CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Seize the dream.
The Texas Amateur Athletic Federation is holding their Summer Games in Corpus Christi with the first competitions beginning Thursday.
Amateur, recreational, and young Olympic hopeful athletes will compete in 10 sports featured at various venues throughout the city in this multi-sport arena.
"The public is more than welcome, you never know what kind of future Olympian you may see," Executive Director of the TAAF Games Mark Lord said. "We have had several past TAAF athletes that have gone on and represented the United States in the Olympics."
On Friday, spectators can watch golf, track and field and swimming competitions.
Golf
- Begins at 8 a.m. and the Lozano Golf Center
Track and Field
- Begins at 8 a.m. at Cabaniss Sports Complex
Swimming
- Begins at 8 a.m. at the Corpus Christi Natatorium
A full scheduled of events can be found below.
Tickets are available online and will not be sold at the gate. You can click here to buy tickets.
More than 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in the games, which is an increase from last year's games.
"We were here last year but it was coming out of COVID, right before the Delta variant raised its little ugly head last year, and we had about 6,000 athletes," Lord said. "This year, we expect 8 to 10,000."
Though the athletes are considered amateur, they are considered some of the best in their sports.
"TAAF has 17 regions, so they had to qualify to get here. Just with track alone we started with over 13,000 track athletes," Lord said. "They get here, the medalists that place, get a gold silver or bronze medal here, have the opportunity to advance to the State Games of America to compete against the other state games' champions."
Opening Ceremonies will be held Friday at Whataburger Field for athletes and their families. The games will continue until July 24. Volunteers are needed to help with the games. Those interested can click here for more information on how to sign up.
For more information, visit the TAAF Summer Games website here.
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