History of the New York State Police Olympics

In 1969 ABC TV’s Wide World of Sports staged the first “New York State Police Olympics” at Bear Mountain. The event drew approximately 250 police officers who participated in a variety of sports, including Track & Field, Swimming, Pistol and Rifle, Shooting, Bowling, Volleyball, Canoeing, Rowing and Pentathlon (which included five different events thought to represent skills needed by police officers: hurdles, one mile run, rope climb, broad jump and pistol shooting). Although the number of participants was small, a great deal of enthusiasm was generated to continue the games. A volunteer group of police officers formed a committee, Empire State Law Enforcement Association, and agreed to stage what was to become a yearly event.

Over the years the games have moved around the state with events being held in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, West Point, Rye, New York City and Long Island. In addition, what started as a summer event eventually came to include, for a number of years, Winter Games in which officers skied and played broomball (an event similar to ice hockey in which soft soled shoes, short brooms and a ball are used rather than skates, pucks and hockey sticks). Over the years the Summer Games sports were changed to include as many as forty different events, with up to 3500 Law Enforcement Officers entering the different competitions.

The name of the event changed to the State of New York Law Enforcement Games when the United States Olympic Organizing Committee noted that we were infringing on their trademark on the word “Olympics” as used to describe an athletic competition. The name of the event was changed again in 2002 to the New York Police & Fire Games, as the New York Law Enforcement Games officially welcomed the participation of Firefighters in this friendly athletic competition.

The Games have always featured friendly yet spirited competition, and we’re happy to invite the participation of Firefighters as well as Police Officers. The personal relationships that can develop between the competitors in the New York Police & Fire Games will make it easier for emergency response professionals, whether their title is Officer, Deputy, Trooper, Agent or Firefighter, to function as a team to better serve the public.