with 500 athletes. Peter Thomsen (1992-1996), Charlie Noonan (1996-1998), Linda Driscoll (1998-1999), and Kevin Cummings (1999-present) have all served as executive director. The Games’ breakthrough year came in 1985. Basketball became the Game’s showcase event in both women's and men’s divisions. That same year, Arnot developed the idea of creating a winter sports festival for Massachusetts athletes. The Winter Games took place in the Northern Berkshire region because of the facilities available to them. Four hundred athletes took part in the 1985 Winter Games with competitions that included figure skating, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, and speed skating. Figure skating is the only sport to be included in every Winter Games. Masters ice hockey, youth ice hockey, speed skating, ski orienteering, snowboarding, sled dog racing, and cross country skiing were added into the competitions as the Winter Games became more successful. Winter Games The Winter Games are usually held in the months of January, February, and March in the Northern Berkshire region of Massachusetts. Featured sports include figure skating, curling, masters ice hockey, and futsal. Each year, the Winter Games have featured the Bay State Skate Figure Skating Show. This show was created in the 1980s to display some of the best skaters in the Winter Games. The Bay State Skate has more than a dozen Olympic skaters from the National and World Championships. Shows presented by the Bay State Games have included Olympians Nancy Kerrigan, Paul Wylie, Surya Bonaly, Linda Frattiani, Sylvia Fontana, and National competitors Mark Mitchell and Jennifer Kirk. The athletes in the Winter Games represent over 200 Massachusetts communities and participants range from ages 5 to 62. Events (as of 2020) Curling Figure Skating Futsal Ice hockey Summer Games The Summer Games is Massachusetts' own Olympic-style athletic competition that has been held since 1982 and features more than 6,000 athletes in 30 sports. Athletes represent over 300 Massachusetts communities, and participants range in age from 5 to 86. The Bay States Games reached it popularity in the 1990s when the number of participants increased to over 10,000 athletes. Over the years, the Bay State Games has expanded and focused more on individual sports such as swimming and track and field. Also, rugby has been one of the Games’ fastest growing sports. Master divisions were created and recreational sports such as baton twirling, judo, table tennis, and badminton. The Summer Games span is six to seven weeks