first state games to be held in the United States. The games remained in Syracuse until a delegation from Western New York led by Herb Mols, Bob Rich, Bob Bedell, Carl Roesch Sr., Dr. Marc Grosso, Gardner Debo, Mark Sternin and Ed Rutkowski brought the Games to Buffalo, New York in 1985 and 1986.
With the success of the first 1978 games, the Empire State Games have sparked the creation of other state games across the country. Before their cancellation, the Empire State Games were the largest state-supported amateur athletic competition in the nation.
The Empire State Games competition was a member of the National Congress of State Games, and was a recognized State Games Program of the United States Olympic Committee.
Cancellations
The 2008 Empire State Games took place from July 23 through July 27, 2008 in Binghamton. The 2009 Empire State Games were cancelled. In 2010 the games were revived and held from July 21 through July 25, 2010 in Buffalo, New York.
Due to a lack of state funding, the 2011 Summer games were discontinued on November 17, 2010. The community of Lake Placid was able to save the winter games.
As for the Games for the Physically Challenged, they were able to be saved with the help of Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and the partnership with dozens of private sector sponsors. A second version of the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged in Western NY continued at SUNY Brockport College with the aid of corporate sponsors and private funding from Camp Smile Inc., a local not-for-profit organization aligned with the Webster Lions Club and dedicated to providing services to children with disabilities.
Return of the games In 2012 Empire State Sports Foundation (ESSF) was created with the specific goal of rejuvenating the Hugh L. Carey Empire State Games for amateur athletes of New York State. ESSF is a Rochester, New York-based not-for-profit public charity dedicated to the recognition and promotion of competitive excellence among New York State’s amateur athletes, as well as those attributes associated with sports: personal health, fitness, development, education, sportsmanship and teamwork.
The Empire State Summer Games were prepared to return in 2013, but as the ESSF were finding corporate partners, they discovered that corporate sponsors had "been giving any extra funds to Hurricane Sandy relief, leaving little extra room for other worthy causes". The Empire State Games are going to be re-launched in Rochester in the summer of 2014.
Upon hearing that The Empire State Summer Games for 2013 was cancelled Nassau County announced that they will hold the 2013 Games for the Physically Challenged as they have done for the last two years. In an April 2013 press conference, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano stated, "The 2013 Games would not have been able to happen without the genius donation of $50,000 US dollars by NBTY, Inc. through their Helping Hands Charity." Known locally as the Nassau County Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, the 2013 games took place May 30 through June 1.
Meanwhile the Brockport Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged in Monroe County celebrated "36 Years of Abilities" in 2023 with continued private funding from Camp Smile Inc. and local corporate and community support.
End of an era According to media reports April 2014, the Empire State Sports Foundation (ESSF), a Brighton, New York nonprofit organization whose aim to revive the popular Olympic-style summer sports event fueled hope among amateur athletes and media attention across the state, official announced its intention to disband. According to the official papers that were made public, filed in New York State Supreme Court, show that the foundation is insolvent, owing debts topping $158,000 to multiple creditors.
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 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 and blue Central Region Counties: Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins Cities: Binghamton, Elmira, Ithaca, Oswego, Rome, Syracuse, Utica Uniform color: light blue and navy blue Hudson Valley Region Counties: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester Cities:Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, White Plains, New Rochelle Uniform colors: kelly green and gold Long Island Region Counties: Nassau, Suffolk Uniform colors: gray and red New York City Region Counties: Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island) City: New York City Uniform color: orange and royal blue 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 (1978-1994): maroon and white Uniform color (1995-1996): navy blue and light blue Uniform color (1996-2010): navy blue and red
Summer Games There are three divisions in the Summer Empire State Games: open, scholastic, and masters. The scholastic division is for New York State residents who are 17 or younger as of August 31 of the year of the games. Some scholastic division sports have a minimum age of 13 years. The open division is for New York State residents who are 18 years of age or older as of August 31 of the year of the games. The masters division consists of 11 different sports and their age qualifications vary by sport.
Athletic events
Open and scholastic divisions Open and scholastic events:
Archery Basketball Diving Fencing
Gymnastics Rowing Shooting Soccer
Swimming Track and field Volleyball Wrestling Water Polo Team Handball
Open only:
Boxing Bowling Cycling
Canoeing Kayaking Sailing
Judo Softball Weightlifting Synchronized swimming
Scholastic only:
Baseball Field hockey
Ice hockey Lacrosse
Tennis
Masters division
The Masters division competes separately from the open and scholastic divisions, but has many of the same events.
