Grand Rapids, Mich., 2015-6-5 — /EPR Retail News/ — The 2015 edition of the Meijer State Games of Michigan – Summer Games will offer 43 sports and will host more than 7,500 athletes. This year, there are 44 different venues that will host a Meijer State Games event. The Meijer State Games of Michigan continues to add sports and events to its lineup, which allows individual of all ages and ability levels the opportunity to compete.
“The Meijer State Games of Michigan evokes such a strong sense of community and state pride in its participants, as well as the thousands of spectators who attend,” said Doug Meijer, co-chairman of the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer. “Meijer is strongly committed to helping the community become a better place to live, work and play, and we believe the State Games achieves that goal.”
This year, the Summer Games will have three weekends of competition with the first weekend taking place on June 19-21, followed by the main weekend on June 25-28, and will conclude on August 8-9 with the soccer tournament. The opening ceremony will take place on June 26 at Fifth Third Ball Park, 4500 West River Drive Northeast, Plainfield Township, Mich. The opening ceremony festivities will include athlete village, parade of athletes, national anthem performed by contest winner Mikaela Koelzer, and the lighting of the cauldron.
New sports to the 2015 lineup are baseball, quad rugby, soccer, tennis and the ultrafit challenge. There are also new divisions at this year’s Meijer State Games with women’s indoor volleyball, girl’s fastpitch softball, sporting clays, mountain biking – short track, and girl’s high school basketball.
The 43 sports that will appear at this year’s Summer Games include: 5k, Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, BMX, Bocce Ball, Bowling, Boxing, Cricket, UltraFit Challenge, Cycling, Disc Golf, Field Hockey, Figure Skating, Football 7-on-7, Golf, Hockey, Horseshoes, Judo, Karate, Lacrosse, Mountain Biking, Pickleball, Quad Rugby, Racquetball, Rowing, Rugby, Shooting Sports, Skateboarding, Softball, Soccer, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Tae-Kwon-Do, Tennis, Track & Field, Urban Downhill Longboard, Volleyball, Wakeboarding, Waterskiing, and Wrestling.
All the events in the 2015 Meijer State Games of Michigan sports lineup will take place in the greater Grand Rapids area as there are 44 venues that will be hosting events in multisport event. For more information on the 2015 sports lineup and confirmed locations, please visit http://stategamesofmichigan.com/sports. The venue map for the 2015 Meijer State Games of Michigan can be viewed here: http://stategamesofmichigan.com/venue.
Sponsor of the 2015 Meijer State Games of Michigan are: Meijer, Subway, Metro Health, Myway Mobile Storage, Fox Motors, MC Sports, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Neurocore. Sponsorship opportunities are always available for any budget, email stategames@westmisports.com for sponsorship information.
The Meijer State Games of Michigan offers 40+ sports and there are over 7,500 athletes that will compete in this year’s event. For more information about the Meijer State Games of Michigan, please visit our website: www.stategamesofmichigan.com.
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About the Meijer State Games of Michigan:
Modeled after the Olympics, the Meijer State Games of Michigan welcomes athletes regardless of age or ability, and embodies the values of participation, sportsmanship and healthy living among residents of Michigan. In August 2017, the Meijer State Games of Michigan will play host to the State Games of America.
A signature event of the West Michigan Sports Commission, the Meijer State Games of Michigan is truly a grassroots organization that relies on the dedication of thousands of volunteers and the support of corporate partners.
About the West Michigan Sports Commission:
The West Michigan Sports Commission, a non-profit 501 (c) (3), works to identify, secure and host a diverse level of youth and amateur sporting events to positively impact the economy and quality of life in the region. Since its inception in 2007, the WMSC has booked nearly 400 sporting events and tournaments that attracted 550,000 athletes and visitors, generating more than $145 million in direct visitor spending. Visit www.westmisports.com for more information.
Contact:
David Gerhart, 733-316-6344, dgerhart@westmisports.com or Eric Engelbarts, 616-233-3563, eengelbarts@westmisports.com