Come out and play at Summer Games
Good luck had me driving through Whitefish in the late 1970s, and it was immediately apparent that there was something special about the place.
People smiled and stopped to chat and left their cars unlocked, often with the keys still in the ignition. What’s more, everyone seemed happy and fun-loving, so I like many others before and after, decided to stick around for a day or two and I still haven’t left.
Back then, Whitefish’s tiny economy was built around logging and the railroad, plus a fledgling summer tourist industry and a small winter ski resort. Unfortunately the entire nation was staggering under the burden of 20 percent interest rates, and downtown Whitefish was so quiet after Labor Day that dogs slept in doorways while their owners rearranged their shop windows for the umpteenth time, hoping the tourists would come back in December.
Come the hour, cometh the man, and in 1981 Gary Elliott and a few friends decided to create one more weekend for tourists after Labor Day, and so the Whitefish Summer Games was born.
Loosely patterned after the Olympic Games, but with the five rings comprised of 70s beer can pull tabs, the first Summer Games included a variety of sports — the more fun and eccentric, the better. That first year was a great success, with events ranging from softball, basketball and arm wrestling to golf, biking and mouse races, which were wildly popular.
Unfortunately, the second year brought driving snow and bitter cold, and the third year it rained so hard that most of the sports fizzled and died. However, the mens and womens soccer tournaments survived and kept going, and they now bring more than 500 adult players each year from all over Montana, plus the surrounding states and Canada.
In the 30 years since then, Whitefish has experienced rapid growth and many changes, and some people feel that we’ve mislaid much of our old small-town warmth and love of simple fun. Last year, to help recapture a little of that old spirit, the original multi-sport Summer Games concept was revived with 23 events, including mounted cowboy shooting, horseshoes, hockey and lacrosse.
This year the Summer Games will take place on Sept. 6-7, and already 18 events are being arranged (see www.wfsummergames.com for the list of sports and locations.)
Harry Brown, last year’s Winter Carnival King Ullr, has donated a trophy in memory of Gary Elliott, and the trophy will be presented each year to the event which best exemplifies the spirit of the Games. Health laws no longer allow the racing of live mice, but eight large and very realistic mechanical ones will compete in a race at Casey’s.
The Summer Games gives all of us, locals and tourists, young and old, a chance to re-live some of that old-time Whitefish fun, either by watching or participating in the events (cribbage at The Crush, anyone?)
In addition to the staples like soccer and softball, new events this year include pickleball, rugby and human foosball, and The Wave has rescheduled their annual Two Bear Marathon and Half Marathon to join in.
The Summer Games would love to have volunteers to help run volleyball, bocce ball, folf and tennis (city locations are available for all four) or feel free to make up your own event, the more fun and eccentric the better. And no worries — you might get only four participants this year, but if they enjoy themselves, they’ll be sure to come back next year with some friends.
— Colin Sellwood