Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 14, 1995 TAG: 9506140060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``For the first time there's no controversy,'' said David Paxton, chairman of the board of Virginia Amateur Sports, the group that organizes the Commonwealth Games.
That's good news for VAS, which has fought a series of battles to keep the Commonwealth Games in Roanoke, where they have been held each year since they began in 1990.
This year, the Commonwealth Games, a multisport festival for amateur athletes, are bigger than ever.
VAS expects as many as 9,500 athletes to compete in 44 sports during next month's the Commonwealth Games. Most of the events will take place the weekend of July 14-16 at sites in Roanoke and across the Roanoke Valley.
The Commonwealth Games are the only event in the state sanctioned by the National Congress of State Games and recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee. A similar event, the Virginia State Games, has taken place on a rotating basis in Richmond and Hampton Roads for seven years, but the Roanoke Games are the official state games.
``Other than the [Roanoke Valley] horse show, I can't think of a single sporting event that brings that many people into the Roanoke Valley,'' Paxton said. ``We've established ourselves.''
The first five years were speckled with confrontations inside and outside VAS. The first Games were called the Virginia CorEast State Games, but the title sponsor, CorEast Savings Bank, was taken over by the federal government in 1991. VAS then made the stunning move of ousting executive director Doug Fonder in 1992. Fonder was the founder of VAS and had been its driving force in the early days of the Games.
Last year, VAS almost lost control of the Games to a state agency on physical fitness. But a deal was reached between state legislators that allowed VAS to continue to choose its site for the Commonwealth Games.
``We've finally got some tradition built,'' said Pete Lampman, VAS' president. ``Now we want to take the elevator to the top floor.''
The Games have expanded this year. New events are roller hockey, high school girls' lacrosse, additional divisions of AAU boys' basketball and - this is true - ballroom dancing.
``Ballroom dancing will be an Olympic sport in the year 2000,'' Lampman said. ``It's a given. We're getting a leg up on other state games across the country.''
This year also marks the return of equestrian competition, which once was expected to be a marquee event for the Games but was dropped a couple of years ago.
VAS is trying to increase its visibility across the state in hopes of drawing more competitors from Northern Virginia. Of last year's 7,985 athletes, only 454 came from that heavily populated area.
``We still need to make a bigger presence in the Northern Virginia area,'' Lampman said. ``Maybe there still are some people up there who haven't heard of the Commonwealth Games.''
To remedy that, VAS is hitting that area with radio and television spots. At a news conference Tuesday, VAS debuted a television ad featuring Virginia Tech basketball player Ace Custis that will be shown in the Northern Virginia and Tidewater areas. In the ad, Custis, who participated in last year's Games and will again this year, is seen dunking a basketball, playing tennis, hitting a golf ball and kicking a soccer ball.
Other sporting celebrities will be taking part in the opening ceremonies at 8 p.m. July 14 at Victory Stadium. The guests include: Roanoke native George Lynch, a former basketball star at Patrick Henry High School who now plays for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers; bodybuilder Carol Lynne Semple, holder of the Ms. Fitness World 1994 title; and Al Mead, a 36-year-old Atlanta resident who lost his left leg below the knee as a child but has won numerous medals in Olympic-style events for the disabled.
VAS also announced the first Commonwealth Games Sports Expo will be held July 13-14 in the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibit Hall. Lampman said approximately 60 exhibitors are expected to showcase sports. The Expo will be open to the general public and admission is free.
by CNB