Last summer, State Games of America held its national amateur championships in St. Louis. That group said it expects to leave some profits behind to support local kids sports activities in the months ahead.

The national competitions drew 5,386 athletes from across the country to St. Louis July 10-12. The amateur competitors were winners of state meets such as the Show-me Games in Missouri and the Prairie Games in Illinois.

Last month, Young Saint Louis.com carried stories about local kid athletes who competed in the national games.

One was a health story about 10-year-old Kyle Bradley who has earned national wrestling although he's legally blind. The other was a sports feature about 11-year-old twin wrestlers, Matthew and Nicholas Lester.

Staging giant tournaments for amateur athletes is risky business. The local St. Louis Sports Commission was a partner in staging the national meet.

If the games had lost money, the commission would have been required to help make up the deficit. However, if the games made money, the commission would share in the surplus.

Apparently, St. Louis has kept its record intact for making such amateur meets both financial and competitive successes.

Tom Osborne is the executive director of the State Games of America organization in Montana. He told YSL.com, "We haven't paid all of our bills yet, but we are hopeful to be leaving money for the Commission's youth athletic programs."

The other sports story in this YSL.com edition outlines the Commission's youth sports activities. You might like to tell your group leaders and see if your team can get involved.

Also, you can log on to the Commission's website, at www.stlouissports.org. Then, click on to the Sports for Kids headline.