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 the 2006 event. Montreal went on to form the World OutGames.

The Chicago Gay Games had its closing ceremonies on July 22, 2006. Just a week later, the OutGames had its opening ceremonies. The closeness of the dates meant that the vast majority of athletes had to choose one or the other. The result was a Gay Games that was mostly American, and an OutGames that was heavily Canadian and European.

The OutGames was a big success in terms of the the logistics  but a financial disaster. The organizing committee ran up a deficit of $5.3 million, and owed $2.2 million to creditors (including Outsports); it later filed for bankruptcy. In contrast, the Chicago Gay Games broke even.

The second OutGames in 2009 in Copenhagen was well-run with great facilities, but it was marred by a gay bashing the night of the opening ceremonies and an explosives attack at the track venue that injured one runner.

The 2013 World OutGames are set for Antwerp, Belgium.

For more information:

• World OutGames 2013
• A look at the Gay Games-OutGames split

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Dean Koga, left, being kissed by Giampiero Mancinelli

Dean Koga of the Seattle Frontrunners was injured when shrapnel from a 9-inch bomb, one of three tossed, hit him during the track and field competition here in Copenhagen at the World Outgames. The incident is being called a hate crime. Koga, photo right, is being kissed by a fellow runner the day after, glad that Koga was back on the track.

I spent all morning at the track and interviewed Koga and other athletes about what happened. You can read about it here.

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Toronto jocks at the 2006 Outgames.

The second Outgames starts a month from today in Copenhagen, with Opening Ceremonies on July 25. The multisport event will be a cozy affair, with about half the athletes of the 2006 edition in Montreal and far fewer than Copenhagen organizers had hoped for.

The number of registered athletes is a “bit more than 4,000,” with another 1,200 people signed up for cultural events and a gay and lesbian conference, Ole Udshol of the Outgames told Roger Brigham. There will be between 600 and 700 people from the U.S. Brigham, long active with the Federation of the Gay Games and also a journalist, posted these latest numbers on our Discussion Board. It follows a report he had last week in the Bay Area Reporter.

When we last wrote about the Outgames registration two months ago, organizers were still hoping for 6,500 registrants. This is below the 8,000 target they had set, which was also about the number that attended the first Outgames in Montreal in 2006.

Four sports have been cut — rugby, kayak, pool and shooting — while others like wrestling might be more exhibitions than competitions, Brigham says. On the other hand, swimming will be well represented since the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics is holding its world meet at the Outgames.

Outgames officials say their financial goals are attainable and add that “everything is working very smoothly.”

Copenhagen is an awesome city and I find it hard to imagine anyone having a bad time at the Outgames. However, this event will be a pale imitation of the Gay Games, which routinely gets 10,000 athletes, and of the original boasts of Outgames organizers from Montreal, who promised 18,000 registrants before going bankrupt, leaving $5 million in debts, including $2.2 million to dozens of vendors (disclosure: Outsports is among those vendors).

Antwerp, Belgium, is set to host the 2013 Outgames, but already the city says it can’t pay a $209,000 deposit to the Gay & Lesbian International Sport Association (which licenses the event) because of the global recession.

I have advice for Antwerp – save your money. The Outgames have already run their course, and only came about because a group of hustlers from Montreal broke away from the Gay Games to start their own event. The 2006 Outgames was a financial disaster, and the 2009 version (while being run by a new group that has been above board) has seen its registration goals fall victim to the recession and to a sense that one international multisport gay and lesbian sporting event is enough.

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A Foreign Ministry official explained that the decision to financially support the delegation was motivated by the wish to help show to the world Israel’s liberal and diverse face.

Having a government help pick up the tab is nice work if you can get it. Right now the Outgames needs all the attendees it can muster for the weeklong event that starts July 25. The organizers have lowered their projections on registration and I imagine the event will be more cozy than crowded.

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The lower numbers aren’t a big surprise, as the Outgames has to contend with a worldwide recession. My guess is that if the economy was now what it was two years ago, they’d be hitting their projected numbers (which were already refreshingly conservative). It’ll be a fun event regardless of the lower attendance: If you can’t find a way to have fun with 5,000 athletes descending on a beautiful city like Copenhagen with week-long parties and festivities, that’s not really on them.

For the last few months, we’ve been highlighting athletes headed to the Outgames. Our latest featured athletes are an HIV-positive runner and a beautiful ballroom dancer.

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