The inaugural State Games of the West will be held July 24-27 in Colorado Springs, Colorado and will feature 31 sports. This event will be combined with Colorado's Rocky Mountain State Games and will serve as a qualifier for the 2009 State Games of America.

The sports for the inaugural State Games of the West include: 5K Run/Walk, Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Billiards, BMX Racing, Bowling, Cycling, Diving, Field Hockey, Figure Skating, Flag Football, Golf, Gymnastics, InLine Hockey, Judo, Karate, Powerlifting, Racquetball, Rock Climbing, Shooting, Soccer, Softball (Slow Pitch), Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Track & Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

This event is open to all State Games athletes from the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. All participants are eligible by competing in their local State Games in 2008 regardless of their placement.

The State Games concept was developed in New York in 1978 with the Empire State Games. In 2007, more than 500,000 athletes competed in State Games nationwide. State Games feature various sports of the Olympic and Pan American Games as well as sports that have regional popularity within each state.

Prominent State Games athletes include: Jeff Blatnick, Ralph Boston, Mike Mussina, Tracy Caulkins, Calbert Cheaney, Curt Clausen, Diane Dixon, Tom Dolan, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, Dan Gable, Rowdy Gaines, Harvey Glance, Nicole Hislett, Nancy Hogshead, Roy Jones, Adonis Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Nancy Kerrigan, Mike Richter, Rusty LaRue, Danny Manning, Henry Marsh, Eric Montross, Rick Hamilton, Chris Mullin, Tab Ramos, Glenn Robinson, Alberto Salazaar, Doug Smith, Rex Walters, Lones Wigger, Jr. and Paul Wylie.

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