| 2019 Aurora Games | |
| Host City: | Albany, New York |
| Country: | USA |
| Website: | Official site |
| Previous: | Inaugural |
The 2019 Aurora Games was a female international multi-sport event that was held between 20 and 25 August 2019 in Albany, New York, United States of America. Planned to be a biennial event, the Times Union Center served as host venue. Albany shall also serve as host city for the 2021 and 2023 Aurora Games.[1]
The Aurora Games, designed as a multisport women's version of the Laver Cup,[2] has in addition featured musical performances, food tastings, sports clinics, autograph sessions and the “Conversations with Champions” series of seminars. The keynote speaker for the Aurora Games was Judge Rosemarie Aquilina,[3] who presided over the case of the disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.[4]
The 2019 Aurora Games programme featured seven sports. Team and individual competitions consisted of athletes from 15 countries participating as part of All-star teams known as Team Americas and Team World. Said teams were led by honorary captains Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Nadia Comăneci with the teams competing for the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Trophy. Team Americas captured the first Trophy, defeating Team World in six of the seven events.
| Event | Winning team | Results | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Team World | 85-77 | 2,517 | 15 assists by Laia Palau[5] |
| Beach Volleyball | Team Americas | 3 matches won 1 match lost | 3,291 | Gold medal game won by April Ross and Alix Klineman[6] |
| Figure Skating | Team Americas | 192.5 (Americas) 182.5 (World) | 3,634 | Team Americas prevailed in the short program with a score of 79.0 In the long program, Team Americas won with a score of 113.5 Alysa Liu became the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz in competition[7] |
| Gymnastics | Team Americas | 158.5 | 4,210 | Balance Beam, Artistic Floor and Aesthetic Gymnastics won by Team Americas Power Tumbling won by Team World Parkour had a tie score of 34 |
| Ice Hockey | Team Americas | 3-1 | 2,851 | Team World Goal by Annina Rajahuhta Team Americas Goals by Hannah Brandt, Kali Flanigan and Taylor Marchin[8] |
| Table Tennis | Team Americas | 5 Matches won 0 matches lost | ||
| Tennis | Team Americas | 3 matches won, 2 matches lost | 3,920 | Bianca Andreescu defeated Victoria Azarenka in a 6-2 final to win the fifth and deciding game[9] |
THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST
| Name | Sport | Position | Height | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis | N/A | 170cm (70inches) | 2019 US Open champion | ||
| Basketball | Competed in the WNBA with the San Antonio Silver Stars | ||||
| Basketball | Selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Draft | ||||
| Ice hockey | Forward | 5inchesft6inchesin (ftin) | Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games | ||
| Gymnastics | N/A | Specialist in Power Tumbling | |||
| Gymnastics | N/A | 2019 NCAA floor exercise co-champion | |||
| Ice hockey | Goaltender | NCAA all-time wins leader (121) First pick overall of 2017 NWHL Draft | |||
| Basketball | |||||
| Ice Hockey | Goaltender | 168cm (66inches) | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | Isobel Cup champion | |||
| Ice Hockey | Forward | Silver medalist in women's ice hockey at 2010 Winter Games | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | 2019 Clarkson Cup champion | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | Plays professionally for the Buffalo Beauts | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | Gold medalist in women's ice hockey at 2018 Winter Games | |||
| Ice hockey | Forward | 165cm (65inches) | |||
THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST
| Name | Sport | Position | Weight | Nationality | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis | N/A | 183cm (72inches) | Gold medalist at 2012 Summer Games | |||
| Tennis | N/A | 175cm (69inches) | Runner-up in mixed doubles at 2015 US Open | |||
| Gymnastics | N/A | 162cm (64inches) | Gold medalist in Balance Beam at 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship | |||
| Tennis | N/A | 182cm (72inches) | Number 1 ranking in WTA during September 2017 | |||
| Figure Skating | Ladies | 168cm (66inches) |  Russia | 4th place at 2019 European Figure Skating Championships |
The Athlete Advisory Committee is chaired by Donna de Varona.[10]
| Name | Title | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advisory Board Member | Medalist, 1952 and 1956 Winter Games | ||
| Doug Beal | Advisory Board Member | Former CEO, USA Volleyball | |
| Advisory Board Member | Former LPGA golfer, Legends Hall of Fame, Founder and CEO of Legends Tour | ||
| Advisory Board Member | 9-time medalist, 1976 and 1980 Summer Games | ||
| Advisory Board Member | 2-time medalist, 1984 Summer Games | ||
| Chris Evert[11] | Advisory Board Member | 18-time Grand Slam Champion | |
| Advisory Board Member | 6-time medalist, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Summer Games | ||
| Chair-Figure Skating | 2-time medalist, 1992 and 1994 Winter Games Winter Games | ||
| Advisory Board Member | CEO, World Team Tennis | ||
| Advisory Board Member | 1-time Medalist, 2012 Summer Games | ||
| Chair-Gymnastics | 7-time Medalist, 1992 and 1996 Summer Games | ||
| Advisor Board Member | Former NCAA coach: Brown Bears, 2-time champion, 2013 and 2015 Clarkson Cup | ||
| Advisory Board Member | Tennis coach, motivational speaker | ||
| Chair-Tennis | 9-time Grand Slam Champion | ||
| Chair-Ice Hockey | 2-time medalist, 2010 and 2014 Winter Games | ||
During May 2019, ESPN announced that it was to serve as the exclusive broadcast home for the inaugural Aurora Games.[12]