The State Games of Mississippi once again came to Meridian, hosting its 18th Annual State Games June 6-7, 19-22 and 25-28, 2009.

Thousands of spectators and athletes filled the Meridian hotels and streets, making every hotel in Meridian fully booked and the city come alive with business and sports competition excitement. Athletes, from all over the state, came pumped and raring to go as they battled in various sports events, with some defending their titles, as others were new to the Games.

According to Suzy Johnson, Lauderdale County Tourism director, the event was a great boom to Meridian’s economy.

The State Games of Mississippi is a statewide amateur sports festival, patterned after the Olympics, for over 5,000 athletes of all ages and abilities. “The purpose of the State Games is to promote health and fitness through friendly, family-oriented athletic competition,” said Leah Reed, Public Relations and Marketing Director of the State Games of Mississippi.

June 19-21 and 25-28 were the main weekends of sporting action where 23 sports events were held. Competitions varied from archery to baseball, golf to power lifting and swimming to martial arts.

On Friday, June 19, Meridian hosted the “Downtown Get Down” opening ceremonies of the 2009 State Games of Mississippi. The opening ceremonies began with the “Parade of Athletes,” in which athletes representing their communities marched down 22nd Avenue. The parade featured United States Olympians, Ralph Boston, Brittney Reese, Mildrette Netter White and George “Jiff” Wilson of Mississippi. The show also included an air show provided by the Mississippi Army National Guard, B-Company of the 1-111 Aviation from Meridian and the torch lighting by AT&T Sportsman of the Year, Lindsey House of Columbus and TJ Moss of Loiun. The event was capped off by a giant firework display produced by Mark Cheplowitz of the Wizard of Ah’s from Cleveland, Ohio and engineered and supervised by a professional pyrotechnics crew.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21, events included Archery, Adult Basketball, Canoe/Kayak, 5K Road Race and Walk, Powerlifting, Softball, 2-man Volleyball, Fencing, Barrel Racing and the very popular Youth Soccer games.

One of the most popular sports, the youth soccer event, with 121 teams playing more than 200 games, was spread between three venues with 8-and-under teams playing at Lamar School and both 10-and-under and 12-and-under playing at the Jaycees Soccer Complex, while the 14, 16 and 18-and-under teams competed at Northeast Park.

“The State Games is the culmination of the soccer season in most cities,” said Jamie Smith, soccer commissioner. “The teams play their organizational tournaments and then this is one of the most competitive tournaments.”

Bringing home gold was Meridian’s own, Meridian Youth Soccer Organization United, a 16-and-under girls soccer team who defeated the Madison Tsunamis 1-0 in the gold-medal game at Northeast Park claiming their first State Games gold.

The State Games ended June 25-28 with the competitions completed and medals awarded in High School All-Star Baseball, High School Basketball, Bowling, Cycling – Time Trial, Mountain Bike Race, Dressage, Martial Arts, Masters Swimming, Mountain Bike Race, 4-Man Volleyball and Stickball.

Despite the fact that the downtown area was packed and the hotel district was booked to capacity causing several spectators to stay outside city limits, there were many compliments and accolades given for the games and city this year. The City of Meridian and the State Games of Mississippi should take pride in their efforts in hosting such a memorable event.

The State Games were able to keeps their entry fees low and provide for this event primarily through the generous donations of sponsors, including Founding Gold Sponsor, Meridian Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Gold Sponsors, AT&T, Chevron/Sign Plant, City of Meridian, Meridian-Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau/Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, Structural Steel, Comcast Cable, WTOK-TV and WMDN/WGBC-TV.

Visit stategamesofms.org for sports results.