COLUMBIA — Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is scheduled to compete Saturday in the 25th annual Show-Me STATE GAMES in Columbia.
The Games began July 17 and are being held on three successive weekends at sites in Columbia, Jefferson City and Springfield. The Show-Me STATE GAMES are the largest competition of their kind in the country.
Nixon plans to compete in the basketball skills competition (free throws and perimeter shots) at the Hearnes Center in Columbia at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Nixon, who is 53, will compete in the senior division of the Games, which matches competitors 50 years and older. Nixon previously has participated in the Show-Me STATE GAMES as a competitor and as a coach of youth teams.
Prior to participating in the competition, the Governor and Show-Me STATE GAMES Executive Director Ken Ash will visit the basketball, track and field, and gymnastics competition being held at the Hearnes Center and at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. At the opening ceremonies of the Games, the Governor welcomed competitors, volunteers and spectators with a videotaped message. Gov. Nixon was unable to attend the opening ceremonies because he was traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit Missouri troops there in his capacity as commander in chief of the Missouri National Guard.