NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The City of Negaunee was the place to be for some high-flying action at the inaugural event of this year’s Meijer State Games, the Ski and Snowboard Rail Jam. The event began with the traditional lighting of the cauldron followed by one of the most popular events. Event Organizer, Courtney Minor, says the games have something for everyone.
“The Meijer State Games, or the State Games as a whole, is an Olympic-style multi-sport event for athletes of all ages and abilities. So it’s really for anyone and everyone that’s willing or wanting to try to get involved in different sports,” said Minor.
The Meyer State Games have been around downstate for a while, but they are fairly new to the UP.
“We’ve been around for around 15 years now, and we’re going into our fourth year up in the UP,” said Minor.
Minor points out the huge range in ages of the athletes.
“Our athletes range in a wide range of ages. The youngest is three. The oldest that we have participated in our games is 87 and we have athletes in archery. We also have badminton, oh my goodness. We have bowling. We have wrestling, figure skating. So we have so many different sports going on,” said Minor.
There were some VIPs in the crowd as well. Shane Heams won a gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He’s glad he made the trip north’
“It’s amazing, you know, it’s a good turnout. first time in the city, you know, down south of Michigan. I don’t think people understand how big Michigan really isn’t to you get in a car and drive 10 hours north,” said Heams.
The competition for the 13 events wraps up February 9th.
