Summer Games
New York's amateur summer festival, 1978–2010.
The Summer Games were the original Empire State Games. Founded in 1978 at Syracuse University, they ran every July or August for thirty-three years, before the 2009 state-budget crisis cancelled them outright. The 2010 edition went ahead in the Mohawk Valley with private support and proved to be the last.
This section is the archive.
What was contested
The Summer Games covered roughly thirty sports, split across the Open, Scholastic, and Masters divisions. Some — Track and field, Swimming, Basketball, Wrestling — ran across all three. Some, like Baseball and Lacrosse, were Scholastic-only. Some — Sailing, Bowling, Judo — were Open only.
How the competition worked
Six regional teams competed against each other. Athletes qualified by finishing top of the trials in their region; the best of each region’s roster came to the host city for the final week.
Where the Games were held
Syracuse hosted twelve editions, more than any other city. Buffalo took on the Games for five editions; Rochester for three. The host rotated through Capital District, Long Island, Ithaca, Binghamton, Westchester, and the Mohawk Valley in the later years.
Every Summer host city, every year →
Champions
The Empire State Games produced a long roster of New York champions across thirty years — many of whom went on to NCAA Division I, the U.S. Olympic Trials, or the professional ranks.
Featured champions, 1978–2012 →
The end
The 2009 Games were cancelled when the New York State budget could no longer support them. The 2010 Games went ahead at reduced scale in Utica. The Games were cancelled again in 2011, 2012, and 2013. In April 2014 the Empire State Sports Foundation announced its intention to disband, citing insolvency, and the Summer Games have not been held since.
The Winter, Senior, and Physically Challenged editions all survived, under different organisers. See the history page for the full story.