CEDAR CITY, Utah - More than 1,000 athletes are in Cedar City this month for the Utah Summer Games.
Casey McClellen with the Utah Summer Games says that the atmosphere sets the event apart from other sporting competitions. While many who compete are full-time athletes, the goal of the Summer Games is to give everyone, regardless of age or skill, a chance to fulfill their Olympic dreams.
"We have a four-year old that competed a week ago in karate, we have a 91-year-old that's doing cycling today actually. And the skill level, we try and make sure each sport has skill level, so you can be successful if you're a novice, or you can be successful if you're advanced," McClellen said.
Southern Utah University has been hosting the competition for more than two decades. What started as a way for athletes to hone some of their skills and practice on a larger scale has grown into an annual event for a lot of people, and a lot of families who want to have fun.
"Year in and year out, they put it on their calendar. They're bringing their families down for family vacation. And it's something that they're looking forward to each and every year," McClellen said.
Among those competitors are the Motherlodes, one of seven teams competing in the women's basketball competition. The team is made up of eight full-time moms who have 33 kids between them.
"It's girls getting away. We have a lot of kids between us. The atmosphere down here, the competition, we love it," said Holly Thomas.
For more on the Utah Summer Games, visit www.utahsummergames.org.
