State Games of Mississippi continue in the Queen City

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Several State Games of Mississippi events were held in the Queen City on Saturday.

Cycling/Time Trials kicked things off at 7 AM on Saturday, as several riders were out and about competing in the heat and humidity.

For the first time, Chess was added as a competition, and multiple competitors showed up.

“A lot of people don’t consider chess to be a sport. They see you sitting there and just moving pieces, but there have been biometrics measured. They’ve measured the heart rate, pulse rate, and respiration rate of Grand Masters at chess tournaments, and they’ve found that they burn as many calories as tennis players. While some people don’t consider chess a sport, it indeed is physically draining. All the thought process and everything behind it. We’re excited to add chess to the State Games today,” Tournament Director Lizabeth Thrasher said.

The Beach Volleyball Competitions were moved due to all the rain our area has experienced, but the competition was still fierce.

“You know, a lot of the guys that are on the lower net down there have played Men’s Open at some point in their life, traveled around a lot. Judd Smith is here. He’s the owner of Bulldog Beach, so we’re happy to have him back from Florida. So there’s a lot of talent on that lower court right now. And then the co-ed teams and the women’s teams, we’ve got two college players right now that are playing on the co-ed net… college female players, a beach player and an indoor player, so there’s a lot of talent out here today,” Beach Volleyball Commissioner Doug Everett said.

Out at the Northeast Park Soccer Complex, teams from all over the Magnolia State came and competed in the 7v7 High School Soccer Event.

“State Games 7v7 has been running for a long time, and we’re glad to have all the team support. We’ve got teams from Picayune, Moss Point, and some local teams [such as] West Lauderdale Boys and Girls, and Meridian High are here. It’s just a great opportunity for the local teams to play some teams that don’t normally play,” 7v7 High School Soccer Commissioner Matt Castleberry said.

The Lauderdale County Agricultural Center held the State Games Equestrian events on Saturday, and riders of all ages competed in the events!

“It means everybody’s interested in it again. It’s growing again. It had slacked off for a while, but now it’s coming back. It means more money from Meridian, more shows here, more money for them, more money for us, and a greater diversity of horses,” Equestrian Events Commissioner Scott Thomas said.

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