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Brooklyn, NY — The Colgate Women’s Games, the nation’s largest amateur track series, will begin its 35th anniversary season on Friday, December 26th at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. More than 11,000 young female athletes, in divisions ranging from elementary school age through 30s +, will compete in the weekly preliminary events throughout January for the chance to qualify for the Madison Square Garden finals on Saturday, January 31st.

“The Games have weathered all types of economic and social climates for three and a half decades now,” said meet director and Games founder Fred Thompson. “We’re seeing second and third generation Games athletes compete. We’re most touched when past athletes return to tell us what a positive impact the Games had on their lives.”

Seventeen former Olympians and hundreds of national champions have competed in the Games, which aim to provide girls and young women a means of developing self-esteem and confidence.

The Colgate Women’s Games also instill the importance of educational achievement, requiring all participants to submit their school attendance records. Each week, participants have the opportunity to win numerous ribbons and medals. In addition, finalists, who are required to submit an essay on a peer-related topic, are awarded trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company.

“The Colgate Women’s Games are one of the gold standards of women's sports. They provide young women with the opportunity to compete at the highest level and an extraordinary development opportunity that extends far beyond the track and field. The Women’s Sports Foundation applauds Colgate-Palmolive, a company who has stood tall for girls and women in sports for nearly four decades and whose vision has come to represent the very essence of our mission: to advance the lives of girls and women through sports,” said Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Karen Durkin.

Dozens of former champion participants, including Olympic Silver medalist and Games’ assistant meet director Cheryl Toussaint Eason, serve as long-time officials in order to give back to the program that changed their lives.

The Colgate Women’s Games, which unofficially open the women’s indoor track season, have become a proving ground, annually setting the pace throughout the nation. Participants, primarily from the East Coast, travel from as far as Boston and Virginia to compete.

The Colgate Women’s Games, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive Company, is the longest-running corporate-sponsored program benefiting American youth. For an entry form, ticket information or to follow weekly scores of participants, visit www.colgategames.com.