By Staff
From special reports
November 3, 2004
The 14th annual State Games of Mississippi will be held June17-19 and 23-26, 2005, in Lauderdale and Neshoba County.
In 2004, Meridian hosted over 5,000 athletes competing in 28 sports from over 300 communities throughout the state.
Due to the continued growth of the State Games of Mississippi there was a demand for additional sporting events to be added to the line-up. With the facilities of Lauderdale County already full from the existing events, the opportunity to expand into neighboring
Neshoba County was created.
The State Games of Mississippi has grown from one weekend to two full weekends of sports since 1999. Fencing, Sailing and Summer Biathlon were moved from the third and fourth weekends to the first weekend of June for better weather conditions.
In 2005, the Summer Biathlon will be held in Gulfport, as an exhibition event to broaden the awareness of the State Games of Mississippi in the coastal area.
The first weekend of June also includes youth soccer qualifying competitions that are held in three designated communities from a northern, central and southern location.
Opening Ceremonies will officially kick off the 14th annual State Games of Mississippi on June 17, 2005, and events will continue throughout the weekends of June 17-19 and June 23-26.
Sporting events are open to all amateur athletes and participant's age categories vary with each sport. All participants must be a Mississippi resident for at least 30 days prior to the first day of competition in their sport.
Participants in the past years have ranged in age from 4 to 92 and represented communities statewide.
For more information on the Games, call 1-800-482-0205 or visit the State Games of Mississippi website at www.stategamesofms.org. E-mail requests may be sent to stgamiss@aol.com.