KDSN RADIO News
Iowans go for the gold amidst the white of winter
Thousands of Iowa athletes — from toddlers to senior citizens — will be taking part in the Winter Iowa Games, with some events starting next weekend.
All ages and abilities are welcome to compete in sports including alpine ski racing, figure skating, trapshooting, hockey and snowshoeing.
Games marketing director Cory Kennedy says this marks the 34th year for the annual winter sports festival, which features a range of indoor and outdoor sports.
“Some of the most popular events are our indoor soccer tournament, martial arts is an up-and-coming sport that continues to grow, swimming is another one,” Kennedy says. “One of our newer additions to the Winter Iowa Games is our indoor track and field meet.”
The venues are spread across the state in almost as many locations as there are events, and several thousand Iowans will be hoping to medal.
“If it’s a good registration year, we’ll have around 4,000 athletes,” Kennedy says. “They are participating this year in 16 sports we’re offering, everything from archery to volleyball. The best way to check it out is www.iowagames.org.”
Kennedy says it’s always a treat to see the incredible range in ages of Iowa’s athletes.
“We’ll have anywhere from three-year-olds to 90-year-olds,” Kennedy says. “I know we have some 85-and-older pickleball players that are registered. A lot of the registration deadlines for a lot of the sports are approaching here, so we won’t have final numbers or know the final age ranges until we get all the sports completed.”
The events take place over the next few months, with the first being the pickleball tournament January 18th and 19th at the University of Dubuque. The final event is youth ice hockey at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, March 15th and 16th.
Other host communities include: Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Eldora, Harlan, Iowa City, Ottumwa, Peosta and Waterloo.
