TORCH RUN TODAY

Runners will carry a torch through Cape Girardeau's streets today in an effort to raise awareness of the Show Me State Games.

The torch run begins with opening ceremonies at noon at Capaha Park. Runners will travel on a loop through the campus, then west on Broadway to Kingshighway and north on Kingshighway to Cape County Park North.

The run in Cape Girardeau is the first of 10 torch runs set throughout the state leading up to the state finals of the Show Me State Games to be held three weekend in July in Columbia.

The games are Olympic-style amateur events for Missouri athletes. The goal is to develop physical and competitive abilities and to encourage sportsmanship and family fitness. This is the 15th year for the games.

Show Me Games include 33 sporting events, ranging from archery to wrestling. The youngest athlete has been 4-years-old and the oldest was 90.

Thirteen qualifying festivals are held throughout the state in June. In Southeast Missouri, festivals are held in Poplar Bluff and West Plains.

Some 38,000 Missourians participate in the games, but the vast majority come from counties surrounding Columbia, Mo.

Organizers hope that holding torch runs in communities throughout the state will build awareness and encourage more participation. Nine participants in this year's Show Me State Games are from Cape Girardeau County.