Area prepares for Alabama State Games

The 34th Alabama State Games event is coming back to the Wiregrass June 10-12, and the area is getting ready for its arrival.

The Alabama State Games was founded in 1982 by the United States Olympic Committee.

"It's a grassroots effort to bring Olympic-style sports into the home," Alabama State Games Vice President of Information Technologies Jason Perkins said. "I think we can show that's been a success over these past 33 years."

Along with Ozark, Dale County, Troy University, Houston County and Dothan, Daleville and Fort Rucker will play a big part in ensuring the games run smoothly.

Daleville High School is one of more than 40 venues which will host competitions. It will serve as the venue for rifle and BB gun events. Fort Rucker Skeet and Trap will play host to the skeet and trap events. The Fort Rucker Archery Range is the site of 2D and 3D archery competitions during the games. The Fort Rucker Flying Disc Golf Course, which is located behind the fitness center, will host the disc golf events.

All of the schedules of sports and venues featured in the state games can be found on the Alabama State Games website at alagames.net. Registration opens April 1, and can be completed online or by mail.

Alabama State Games Vice President of External Affairs Anthony Terling said honoring the military is has been a part of the games, and Fort Rucker's participation is important.

"You can see in the history of our opening ceremony, we have a program called 'Honoring Our Heroes,'" he said. "Over our history of opening ceremony, we've used our platform to recognize service members…somebody who's given service to their country and also to their community. We believe in doing that, and we would like to do that every year if possible."

Officials have added co-ed golf, mountain biking, tennis, team handball, slow-pitch softball, and ultimate frisbee to give Alabama's athletes more than 20 sports in which to participate.

"We're trying to expand as much as possible, bring as much into the community as possible and create that impact for your community," Terling said. "You do such a great job for us, and we want to extend that back to you."

The 2016 games mark the event's second year in the Wiregrass, and Terling said it has grown since it moved other areas of the state a year ago.

"We added more sports because of a lot of requests we got from either local communities or statewide communities," he said. "Things like mountain biking were great because of the Beaver Creek Trail being installed. Resources that are installed in cities and counties..also allow us to grow the games, which, in turn, grows participation. (Participation), in turn, grows grows the community impact we provide."

The growth of the games has led officials to utilize about 20 area hotels, which can be found at the website, with reduced rates for participants.

The opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7 p.m. June 10 at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds, and gates open at 3 p.m.

"(Alabama State Games founder) Mr. (Ron) Creel has worked tirelessly over his entire time being the foundation of the Alabama State Games to make sure we have the best opening ceremonies we can," Perkins said. "Two of America's Olympics are going to be represented at our opening ceremonies." 

 Enterprise's Kelan LeBlanc, one of the games' 2015 Athletes of the Year, will participate in the opening ceremonies. The ceremonies will feature torches from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The Alabama State Games are in the second of a three-year contract in the Wiregrass, but Terling said officials are open to the possibility of bringing the event back once the current contract expires.

"I can't tell you how thankful we are for this community, the host areas, including Fort Rucker," he said. "They have done nothing but roll out the red carpet for us. It's a great feel for us, and we want to give back."