Dust off your sports equipment and limber up! Illinois'amateur competition begins this spring.

By Edward A. Leonard

Where can athletes in Illinois find sporting competition of Olympic proportion?

At the Prairie State Games, Illinois' amateur sports festival, where park district and other nonprofessional athletes can compete against the State's best amateur sports figures. They can showcase their own athletic talents and, if they make the finals, experience a camaraderie similar to that of an Olympic Village game site.

The games, which are supported exclusively by corporate and private funds, attracted 6,500 athletes statewide in 1984. Approximately 2,800 men, women, boys and girls vied for gold, silver and bronze medals in archery, basketball, boxing, diving, fencing, gymnastics, judo, shooting sports, soccer, swimming, track and field, volleyball, weight lifting and wrestling finals.

The games stress both camaraderie and skills.

The 1985 competition

This year's finals will be held July 17-21 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Qualifying trials for 14 events begin in eight regions throughout the State this May (see schedule). Competitors are drawn from high schools, colleges, park districts, YMCAs and YWCAs, community centers, recreation departments and amateur sports clubs. They compete in two categories: the Scholastic Division and the Open Division.

The Scholastic Division includes all athletes who have not entered their senior year of high school by March. The Open Division includes all athletes ineligible for the Scholastic Division.

A $10 fee entitles the athlete to compete in the regional trials. Applicants also receive a T-shirt and a pin commemorating participation in their particular region. Those athletes who go to the finals receive free transportation, housing, food, an official warm-up suit and a competition uniform designed for their particular sport.

The Prairie State Games not only offer an opportunity for all Illinois

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Edward Leonard is director of the 1985 Prairie State Games. He is also a corporate marketing executive at the Northbrook-based Kemper Sports Management.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 9 March/April 1985

amateur athletes of various skill levels to emulate the Olympic experience, but they also improve the level of athletes who will represent the State at the Olympics. According to Ralph Hegener, executive sports director of the games, "It's like a farm team for the Olympic effort."

Sponsors and support

The games have been enthusiastically backed by Gov. James R. Thompson, who appointed William W. Wirtz as general chairman of the games' Executive Committee. Wirtz, who is president of Wirtz Corporation and president of the Chicago Black Hawks hockey team, was in charge of fund raising during the 1984 games.

Founding sponsors of the 1984 games included Beatrice Foods, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Epson Midwest, Illinois Bell, McDonald's and Southland Corporation.

Also among those credited for making the Prairie State Games a reality are State Sen. John A. Davidson (R, Springfield), chairman of the Illinois Governor's Council on Health and Physical Fitness, and Council Executive Director Jim Liston.

Goals and opportunities

The Prairie State Games not only give the State's amateur athletes a chance to pursue their own limits of personal excellence, but they also provide exposure and generate interest in certain undeveloped sports (judo, archery and fencing). This stimulates new programs in regions where teams for, and competition in, such sports currently do not exist.

The games also offer each region a chance to gain attention. All sports are assigned a point value. The region that accumulates the most overall points wins the Governor's Cup, currently held by Region 2.

However, the real value of the games lies in what they present to the individual; that is, an opportunity to enjoy the challenge of advanced competition and a motivation to maintain continued dedication to amateur sports.

Illinois was the sixth state to organize a multi-sport festival. Twenty-three other states now are planning similar games, all with the encouragement of the United States Olympic Committee, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, each state's Governor's Council on Health and Physical Fitness, and hundreds of amateur sports and fitness groups throughout the nation.

Qualifying trials for the 1985 Prairie State Games will begin May 13 in these eight regions: • Region 1 (Windy City): all of the City of Chicago. • Region 2 (North Shore): all of Cook County north of Interstate 55 and all of Lake County. • Region 3 (Pioneer): all of Kane, DuPage and Kendall Counties. • Region 4 (Wilico): all of Cook County south of Interstate 55 and all of Will County. • Region 5 (Blackhawk): all of Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, Henry, Jo Daviess, Lee, Marshall, McHenry, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stephenson, Tazewell, Whiteside, Winnebago and Woodford Counties. • Region 6 (Blue/Gray): all of Champaign, Clark, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Macon, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt and Vermilion Counties. • Region 7 (West Central): all of Adams, Brown, Cass, Christian, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Knox, Hancock, Henderson, Pike, Macoupin, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark and Warren Counties. • Region 8 (Southern): all of Alexander, Bond, Calhoun, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Williamson and Union Counties. Application booklets, which outline eligibility requirements, events, dates, locations and other pertinent information, are available by writing or calling Ralph Hegener, Suite 2000, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 793-4400. The application deadline is May 13.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 10 March/April 1985