Empire State Games come to White Plains, NY

__NOTOC__

The Empire State Games is an annual Olympic-style competition for amateur athletes from the state of New York, United States, encompassing several divisions allowing athletes of all ages to compete. In 2007, it is hosted by Westchester County and takes place July 25–29, 2007. In all, some 6,000 athletes are expected to participate.

"I think the Empire State Games is one of the best things that's happened to Westchester County," Buster LaBarbera, 74, of New Rochelle said. "It's good for the economy and it's just a great thing."

Long Island had made a bid to host the games but lost out to Westchester. "Once done, it's done," said Bob Kenney, region director for Long Island, at the opening ceremonies. "We can't look back. We can't hold grudges." Long Island may submit a bid for the games in 2010 according to Kenney.

Saturday, the Criterium cycling events took place in White Plains. Starting at 7:00 a.m. EDT (UTC-4), races for both men and women began at Martine Avenue at Court Street in downtown White Plains.

Criterium races (those are age brackets for the masters series):

Masters Men 45-54, 12 miles

Masters Men 35-44, 18 miles

Open Men, 31 miles

Open Women, 18 miles

Masters Men 55-64, 65+, 10 miles

Masters Women 35-44, 45-54, 55+, 10 miles

Street closures included: Quarropas Street, Mamaroneck Avenue, Martine Avenue, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Parts of Court Street and Grand Street had limited access. Road closures began at 5:00 a.m. The course was basically a large square.

Wikinews was there to cover the men's open event race. Points were awarded for sprints on certain laps. Joe Zaverdas from Commack, New York, representing the Long Island region, won with 75 points. 58 riders participated.

Top 15 finishers

PlaceRiderHometownRegionPointsMedal1Zaverdas, JoeCommackLong Island75gold 2Joslyn, JayGrand IslandWestern69silver 3Bickford, GeoffNew YorkNew York City63bronze 4Luther, MikeBlasdellWestern575Ferreira, FernandoOssiningHudson Valley566Schmidt, RobertAthensAdirondack557Lowe, AnthonyBrooklynNew York City548Campos, RobertNesconsetLong Island539Danke, JoelMount KiscoHudson Valley5210Micko, JanGlen CoveLong Island5111Gentice, GabrielleWhite PlainsHudson Valley5012Swan, GlennFreevilleCentral4913Nelnychenko, AndrewAlpineCentral4814Paris, MarkWest HenriettaWestern4715Dekrey, JesseRhinebeckHudson Valley46

Gallery

Sister links