The 2019 Aurora Games was a female international multi-sport event that was held between 20 and 25 August 2019 in Albany, New York, United States of America. Planned to be a biennial event, the Times Union Center served as host venue. Albany shall also serve as host city for the 2021 and 2023 Aurora Games.[1]
| Host city | Albany, New York |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Opening | 20 August 2019 |
| Closing | 25 August 2019 |
| Website | Official site |
The Aurora Games, designed as a multisport women's version of the Laver Cup,[2] has in addition featured musical performances, food tastings, sports clinics, autograph sessions and the “Conversations with Champions” series of seminars. The keynote speaker for the Aurora Games was Judge Rosemarie Aquilina,[3] who presided over the case of the disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.[4]
The Games
edit
Sports
editThe 2019 Aurora Games programme featured seven sports. Team and individual competitions consisted of athletes from 15 countries participating as part of All-star teams known as Team Americas and Team World. Said teams were led by honorary captains Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Nadia Comăneci with the teams competing for the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Trophy. Team Americas captured the first Trophy, defeating Team World in six of the seven events.
Beach volleyball ()
Basketball ()
Figure skating ()
Gymnastics ()
Ice hockey ()
Table tennis ()
Tennis ()
Results
edit| Event | Winning team | Results | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Team World | 85-77 | 2,517 | 15 assists by Laia Palau[5] |
| Beach Volleyball | Team Americas | 3 matches won 1 match lost |
3,291 | Gold medal game won by April Ross and Alix Klineman[6] |
| Figure Skating | Team Americas | 192.5 (Americas) 182.5 (World) |
3,634 | Team Americas prevailed in the short program with a score of 79.0 In the long program, Team Americas won with a score of 113.5 Alysa Liu became the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz in competition[7] |
| Gymnastics | Team Americas | 158.5 | 4,210 | Balance Beam, Artistic Floor and Aesthetic Gymnastics won by Team Americas Power Tumbling won by Team World Parkour had a tie score of 34 |
| Ice Hockey | Team Americas | 3-1 | 2,851 | Team World Goal by Annina Rajahuhta Team Americas Goals by Hannah Brandt, Kali Flanigan and Taylor Marchin[8] |
| Table Tennis | Team Americas | 5 Matches won 0 matches lost |
||
| Tennis | Team Americas | 3 matches won, 2 matches lost | 3,920 | Bianca Andreescu  Canada defeated Victoria Azarenka in a 6-2 final to win the fifth and deciding game[9]
|
Rosters
edit| Team Americas | Team World |
|---|---|
|
Team Americas
editTHIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST
- Honorary captain: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
| Name | Sport | Position | Height | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bianca Andreescu | Tennis | N/A | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | Canada |
2019 US Open champion |
| Vicki Baugh | Basketball |  United States |
Competed in the WNBA with the San Antonio Silver Stars | ||
| Kenisha Bell | Basketball | United States |
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Draft | ||
| Hannah Brandt | Ice hockey | Forward | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | United States |
Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games |
| Hope Bravo | Gymnastics | N/A | United States |
Specialist in Power Tumbling | |
| Alicia Boren | Gymnastics | N/A | United States |
2019 NCAA floor exercise co-champion | |
| Katie Burt | Ice hockey | Goaltender | United States |
NCAA all-time wins leader (121) First pick overall of 2017 NWHL Draft | |
| Emma Cannon | Basketball | United States |
Plays professionally for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Lauren Dahm | Ice Hockey | Goaltender | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) | United States |
Played professionally in CWHL for Boston Blades |
| Shiann Darkangelo | Ice hockey | Forward | United States |
Isobel Cup champion | |
| Molly Engstrom | Ice Hockey | Forward | United States |
Silver medalist in women's ice hockey at 2010 Winter Games | |
| Kali Flanagan | Ice hockey | Forward | United States |
Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games | |
| Zoe Hickel | Ice hockey | Forward | United States |
2019 Clarkson Cup champion | |
| Emily Janiga | Ice hockey | Forward | United States |
Plays professionally for the Buffalo Beauts | |
| Haley Skarupa | Ice hockey | Forward | United States |
Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games | |
