New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)
Title 9 Part 464
Executive Department
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9 NYCRR 464.1 - Purpose
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
The Summer Empire State Games (ESG or games) promote the public health and welfare of New York residents by encouraging wholesome amateur athletic competition particularly for youths; providing opportunities and incentives to improve amateur athletics; publicly recognizing dedicated amateur athletes; showcasing the different regions of the State; providing economic benefits to the host community; and, fostering and encouraging volunteerism. The purpose of this regulation is to clarify the procedures and participation requirements for applicants, coaches, officials and volunteers.
9 NYCRR 464.2 - Definitions
Source version current through Mar 15, 2023
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Mar 15, 2023
(a)Agency means the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
(b)Applicant means the person who applies to compete in or competes in the Summer Empire State Games.
(c)Finals means the championship event where qualified participants from all six regions compete in the designated host city.
(d)Region means one of the six geographic areas of New York State divided by counties as follows:
(1)Adirondack - Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Rensselaer, Warren and Washington.
(2)Central - Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins.
(3)Hudson Valley - Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
(4)Long Island - Nassau and Suffolk.
(5)New York City - Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Queens and Richmond (Staten Island).
(6)Western - Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates.
(e)Regional trial means the competitive tryout in one of the six regions for a particular event.
(f)Resident or residency means that the applicant resides in a fixed and permanent home (domicile) in New York State as of April 30th in the year the Summer Empire State Games are held.
(1)When registering for finals or at any time upon request of the agency the applicant may be required to produce a birth certificate and must produce the following documents to prove identity or State residency:
(i)New York State driver’s license or enhanced driver’s license;
(ii)New York State non-driver photo identification or enhanced non-driver photo identification; or
(iii)New York State high school or junior high school photo identification.
(2)A student who is a resident of New York but attends boarding school or college in another state or is home schooled must produce the documents listed in subparagraph (1)(i) or (ii) of this subdivision.
(3)A student who attends boarding school or college in this State but who is a resident of another state is not eligible to participate in the summer games.
(4)To protest an athlete’s eligibility based on lack of residency or any other criteria a coach must file two proofs with the agency by 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding the week the games are held. The agency, upon receipt of a protest or at its own initiative, may require an applicant to produce at least three of the following additional documents before he or she is allowed to participate:
(i)NYS professional license;
(ii)NYS pistol permit;
(iii)NYS income tax W-2 (with SSN);
(iv)pay stub (with name and NYS address);
(v)utility bill (with name and NYS address);
(vi)current proof of homeowners/renters insurance (policy or proof of claim for NYS address);
(vii)military orders that are in effect;
(viii)NYS property or school tax bills or receipts for current year (must reflect current NYS address both on mailing portion and portion stating what property is being taxed);
(ix)current residential lease (NYS address); or
(x)voter registration notification card issued within one year.
(g)Roster means a list of participants (roster) for each finals event that is prepared by Tuesday of the week the Summer Empire State Games are held.
(h)Summer Empire State Games (summer ESG or summer games) means:
(1)An annual multi-sport event managed, coordinated and conducted by the agency at the agency’s discretion. The games are patterned after the Olympics, held by the agency for amateur athletes during the summer, staffed by volunteers and funded by available State appropriations, sponsors and donations. Regional trials are held prior to the finals in each of six State regions along with team practices. A finals competition is then held in one region of the State.
(2)The agency recognizes regional sports teams by ESG name, logo and uniform during the regional trials, practices and finals competition only. The agency prohibits team use of the ESG name, logo or uniform at any other competition or any event held after the summer ESG have concluded. The agency is not responsible for any other team competitions or events. Any request to use the ESG name, logo or uniform for a team or at a competition or event must be made in writing to the agency and authorized in writing by the agency.
9 NYCRR 464.3 - Eligibility
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
The ESG and competition in the games is a privilege, not a right. The agency is the sole entity responsible for the ESG and for implementing the ESG. Accordingly, the agency retains the discretion to: charge a fee to applicants for tryouts, participation or other activities associated with ESG, cancel divisions, cancel individual classes within an event, cancel any event in whole or in part or cancel the ESG for any legitimate reason to be determined by the agency.
(a)General eligibility.
An applicant is ineligible to participate in the sport that he or she formerly participated in or is presently participating in as a professional. To be eligible to compete in the summer ESG, an applicant must not violate the code of conduct and must:
(1)tryout and compete only in the regional trials for the region where the applicant resides as of April 30th in the year the summer games are held. Exceptions:
(i)all sports. A student who attends boarding school or college in one region and participates in an initial regional trial held while the boarding school or college is still in regular session may compete in the regional trials and in the finals for that school’s region or college’s region even if the student is a resident of another region of the State;
(2)try out and compete for only one region and only one division (scholastic, open or masters);
(3)attend and actively participate in the regional trials;
(4)compete in only one sport at the finals. Although an applicant may try out and qualify for the finals in different sports, the applicant must choose one sport before July 1st of the games year by notifying the involved ESG regional coaches for all the sports the applicant tried out for and the ESG regional director. If an applicant fails to choose one sport or fails to notify the applicable ESG regional coaches and the regional director by the deadline, he or she may be removed from all sport rosters and may not participate or compete in the summer games that year;
(5)attend the finals if he or she qualifies. An applicant who qualifies to represent a region but does not compete in the finals must provide a reasonable excuse to the ESG regional coach and the regional director before Tuesday of the week the finals are held. If an applicant fails to notify by the deadline and fails to provide a reasonable excuse that is acceptable to the agency, the applicant shall be removed from all sport rosters and shall not participate or compete in the summer games that year and the following year;
(6)pay for any health or medical expenses incurred and should carry health insurance;
(7)meet the eligibility or membership requirements of the sport or the sport’s National Governing Body (NGB). For example, an applicant participating in any of the following sports must be a member of that sport’s NGB:
(i)boxing - United States of America Boxing (USA Boxing);
(ii)cycling - United States Cycling Federation (USCF);
(iii)judo - United States of America Judo (USA Judo), United States Judo;
(8)if requested, provide the residency and identification documents requested by the agency and comply with the requirements of this section before Friday of the week prior to the beginning of the ESG.
