The groups that run the Gay Games and the Outgames failed in their attempt to hold one worldwide LGBT sporting event in 2018. Board members from the Federation of Gay Games and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association met in Montreal over the weekend, but were unable to reconcile their differences. There was even [...]
Posts under ‘Gay Games’
Gay Games, Outgames meet to try and create one worldwide sports event
The groups that run the Gay Games and the Outgames are meeting in Montreal this weekend with a goal of organizing a unified worldwide sports and cultural event in 2018. This would end a schism that began in 2003 and it’s about time. There have been Outgames in 2006 (Montreal) and 2009 (Copenhagen), with the [...]
Orlando to bid to host 2018 Gay Games
Orlando’s new gay and lesbian visitors’ bureau will announce that it will bid to host the 2018 Gay Games. It’s part of a desire to make the Florida city — home of Disney World — a gay destination for events other than the annual Gay Days, held each June. From the Orlando Sentinel: “We’ve estimated [...]
Olympics’ Women In Sport conference virtually ignores lesbian issues
The Federation of Gay Games had a couple members at the International Olympic Committee’s Women in Sport conference last month. All of them reported on a strange lack of discussion about lesbian issues. Roger Brigham wrote for the Gay Games blog: But the word “lesbian” went unuttered, as did any mention of the pervasive discrimination [...]
Andrew Langenfeld at the World LGBTQ Youth Leaders Summit
Former Purdue swimmer Andrew Langenfeld is at the World LGBTQ Youth Leaders Summit in Tel Aviv this week. He’s representing the Federation of Gay Games and LGBT sport in general; Langenfeld is an advisory board member of Our Group and GLSEN’s Changing The Game. You can check out his progress on the Gay Games’ blog, including [...]
Battle erupting this weekend over Gay Games and Outgames one quadrennial event
As the Federation of Gay Games meets this weekend in Toronto, the hot topic will be the potential merger* of quadrennial events between the Gay Games and Outgames in 2018. While a combination of events is being discussed, no merger of organizations is on the table. Eight years after the Outgames separated from the Gay [...]
Top 10 moments in LGBT aquatics history
This summer we presented the 100 most important moments in LGBT sports history. We have encouraged leaders throughout the community to give us their top 10. This list comes from longtime IGLA and Gay Games leader Charlie Carson. It’s impossible to rank certain of the moments over others so I’ve chosen to list them chronologically. [...]
Moment #5: First Gay Games are held in San Francisco
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Multisports, 1982: Dr. Tom Waddell was an Olympic decathlete who had a dream of holding a sports event geared to gay and lesbians, to shatter the stereotype of what being an athlete meant. He was thwarted in his attempts to call them [...]
Moment #38: Gay Games III held in Vancouver, first outside U.S.
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Multisports, 1990: After being held twice in San Francisco, the Gay Games got more international when they were staged Aug. 4-11 in Vancouver. These were the first Gay Games I attended and I was hooked; I have been to every one [...]
Moment #56: Supreme Court rules against Gay Games in use of ‘Olympics’
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Sports, 1987: When former Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell wanted to start a multisport competition for gay and lesbian athletes, his original name was the Gay Olympics. But that did not sit well with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which sued to stop [...]
Moment #70: World OutGames forms after split with Federation of Gay Games
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Gay sports, 2003: It was not an amicable divorce. In 2001, the Federation of Gay Games awarded the 2006 Gay Games to Montreal. Just two years later, after charges and countercharges, the contract was still not signed and Chicago was awarded [...]
Report: Cleveland to pay $475k to Synergy Foundation in Gay Games settlement
The Gay Games cleared a hurdle in settling out-of-court a lawsuit filed against them by the Cleveland Synergy Foundation. The CSF had originally won the bid to host the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland, but the Federation of Gay Games has since stripped them of organizing duties and handed the reins to another group led [...]
Powerlifter Chris Morgan wins best lifter at British championships
Heavily decorated openly gay powerlifter Chris Morgan won the best lifter title at this year’s British championships. Lifting in the 180-pound class at the “single event” championships, he made lifts of 462 pounds, 526 pounds and 550 pounds. This is Morgan’s sixth British championship win during his career, with him completing back to back British, [...]
Gay sports pioneers series: Roger Brigham
Traveling in Germany with Dave Kopay it struck me how few young gay athletes today realize who he is and the impact he has had on our culture. After I returned from the Gay Games I thought about all the other people who have led the way for gays in sports but who get lost [...]
Gay Games stonewalling the press?
The Windy City Times in Chicago has a troublesome report that the Federation of Gay Games will not reply to any of their questions about the growing controversy in Cleveland including a lawsuit against the FGG. In addition, the Times exposes claims that the new group the FGG has tapped to host the Cleveland Games [...]
Gallery: Best of Gay Games 2010
Gay Games VIII in Cologne was my favorite event of the year to cover. Cologne was a fantastic host city, the people and athletes were all friendly and the competition was great. Cyd and I had the pleasure of covering the event (check out our Gay Games blog), not only with words but with photos [...]
Dog Tag Project looks good on athletes
The Dog Tag Project was started by Matt Freeman, a former executive at Here! media. The project’s aim is to put names and faces on the fight against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. They have teamed up with various former military personnel who have been discharged by the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and they [...]
Injured Gay Games athlete still recovering
His dreams of Gay Games gold came crashing to a nightmarish end about an hour after they started, in the first of seven events that Hector Torres registered to compete while in Cologne, Germany. On the first day of competition, no less. Torres, 32, who lives in Orlando, Fla., was the fifth of about 500 [...]
Gay Games are a big deal in Cleveland
How seriously is the entire city of Cleveland taking the Gay Games? The Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s editorial today is about making sure the Games stay in their city, despite the lawsuit from Cleveland Synergy Foundation: By their nature, the 2014 Gay Games, expected to attract more than 10,000 athletes, will promote the kind of respect [...]
Cleveland Synergy sues the Gay Games
Cleveland Synergy Foundation, the group granted the right to host the 2014 Gay Games until the Federation of Gay Games stripped them of that right in July, filed a lawsuit today against the Federation of Gay Games. The City of Cleveland and two other defendants are also named in the suit. The FGG is being [...]