Thousands of amateur athletes and Olympic hopefuls ran, shot, passed, punched, dived, rowed and kicked their way to the top as part of Florida's annual Sunshine State Games this weekend.
The Games, founded about 30 years ago as an initiative to promote participation in more than 30 sports, offered athletes of all ages an opportunity to showcase their skills in an Olympic-style competition throughout Alachua County.
This year's competition marked the ninth time Alachua County has hosted the games.
Boe Givens, whose 14-year-old son Boone plays for the Jacksonville Lacrosse Club, said he enjoys watching lacrosse competitions during the games because they are an action-packed combination of contact and athleticism.
"It's like football with sticks," he said.
Creeks Fury, a middle-school aged girl's lacrosse team from Jacksonville, found itself on top of a 2-game winning streak Saturday after beating out a high school division team, Tampa Tribe.
Rodney Watson, the coach of the Fury, said believing in his middle-schoolers and taking the games as an opportunity for growth has helped the team achieve its victories on the field.
"First and foremost, we don't limit them because of their age or size, and we treat them like lacrosse players, not youth lacrosse players," Watson said. "If you believe in them and show them that you believe in them, you will be surprised at what they will do and accomplish."
The Games continue to raise the bar for lacrosse players across North Florida and prepare players to compete at a higher level, he said.
"The girls work hard in practice and practice hard at home," Watson said. "The coaching staff wants the transition from middle school to high school to be a smooth one."
While lacrosse players and spectators cheered their way to victory, competitors in the archery competition, held at the Easton Newberry Sports Complex, took the silent approach.
Robert Turner, the head coach of archery at the complex, said the sport is great for the Sunshine State Games because it is not a battle of brawn, but of patience and longevity.
"Age, size and ability level don't matter in archery," Turner said. "If you're abled, disabled, man, woman, old or young, you can do it, and I think that's the allure."
Andre Shelby, a 45-year-old retired Navy veteran and competitor in the archery competition, proves that anyone can overcome physical obstacles to compete.
Shelby is paralyzed from the sternum down and has been doing archery for the past three years.
Shelby said the sport is surprisingly peaceful and helps to ease his mind.
In May, he took the Gold Medal in the Warrior Games, an athletic competition for all injured or ill members of the Armed Forces, but he doesn't plan on stopping there.
"My goal is to shoot in a world tournament for the U.S. and possibly the Olympics," he said.