9 NYCRR 464.4 - Scholastic or open division eligibility
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
(a)There are three divisions for the summer games: scholastic, open and masters that, in general, are open to different age groups.
(1)Scholastic division.
(i)Maximum age. An applicant must be age 17 or younger as of August 31st in the year the summer games are held.
(ii)Minimum age. In the following contact sports an applicant also must be age 13 as of April 30th in the year the summer games are held: baseball, basketball, field hockey, ice hockey, judo, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
(2)Open division Minimum age. An applicant must be age 18 or older as of August 31st in the year the summer games are held.
(3)Exceptions:
(i)Boxing age requirements will follow USA boxing rules which shall be posted on the Empire State Games website (www.empirestategames.org)
(ii)Gymnastics.
(a)Scholastic and open divisions (men). A male gymnast who is eligible for the scholastic division may try out for the open division. However, the gymnast must choose to participate in the open division by notifying the ESG men’s gymnastics coach and regional director before the regional trial begins. In addition, the applicant must have a minimum score of 33.00 at the regional trials to compete at finals.
(b)Scholastic and open divisions (women). Female gymnasts eligible for the scholastic and open divisions must try out together. The top seven regional qualifiers shall compete in the open division finals and the next seven regional qualifiers shall compete in the scholastic division finals. However, participants who are age 18 or older as of August 31st in the year the games are held must finish in the top seven at a regional trial and must compete in the open division at the finals. They are not eligible to compete in the scholastic division.
(iii)Synchronized swimming. Open division. Applicants must be at least age 12 as of April 30th in the year the summer games are held.
(iv)No scholastic division. An applicant younger than age 18 may compete in the open division for a sport if the open division includes that sport but the scholastic division does not.
9 NYCRR 464.5 - Masters division
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
(a)The following minimum age eligibility requirements apply to the following sports in the masters division:
(1)archery (age 50 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(2)bowling (age 50 as of the first regional trial);
(3)canoeing (marathon) (age 18 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(4)cycling (age 35 as of January 1st in the year the summer ESG are held);
(5)diving; synchronized diving (age 21 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(6)fencing (age 50 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(7)golf (age 35 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(8)gymnastics (age 22 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(9)rugby (age 18 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(10)swimming (age 18 as of December 31st of the games year);
(11)track and field; racewalk; 10K road race (age 30 as of the first day of the summer ESG);
(12)sailing (age 18 as of the first day of the summer ESG).
9 NYCRR 464.6 - Code of conduct
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
The code of conduct includes this Part, the agency’s guidance documents that will be adopted pursuant to this Part including the Games Plan and Handbook and all other related agency guidelines.
(a)The code of conduct requires all athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers associated with any ESG sport or program to conduct themselves responsibly at all times, both on and off the field at all regional trials and finals competitions.
(b)The code of conduct prohibits use of performance enhancing substances; prohibits use of any drugs including tobacco and alcohol in university or college buildings or on those grounds, and at all competition sites or events associated with the summer ESG; and, prohibits practices deemed illegal or unacceptable by a sport’s National Governing Body (NGB).
(c)The code of conduct requires honesty, respect, sportsmanship and fair play so that the honor and dignity of the athletes competing in this amateur athletic competition is not compromised.
9 NYCRR 464.7 - Sanctions
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
(a)The agency will use this Part and the code of conduct to enforce penalties affecting participation in the summer ESG that may be assessed by an NGB or other authority or sanctioning body for the sport.
(b)If an athlete, coach, official or volunteer violates this Part or the code of conduct or other agency guidelines, the ESG director’s designee may immediately exclude or remove that person from any host facility or venue or dismiss them from the summer ESG. The violator may appeal that interim decision to the ESG director who will make the final decision. The ESG games may require them to forfeit any ESG apparel or awards pending a final decision. The ESG director’s final decision may require the violator to forfeit apparel or forfeit awards or banish them from future ESG participation.
9 NYCRR 464.8 - Severability
Source version current through Sep 15, 2021
Later State Register activity may affect this section.
Dates and status
- NYCRR title agency
- Executive Department
- Section status
- Section source receipt
- Source version current through
- Sep 15, 2021
If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provision of this Part or its application to any person or circumstance is contrary to law that determination shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this Part or the application to other persons and circumstances.