Tim Husel, Flo Weber (click for larger view).
Gay Games notes:
I heard several people talk about the two hot announcers at track and field, so here’s the 911. They are Flo Weber and Tim Husel, both 26 and gay. Weber was the announcer at last year’s world track championships in Berlin, heard about the Gay Games and wanted to be a part. Weber is the English speaker of the duo, and his brother is acting as track DJ.
Medal inflation: I’ve long decried what I call medal inflation at the Gay Games, the practice of awarding medals to anyone who finishes first, second or third in an event, even if they are the only one in their age group. The counter is that the event is supposed to be about participation and inclusion. If so, why have medals in the first place?
But this was taken to the extreme at track and field, as witness the winner and sole participant in the Under 2 division in the 100 meters. To be fair, he did have a personal best of 3 hours, 12 minutes and passed his drug test.
Table tennis anyone? Table tennis has zero profile in the U.S. as a competitive sport, but it’s big elsewhere in the world, especially China. I met Amir, a smoking hot Austrian athlete who gets paid to play in the second division of the Austrian league. Amir said that the Austrian champion is barely noticed in his home country but gets mobbed whenever he visits China.
Amir convinced a good friend to come to Cologne and encouraged him to play. The two met for the gold medal in their division and Amir took the silver. “I never play well against him,” he said.
Click for larger view
Towel man: Teddy Francisot of France blazed to victory in the men’s 100 meters, 18-29 category. Afterward, he had stripped down naked for a much needed massage. Only trouble was that they were about to call his name to get on the medal platform.
He wrapped a white towel around his waist, and seemed hesitant about what to do. Finally, he shrugged and walked out in the towel to the cheers and hoots of the crowd to receive his gold. It was the biggest ovation of the day and the towel routine should now become standard operating procedure.
on Aug 4th, 2010 at 11:24 AM
@Towel man
Love it!!! Great story.
on Aug 11th, 2010 at 10:24 AM
Cyd..
Love ya Cyd, but you need to get off this very narrow minded elite/Olympic view of LGBT sports. We all agree that sports are an important but missing part of our LGBT youth development. We all agree as coaches that athletic success does more for self image than all the Depression Medication you can take. So why focus on only the elite Olympic and professional athletic performance as the only meaningful goal?
Do you really believe that the Olympics are superior to the Masters Games just because the competitiors are younger/faster/stronger? Do we all have to be measured against that absolute citius altius fortius standard to achieve some personal success? Then why bother with GayGames? Just dump the age/skill/gender cartegories, and you would get a registration of maybe a few hundred instead of ~10k.
Medal Inflation is a strategy for increasing Registrations, which is the make-or-break factor for getting critical mass to have a world class competition. It is done all the time in all recreational/community athletic events to encourage Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best (PIPB, the GayGames Mission/Mantra).
We as a community of LGBT athletes are a small minority within a minority hampered by geography and finances for assembling a critical mass. Is it so bad that we cheapen the absolute value of the medals in order to have higher registrations?
The goal of the GayGames has changed since 1982 when we DID have to prove something. But we as a community no longer have to prove anything to anyone. We are celebrating now more of our Mathew Mitchums, and GayGames is as it should be a Celebration of our culture just like a Scottish Games or Maccabiah Games.
GayGames should NOT ever become a knock off Olympics or an Olympic quaifiying event. There are plenty of other elite competitons out there with drug tresting et al. What is still missing is the critical mass opportunity to meet and inspire the rest of our athletic community to become part of the GayGames Movement. By offerring more opportunities to medal in expanded skill, age, and gender categories, it ABSOLUTELY enhances registration. If you do not believe me, then ask ANY LGBT sports organizer.
We need to assemble a critical mass of athletes by whatever means we can, and Medal Inflation has proven to be a very useful tool. Yes we have Particpation Medals already for everyone as a memento of the ~$2k trip. But to also award some relative standing recognition with G/S/B medals is hardly a bad thing. Everyone knows the truth… at least for a few days anyway. But the long term effect is vastly positive for the GayGames Movement. Why does it bother you so much?
Ask any Jr. HS Coach about motivation and competition (I coached HS for 13 years), and you will get the same answer: PIPB will trump citius altius fortius every time.
on Aug 11th, 2010 at 2:56 PM
FYI: Jim wrote this item, not Cyd. And I still stand by what I wrote. Why have medals in the first place if it’s all about inclusion? And if you have medals, make them mean something. For those who win a medal simply for showing up, give them a pin of accomplishment or something to differentiate them from people who won medals the old-fashioned way. I met a powerlifter who won gold and, without prompting, told me it was by “default” (his word) since there was no one else in his age group and that he would have rather gotten some other form of recognition.
And Matthew Mitcham was a lot more valuable as a GG ambassador because he won gold. No one would have known him had he finished 16th.
on Aug 11th, 2010 at 6:56 PM
Sorry Jim.. The tone of the article threw me…
But if a 70 yo runner or swimmer trains and shows up to compete, and there is no one to compete against except the clock, just give them a pin? Maybe it fits a purist’s view, but certainly dishonors the person for being older, and will certainly not help future registrations once word gets out.
For those of us with draws full of medals we cannot remember what they were for, I think we are being petty. Medals do not cost that much.
I do not get what value system we are appeasing. Everyone already knows the circumstances, why deprecate the individual’s PIPB?
There is IMHO not enough medal inflation in some sports.
on Aug 22nd, 2010 at 7:24 PM
The medals are important. They hold different meaning for different people. Some of us were harassed in sports as kids. Receiving respect even decades later as a middle-aged athlete can be a powerful event in a person’s life, even if in a non-competitive situation. Another important role the medals play is to call attention to the older athletes, who are still out there doing their best and trying to stay fit. They are extremely important role models for the younger athletes, many of whom will consider dropping out of sports in their fifties and sixties. One of my favorite moments of the games is when an older athlete with no one in his or her age group comes running toward the finish and everyone applauds and cheers. These are memories I will never forget, that I thank the games for enabling.
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