Badger State Games

Badger State Games

First event	1985
Occur every	Year
Headquarters	Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau Wausau, Wisconsin
Website	www.badgerstategames.org

The Badger State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of Wisconsin. It is a member of the National Congress of State Games. The Badger State Games began in 1985 and hold both summer and winter games annually.^[1] In August 2011, the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation (WSDC), the manager of the Games, decided to discontinue the summer and winter events. The WSDC stated that the Games had served its purpose and that the current market for amateur athletic events had become saturated, which had lowered participation in recent years.^[2] In October 2011, it was announced that the WSDC had reached an agreement to sell the Badger State Games brand to the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). Instead of accepting a cash payment, the WSDC asked that the CVB provide $5,000 athlete scholarships for the Winter Games for the next three years. It was agreed that the Winter Games would be held in the Wausau area, and the Summer Games would continue to be held in the Fox Cities for at least the following three years. The CVB announced that the following events would be held in the February 2012 Winter Games: Alpine Skiing, Billiards, Bowling, Curling, Figure Skating, Indoor Archery (last two weekends in January) and Nordic (Cross Country) Skiing. Additional events would be considered based on athlete participation and facility availability.^[3]

Summer Games

As of 2006:

5k/10k Run Archery Basketball Bowling Cycling Events Disc Golf Golf Events Gymnastics In-line Racing Lacrosse

Martial Arts Racquetball Roller Hockey Rowing Shotgun Shooting Soccer-Adult Soccer-Youth Softball FP - Adult Softball FP - Youth

Swimming-Age Group Swimming-Masters Tennis - Novice Tennis - USTA Track & Field-Adult Track & Field-Youth Triathlon (Sprint) Ultimate Frisbee Volleyball Wrestling

Winter Games

As of 2012: Alpine Skiing Billiards Bowling Curling Figure Skating Indoor Archery Nordic Skiing

Previously held events: Freestyle Skiing Hockey - Adult Hockey - Youth Quadrathlon Ski Jumping Snowboarding Snowshoe Racing Speedskating

2006

In 2006, the Badger State Summer games had approximately 16,000 athlete participants.

The 2006 summer games saw Bill Wambach of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin break the national high-jump record for the 80- to 84-year-old division with a jump of 1.26 meters. Bill Wambach has been competing in the Badger State Games for many years.

Notes

1. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 August 2011, Tom Held, "Badger State Games will end after 25 years"
2. Badger State Games Ends, WSDC Restructures - Full Press Release Accessed 23 October 2011
3. Badger State Winter Games - Game on! Badger State Games to continue! Accessed 23 October 2011

External links

• Official website