Several thousand athletes of all ages and abilities will flock to Ames for the 16th Annual Iowa Games this weekend.

Amy Wilson, assistant director for operations, said the number of athletes involved this year is consistent with previous years. She anticipates the numbers to climb this weekend, as some events allow on-site entries.

“We’ve got 12,000 in our system so far, but with those on-site sports we’ll add a couple thousand,” Wilson said.

The Iowa Games is an Olympic-style competition open to all amateur athletes in the state. Divisions are available for wide ranges of ages and abilities. The Games are designed to give every Iowan the chance to take part in athletic competition, according to the Iowa Games Web site at www.iowagames.org. All of the Games’ events are free to the public.

Wilson said the Iowa Games staff is excited about this year for several reasons, including opening ceremony speaker Michelle Akers, former standout for the U.S. Women’s Soccer team.

Also, three events – waterskiing, ultimate and a cross country race – are new to the Games this year.

Current and former ISU athletes will take part in the games as well, including Cyclone football stars Seneca Wallace and Lane Danielsen, who are competing in flag football.

Other notable names competing include Haley Dunn, a member of the U.S. Olympic shooting team, in shooting competition and the former coach of the U.S. table tennis team, said Jan Williams, who is helping coordinate individual volunteers at the Ames Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

Williams said soccer is traditionally the most popular sport at the Iowa Games. “There’s so many different teams, so many different ages,” she said. “I want to say we have about 30 soccer fields.”

In order to undertake such an event, several hundred volunteers will donate their time and effort to help make the Games a success. Wilson said the there are approximately 350 volunteers lined up to help this weekend.

Williams said the more volunteers there are, the better the Games will be. “At this point we are still looking for volunteers for the weekend,” Williams said. “We are looking for people for checking-in the competitors on Friday.”

Specifically, she said several sports, including basketball, track and field, tennis and swimming, will need additional help from volunteers. Even if individuals only have a couple free hours, they are encouraged stop by and help, Williams said.

“Realistically, we could continue to look for volunteers throughout the weekend,” Williams said.

Anyone interested should contact the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau or stop in Lot B6 of the Iowa State Center throughout the weekend, where volunteers will be designated to an event. Groups interested in volunteering should contact Iowa Games Executive Director Jim Hallihan at 515-292-3251.

The benefits of the Iowa Games directly impact the Ames community as well when the athletes make hotel reservations, dine at local restaurants and visit local retailers, Williams said.

“It’s a huge economic boost for Ames every year,” Williams said. “We look forward to it every year.”

Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde, who also serves on the board of directors for the Iowa Sports Foundation, said the Iowa Games also offer several advantages to Iowa State and the Ames community.

“It’s great for the community and the university to showcase some of the wonderful things that are going on in Ames and at Iowa State,” Van De Velde said. “It promotes health, participation in athletics, life-long learning and activity. Those are good goals.”

Van De Velde also said he hopes that Ames, which has been the site of the summer games for all 16 years, will continue to host the annual sports festival in future years.

Williams said the Games will be held locally for now.

“We are hosting the games through 2005 and re-bidding next year [for following years],” she said.

Sports of the 2002 Iowa Games

Archery

3-D Archery

Baseball

Basketball – Shooting

Basketball – Team

Basketball – 3-on-3

Billiards

Bowling

Canoe/Kayak

Cross Country Race

Cycling

Disc Golf

Diving

Electronic Darts

Equestrian

Fencing

Flag Football

Golf

Horseshoes

Judo

Mountain Biking

Racquetball

Road Race – 5K/10K

Roller Hockey

Rowing

Shooting

Soccer – Adult

Soccer – Youth

Softball

Swimming – Masters

Swimming – Youth

Table Tennis

Tae Kwon Do

Tennis – Adult

Tennis – Youth

Track & Field

Triathlon

Ultimate

Volksride

Volkswalk

Volleyball

Water Skiing

Weightlifting

Wrestling