| Brooke Webster | Ice hockey | Forward | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | Canada |
Played professionally in CWHL for Vanke Rays |
Team World
editTHIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST
- Honorary captain: Nadia Comăneci
| Name | Sport | Position | Weight | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Azarenka | Tennis | N/A | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |  Belarus |
Gold medalist at 2012 Summer Games |
| Belinda Bencic | Tennis | N/A | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |  Switzerland |
Runner-up in mixed doubles at 2015 US Open |
| Danusia Francis | Gymnastics | N/A | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) |  Jamaica |
Gold medalist in Balance Beam at 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship |
| Garbiñe Muguruza | Tennis | N/A | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) |  Spain |
Number 1 ranking in WTA during September 2017 |
| Stanislava Konstantinova | Figure Skating | Ladies | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) |  Russia |
4th place at 2019 European Figure Skating Championships |
Athlete Advisory Committee
editThe Athlete Advisory Committee is chaired by Donna de Varona.[10]
| Name | Title | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenley Albright | Advisory Board Member | United States |
Medalist, 1952 and 1956 Winter Games |
| Doug Beal | Advisory Board Member | United States |
Former CEO, USA Volleyball |
| Jane Blalock | Advisory Board Member | United States |
Former LPGA golfer, Legends Hall of Fame, Founder and CEO of Legends Tour |
| Nadia Comăneci | Advisory Board Member |  Romania |
9-time medalist, 1976 and 1980 Summer Games |
| Bart Conner | Advisory Board Member | United States |
2-time medalist, 1984 Summer Games |
| Chris Evert[11] | Advisory Board Member | United States |
18-time Grand Slam Champion |
| Jackie Joyner-Kersee | Advisory Board Member | United States |
6-time medalist, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Summer Games |
| Nancy Kerrigan | Chair-Figure Skating | United States |
2-time medalist, 1992 and 1994 Winter Games Winter Games |
| Ilana Kloss | Advisory Board Member |  South Africa |
CEO, World Team Tennis |
| Marti Malloy | Advisory Board Member | United States |
1-time Medalist, 2012 Summer Games |
| Shannon Miller | Chair-Gymnastics | United States |
7-time Medalist, 1992 and 1996 Summer Games |
| Digit Murphy | Advisor Board Member | United States |
Former NCAA coach: Brown Bears, 2-time champion, 2013 and 2015 Clarkson Cup |
| Judy Murray | Advisory Board Member |  Scotland |
Tennis coach, motivational speaker |
| Monica Seles | Chair-Tennis |  Serbia |
9-time Grand Slam Champion |
| Kelli Stack | Chair-Ice Hockey | United States |
2-time medalist, 2010 and 2014 Winter Games |
Broadcasting
editDuring May 2019, ESPN announced that it was to serve as the exclusive broadcast home for the inaugural Aurora Games.[12]
References
edit- ^ Pete Dougherty (2019-08-25). "Aurora Games returning to Albany in 2021 and 2023". timesunion.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ "More than a sporting event, Aurora Games give voice to female athletes". ESPN.com. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
- ^ Aishwarya Kumar (2019-08-20). "More than a sporting event, Aurora Games give voice to female athletes". ESPN. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Fiona Tomas (2019-08-23). "Aurora Games mean well for women's sport but the choice of events pushes too 'feminised' an image". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Pete Dougherty (2019-08-22). "Palau does it all for World in Aurora Games basketball". timesunion.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Bob Weiner (2019-08-25). "Aurora Games will return to Albany in 2021". dailygazette.com. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ Pete Dougherty (2019-08-24). "Alysa Liu makes history in Aurora Games". timesunion.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ Jim Schiltz (2019-08-23). "Aurora Games: Team Americas takes hockey on late goals". dailygazette.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Mark Masters (2019-08-21). "Andreescu embraces pressure ahead of US Open: "I love the hype"". tsn.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ The Associated Press (2019-01-29). "Aurora Games: Albany to host international women's sports festival in 2019". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Stephanie Myles (2019-04-15). "Aurora Games feature Andreescu, Mugu". tennis.life. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Pete Dougherty (2019-05-08). "ESPNU to telecast Aurora Games in Albany". Times Union. Retrieved 2019-10-04.