CEDAR CITY — The 38th annual Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games, now already underway in Cedar City, will stage its opening ceremonies on Friday night.
“The Utah Summer Games Opening Ceremonies provide us a chance to gather and celebrate the excellence of our community, our university, and our state,” Jonathan Oglesby, the new Utah Summer Games executive director, said in a recent news release. “We are excited to celebrate Utahns of all levels of athletic achievement, from noted Olympians to hopeful youth, and look forward to inspiring hopes of new connections with new partners and participants.”
The opening ceremonies are scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. and last until 10:30 p.m. Friday at Southern Utah University’s Eccles Coliseum football stadium, with gates opening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 per person, or $6 each if purchased in family multiples of five.
Headlined by the country music duo known as LOCASH (Preston Brust and Chris Lucas), the ceremonies will include the traditional parade of athletes, lighting of the torch and other activities. A firework show will cap off the evening.
The ceremony will be preceded by a free block party from 4-7 p.m. with food, live music, ping pong and arm-wrestling tables, a rock climbing wall, and other family-friendly activities.
The newly hired Oglesby comes to the Utah Summer Games after having worked as an assistant director for the Utah High School Activities Association for the past six years.
“I’m enormously grateful for my time there, and my lifelong relationships with the people there,” Oglesby said of his time at the UHSAA, which he said helped prepare him for his new role directing the Utah Summer Games.
“I’ve had different roles, responsibilities and moments that have really helped me to get the experience and the relationships that I feel are necessary to do justice to this position,” he recently told Cedar City News. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity.”
Originally from Moapa Valley, Nevada, Oglesby attended college at Utah Tech University (then Dixie State), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. After that, he moved up to Ogden’s Weber State University, where he earned a master’s degree in professional communications. He also served as senior director of communications for the Big Sky Conference.
“We are ecstatic for our family to become an active part of this vibrant community, and hope to serve the community through this opportunity,” Oglesby said in a May 15 news release announcing his hiring. “The energy, connection and genuine kindness found in Cedar City and within SUU are tangible, and we couldn’t ask for a better place for our family to be at this point in our lives.”
Additionally, Oglesby’s wife Tara was recently hired to be SUU’s new women’s golf coach, the university announced on Monday.
First staged in 1986, the Utah Summer Games attracts thousands of people to the Cedar City area each year, with record annual numbers exceeding 10,000 participants, 50,000 spectators and 1,000 volunteers.
Among the various sports kicking off their competitions this week are youth soccer, swimming, volleyball, racquetball, pickleball, softball, golf, disc golf and Ultimate Frisbee.
A handful of Utah Summer Games competitions have already been staged, including wrestling in March; water polo, rifle shooting and moto trials in April; and adult softball in May.
More recently, the high school level basketball tournaments were held this past weekend (June 2-3), as were various competitions in archery, parkour, arm wrestling, bowling, horseshoes and trap shooting. For the complete Utah Summer Games 2023 schedule, click here.
One new aspect of this year’s Utah Summer Games, Oglesby said, will be a soon-to-be-announced partnership between USG and Special Olympics of Utah.
Oglesby noted that the overarching goal of Utah Summer Games is embodied in a phrase made famous by the late founder and title sponsor Larry H. Miller, namely “to make Utah a better place to live, to work and to play.”
“We feel like the Larry H. Miller Utah summer games do a lot to help encourage that goal,” Oglesby said. “And we are so grateful for the people who volunteer, who spend time, who give their blood, sweat and tears in some cases, to ensure in everybody that comes to Iron County, everybody that steps onto the Southern Utah University campus, and everybody who competes in the Utah Summer Games, leaves knowing that Utah is a great place to live, to work and to play.”
Added Oglesby:
I couldn’t be more personally grateful for everyone who has come before me in creating that legacy. I look forward to helping to be one of the many people to carry that torch forward, creating an even better and more prolific experience for folks at the games.
Event details
- What: Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games opening ceremonies.
- When: Friday, June 9, starting at 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.).
- Where: Eccles Coliseum, Southern Utah University campus, Cedar City.
- Admission: Tickets are $7 per person, $6 each if purchased in multiples of five. To order tickets, click here.
- More details: Visit the utahsummergames.org website.
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