Empire State Games come to White Plains, NY
{{date|July 28, 2007}}__NOTOC__
[[Image:Map of New York highlighting ESG Regions.png|thumb|right|210px|Regions of the Empire State Games<br/ >
{{legend|#ffff00|Adirondack}}
{{legend|#00ffff|Central}}
{{legend|#008000|Hudson Valley}}
{{legend|#ff0000|Long Island}}
{{legend|#ff9900|New York City}}
{{legend|#000080|Western}}]]
The {{w|Empire State Games}} is an annual [[Olympic Games|Olympic]]-style competition for {{w|amateur}} {{w|athlete|athletes}} from the state of [[New York State|New York]], [[United States]], encompassing several divisions allowing athletes of all ages to compete. In 2007, it is hosted by {{w|Westchester County, New York|Westchester County}} and takes place July 25&ndash;29, 2007. In all, some 6,000 athletes are expected to participate.

"I think the Empire State Games is one of the best things that's happened to Westchester County," Buster LaBarbera, 74, of {{w|New Rochelle}} said. "It's good for the economy and it's just a great thing."

{{w|Long Island}} had made a bid to host the games but lost out to Westchester. "Once done, it's done," said Bob Kenney, region director for Long Island, at the opening ceremonies. "We can't look back. We can't hold grudges." Long Island may submit a bid for the games in 2010 according to Kenney.

Saturday, the {{w|Criterium}} cycling events took place in {{w|White Plains, New York|White Plains}}. Starting at 7:00 a.m. {{w|Eastern Time Zone (North America)|EDT}} ({{w|UTC-4}}), races for both men and women began at Martine Avenue at Court Street in downtown White Plains.

Criterium races (those are age brackets for the masters series):
*Masters Men 45-54, 12 {{w|Mile|miles}}
*Masters Men 35-44, 18 miles
*Open Men, 31 miles
*Open Women, 18 miles
*Masters Men 55-64, 65+, 10 miles
*Masters Women 35-44, 45-54, 55+, 10 miles

Street closures included: Quarropas Street, Mamaroneck Avenue, Martine Avenue, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Parts of Court Street and Grand Street had limited access. Road closures began at 5:00 a.m. The course was basically a large square.

''Wikinews'' was there to cover the men's open event race. Points were awarded for sprints on certain laps. Joe Zaverdas from {{w|Commack, New York|Commack}}, New York, representing the Long Island region, won with 75 points. 58 riders participated.

====Top 15 finishers====
{| class="wikitable"
!Place!!Rider!!Hometown!!Region!!Points!!Medal
|-
|1
|Zaverdas, Joe
|Commack
|Long Island
|75
|gold   
|-
|2
|Joslyn, Jay
|Grand Island
|Western
|69
|silver   
|-
|3
|Bickford, Geoff
|New York
|New York City
|63
|bronze   
|-
|4
|Luther, Mike
|Blasdell
|Western
|57
|
|-
|5
|Ferreira, Fernando
|Ossining
|Hudson Valley
|56
|
|-
|6
|Schmidt, Robert
|Athens
|Adirondack
|55
|
|-
|7
|Lowe, Anthony
|Brooklyn
|New York City
|54
|
|-
|8
|Campos, Robert
|Nesconset
|Long Island
|53
|
|-
|9
|Danke, Joel
|Mount Kisco
|Hudson Valley
|52
|
|-
|10
|Micko, Jan
|Glen Cove
|Long Island
|51
|
|-
|11
|Gentice, Gabrielle
|White Plains
|Hudson Valley
|50
|
|-
|12
|Swan, Glenn
|Freeville
|Central
|49
|
|-
|13
|Nelnychenko, Andrew
|Alpine
|Central
|48
|
|-
|14
|Paris, Mark
|West Henrietta
|Western
|47
|
|-
|15
|Dekrey, Jesse
|Rhinebeck
|Hudson Valley
|46
|
|}

====Gallery====
<gallery>
Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (1).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (2).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (3).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (4).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (5).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (6).JPG|The start/finish line and judges' table {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (7).JPG|The crowd cheers on the racers {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (8).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (9).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (10).JPG|The podium for the medal ceremony {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (11).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (12).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (13).JPG|The [[w:Pit stop|pit stop]] for emergency repairs {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (14).JPG|Rider rejoins the race after a quick wheel change {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (15).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (16).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (17).JPG|The Men's Open Criterium race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (18).JPG|Female cyclists cooling down after their race {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (19).JPG|Results of earlier races posted and signed by the judges {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (20).JPG|Cyclist giving a post-race interview {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}

Image:Empire State Games 2007 07 28 (21).JPG|Joe Zaverdas (#5), who won the race, is surrounded by his team mates {{Image source|[[User:SVTCobra|'''SVT''']][[User Talk:SVTCobra|''Cobra'']]}}
</gallery>

{{haveyoursay}}
== Sister links ==
{{sisters
|w|Empire State Games
}}
== Sources ==
{{Original}}
*{{source|url=http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070728/SPORTS02/707280359/1034/SPORTS
|title=Empire State Games: Today's schedule is Games' busiest; numerous medals to be awarded
|author=
|pub=The Journal News
|date=July 28, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070728/NEWS02/707280401/1018/NEWS02
|title=Cyclists close roads in White Plains
|author=
|pub=The Journal News
|date=July 28, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/NEWS02/707270437/1018/NEWS02
|title=Empire State Games cycling to close North Salem roads; traffic likely near other venues
|author=Nicole Neroulias
|pub=The Journal News
|date=July 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/SPORTS02/707270390
|title=Volunteers unite during Empire State Games
|author=Andrew Gross
|pub=The Journal News
|date=July 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/highschool/ny-hsempire0726,0,7393092.story?coll=ny-hsports-headlines
|title=No looking back for L.I. -Empire State Games open in Westchester
|author=Jason Molinet
|pub=Newsday
|date=July 26, 2007}}

==External links==
*[http://www.empirestategameswestchester.com/ Empire State Games in Westchester] - official site for the event by the host [[w:Westchester County, New York|Westchester County, New York]]
*[http://www.empirestategames.org/ Empire State Games] - official site of the [[w:Empire State Games|Empire State Games]]
*[http://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/ City of White Plains] - official site of [[w:White Plains, New York|White Plains, New York]]

{{publish}}
{{archived}}

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:New York]]
[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Cycling]]
[[Category:White Plains, New York]]
[[Category:North America]]
__NOTOC__
Regions of the Empire State Games


The Olympic-style competition for
United States New York Sports Cycling White Plains, New York North America