ESPN Great Outdoor Games 2004

Games digest, Feb. 18, 2004

ESPN Outdoors Communications

On target

Nevada will be in the bull's-eye Feb. 20-22, as Las Vegas and Boulder City host qualifiers for all three of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games target events. Archers, shotgunners and riflemen and -women will try their luck — and considerable skill — as they seek berths in Great Outdoor Games V, set for July 8-11 in Madison, Wis.

The Eliminator's qualifying rounds at the NFAA World Archery Festival will be Feb. 20-22. Archers who care to try their hands at the unusual Eliminator format will compete Friday and Saturday for a spot in the 16-person final shootout on Sunday that will determine which five archers qualify for the 2004 Games.

In nearby Boulder City, shooters will gather at the Desert Lake Sporting Clays tournament Feb. 20-21 at Desert Lake Country Club. The top shooters from each event will be entered into season rankings and, after a series of additional events (two more for rifle and three for shotgun), the top eight competitors in each discipline will earn invitations to the Games in Madison.

The Nevada target sport qualifiers will air May 8 at noon ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.

Athlete honored

Great Outdoor Games athlete and analyst Sean Duffy recently served as the honorary athlete for the Badger State Games, held Feb. 6-8 in Wisconsin.

Duffy, a district attorney and former star of MTV's The Real World, served as a timber sports analyst for Great Outdoor Games IV and has competed in both log rolling and speed climbing at the Games. Because of his success both on and off the timber stage, the Badger State Games selected him to light the opening cauldron for the 2004 winter competition.

Still time to qualify

There are still opportunities for athletes to qualify for spots in the fly fishing, archery, shotgun, rifle, Big Air and retriever competitions. For information about qualifying for the Eastern and Western Fly Fishing Challenges, click here. Archery information is available at www.arrowsport.com, and target sport information can be found at www.nssf.org. Dog lovers can find sport information at www.superretrieverseries.com and www.dockdogs.com.

Wisconsin facts

With Great Outdoor Games V scheduled for July 8-11 in Madison, Wis., more than a few interesting facts about Wisconsin and its athletes have come to light:

Lake Geneva's Tina Bosworth is the only Great Outdoor Games competitor to win four consecutive gold medals in one event (log rolling).

Wisconsin and Minnesota tied for the most gold medals at the 2003 Games (3 each).

Wisconsin fielded the largest competitive delegation of any state or province with 20 delegates. Minnesota came in second, with 14, and California rounded out the top three with 12.