By FRANCIS FEDOR
It’s time again for the World Games! The World Games is a multi-sport tournament that takes place over an 11-day span and is supported by the International Olympic Committee. The games take place in the year after the Summer Olympic games. This 2022 edition will take place in the USA, specifically Birmingham, Alabama, from July 7-17. The games are of local interest as two Southshore athletes will be participating in the tournament. Sheneika Adger-Comice (Sun City) and Ayanna Pate (Riverview), both WR’s, will be a part of the US Women National Flag Football team.
The World Games markets the 2022 edition as a “showcase of a New Generation of Global Sports” and “will host about 3,600 athletes from over 100 countries, competing for Gold in more than 30 of the fastest growing sports in the world.” As for the flag football team, the makeup will consist of 24 women competing against seven other national teams that span four continents. (There is also a men’s team that will be competing in a separate bracket.) The other nations competing in the flag football tourney will be Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Panama, Japan, France and Italy. The flag football competition, presented by the NFL, will be held inside Legion Field, which is the home of the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers Football and was the site for the opening soccer match of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. It is an 83,000+ venue and is also known as “The Old Gray Lady.” Other categories of sports that will be included in the World Games are Artistic, Ball Sports (including flag football and softball), Martial Arts, Precision (archery, bowling), Strength and Trend. This will be the first time the US will host the competition since Santa Clara, California, hosted the event in 1981.
The Woman’s National Team took the gold medal at the 2021 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag World Championships in Jerusalem, Israel. The tourney ran from Dec. 6th through the 8th, and the team finished with a 7-0 record, defeating Mexico 31-21 to secure the gold medal. Sheneika figured in the final score by adding the insurance touchdown on a roll out to the right and hauling in the pass from Vanita Crouch (Carrolton, Texas). In an interview with Ayanna and Sheneika, both are excited about the international aspect of the competition they’ll be facing. This will be Ayanna’s first experience with the World Games. Sheneika is a stay-at-home mom while Ayanna is a teacher by profession. Both believe that they have a really strong chance to win the games again, and Sheneika expects “that the games will come down to a rematch against Mexico.” Ayanna started playing in high school at Gaither, where they won districts in her sophomore season, and Sheneika just picked up the game at the encouragement of others. Ayanna has a message for moms out there. “You can be a mom and still live out your dreams.”
You can learn more about the World Games at https://twg2022.com/and a follow-up on the competition will follow once the games complete. Go Ayanna and Sheneika! Good luck and bring home the championship.