Archery Bowling Canoeing Cycling
Diving Fencing Golf Gymnastics
Rugby Swimming Volleyball
Host sites
Year City Region 1978 Syracuse Central 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Buffalo Western 1986 1987 Syracuse Central 1988 1989 Ithaca Central 1990 Syracuse 1991 Albany Adirondack 1992 1993 Rochester Western 1994 Syracuse Central 1995 Ithaca 1996 Buffalo Western 1997 Capital District Adirondack 1998 Rochester Western 1999 Long Island Long Island 2000 Binghamton Central 2001 Mohawk Valley 2002 Syracuse 2003 Buffalo Western 2004 Binghamton Central 2005 New Paltz Hudson Valley 2006 Rochester Western 2007 Westchester County Hudson Valley 2008 Binghamton Central 2009 (event cancelled) 2010 Buffalo Western 2011 (event cancelled) 2012 2013 2014 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 (5 times), Albany, Binghamton and Rochester (3 times each) and Ithaca (2 times). The Central region hosted 15 of the games, followed by Western with eight and the Adirondack region with three. In 2005, the Hudson Valley, which hosted the games twice, became the last region to host the event for the first time. Long Island hosted the games once, in 1999, and New York City never hosted.
Notes
Winter Games The Empire State Winter Games are held annually in Lake Placid in the month of February. Most of the events take place at the venues of the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Events
Alpine skiing Snowboarding Ski cross Boardercross Biathlon
Bobsled Cross-country skiing Curling 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
Adapted Games Archery Slalom obstacle course
Swimming Table tennis Track and field
Wheelchair racing Wheelchair basketball
Senior Games The Empire State Senior Games is an organized sports competition and leisure program for those age 50 and older which: Provides recreational opportunities. Encourages fitness as a lifelong activity. Promotes the positive image of seniors. Combines sports and games with fitness, fun and fellowship. Advocates true competition in its purest form.
Events
Archery Badminton Basketball Bridge Cycling Disc golf Golf - Long course (par 71) Golf - Short course (par 54)
Horseshoes Orienteering Pickleball Ping Pong (Table Tennis) Race Walk (5K) Racquetball Road Race (5K) Road Race (10K)
Shuffleboard Softball Swimming Tennis Track and field Triathlon Volleyball
Notable athletes
Alpine skiing Diann Roffe, Western
Athletics Derrick Adkins, Long Island Dominique Blake, New York City Dick Buerkle, Western George Buckheit, Hudson Valley Diane Dixon, New York City Sean Farrell, Long Island Samyr Lainé, Hudson Valley Paul Lankford, Long Island Tom Myslinski, Central Jennifer Rhines, Central Teresa Vaill, Hudson Valley
Baseball
Basketball
Biathlon Curt Schreiner, Adirondack
Bowling Liz Johnson, Western Mike Mullin, Hudson Valley
Boxing Michael Bentt, New York City Hector Camacho, New York City Howard Davis Jr., Long Island Gabriel Hernández, Hudson Valley Darling Jimenez, Hudson Valley Buddy McGirt, Long Island Joe Mesi, Western Charles Murray, Western Mike Tyson, New York City Hasim Rahman
Canoeing Curt Schreiner, Adirondack
Cross-country skiing Curt Schreiner, Adirondack
Cycling Megan Guarnier, Adirondack George Hincapie, Long Island Mike McCarthy, New York City Nelson Vails, New York City
Diving Cassandra Cardinell, Adirondack
Fencing Cliff Bayer, New York City Peter Devine, New York City Ed Wright, Hudson Valley Felicia Zimmermann, Western
Field hockey Tracey Fuchs, Long Island Melissa González, Hudson Valley Jill Reeve, Adirondack Carla Tagliente, Central
Gymnastics Mark Caso, Central Dom Minicucci, New York City
Ice hockey
Judo Nina Cutro-Kelly, Adirondack Jason Morris, Adirondack
Lacrosse Melvin Fowler, Long Island Jon Hess, Hudson Valley Pat McCabe, Long Island Mark Millon, Long Island Kenny Nims, Central Stephen Peyser, Long Island