Bobbie Harmon

State Games of Mississippi officially kicks off this weekend with the mountain bike competition.

Although most State Games competitions take place in May and June, a few are scheduled during the spring months, with mountain biking taking place this weekend at Bonita Lakes Park and the canoe, kayak and standup paddleboard event being hosted in late April. Netfest soccer (March 28) and Netfest volleyball (April 18), which help raise money for State Games, are also coming up soon.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Bobbie Harmon, State Games of Mississippi’s director of marketing and development. “It’s the first year I’ve come full circle working for State Games. Up through Christmas we were kind of coasting, then January comes and, boom, it’s here. I know a lot of people joked about January lasting forever, but February felt like it was two days long, and we’re moving into our first competition and Netfest, so it’s been a blast.”

On-site registration for the mountain bike competition begins at 1 p.m. Saturday on Bonita Lake’s Reservoir Road. The Super D division — which includes men’s category 1 and 2, men’s novice, men’s under-19, women’s open and women’s under-19 — begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, while the cross-country competitions will take place starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. Further instructions and pricing can be viewed on State Games of Mississippi’s website: https://stategamesofms.org/sports/individual-sports/mountain-bike/

The canoe, kayak and standup paddleboard event will take place April 25 at Bonita Lakes Park, with new commissioner Jonathan Dickerson heading up the event. The competition was hosted in Biloxi prior to this year.

“He’s with Queen City Paddle, so we’re expecting a great turnout,” Harmon said. “Anytime someone is associated with a club it tends to do better (turnout-wise).”

Netfest 3v3 soccer and four-person volleyball are both fundraising events that help support State Games of Mississippi, along with the annual Pumpkin Run in the fall and State Games’ various sponsors. The Opening Ceremonies will be June 5 in downtown Meridian and is expected to take place the first Friday of June going forward.

While concerns about COVID-19 have caused the NCAA to close its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to the public, Harmon said there has been no discussion to alter State Games’ schedule or fan access as of Wednesday.

“Right now, it’s business as usual,” Harmon said. “If it does become an issue in our state or area, we will definitely reconsider things or figure out how to handle it.”