WOBURN – After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bay State Summer Games held nearly two dozen events in the months of June and July. Due to the support of hundreds of volunteer coaches and officials, the Bay State Games successfully executed competitive events for the 2021 Summer Games, hosting nearly 5,000 athletes.
Despite facing many challenges related to the pandemic, Bay State Games saw growth in numerous sports, including softball, figure skating, archery, pickleball, and track & field. Unfortunately, some sports like wrestling and judo were not able to take place this summer but Bay State Games remains hopeful they will return in the future.
“When Bay State Games received word in May that state regulations would allow for youth sport events to proceed, our goal was to provide participants in as many sports as possible the opportunity to compete in sports they may have not been able to for over a year,” said Executive Director Kevin Cummings. “While in many cases, the event format may have been different than what athletes had experienced in the past, participants expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to get back out onto the field of play.”
In an untraditional start to the Summer Games, the first event was figure skating, which is typically held in the Winter Games. The competition was held in mid-June at Nashoba Valley Olympia Rink in Boxborough and attracted more skaters than the 2020 competition prior to the pandemic.
Events continued in July with seven team sports, including baseball, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, softball, and volleyball, over a 10-day span. The following three weekends in July included basketball, weightlifting, pickleball, 6v6 field hockey, footgolf, archery, rugby, and swimming.
Bay State Games has two final events scheduled for August. Fencing, with more than 150 participants, will take place August 21-22 at Boston Fencing Club in Brighton, and badminton will take place with over 200 participants August 27-29 at Boston Badminton in Westborough.
Complete results of all 2021 sports can be found at www.baystategames.org/2021-results.
All athletes who competed in the 2021 Summer Games who are a member of the high school class of 2022. The deadline to apply is October 14. For more details, visit www.baystategames.org/future-leaders-scholarship.
