Big Sky State Games

The Big Sky State Games is an Olympic-style amateur sports festival for people of all ages and abilities who reside in the great state of Montana. Residents in bordering states are invited to participate. The Games are a member of the National Congress of State Games and recognized by the United States Olympic Committee.

The Big Sky State Games has grown since the inaugural year in 1986 when 3,376 athletes participated in 12 sports, to 10,000 athletes competing in 35 sports last year. During the past thirty-one years over 300,000 athletes from over 250 Montana communities have participated in the Games. The Big Sky State Games rank number one in the nation in per capita participation.

The State Games concept was developed in New York in 1978 with the Empire State Games. Last year, over 400,000 athletes competed in State Games in 30 states across the nation. State Games feature the sports of the Olympic and Pan-American Games, as well as emerging sports and local favorites. They attract athletes of a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and skill levels, bringing out future and former Olympians as well as athletes for whom State Games are a real career highlight.