Gay Games Registration Closes June 15

The late registration period for all Gay Games VII sports and culture programs will close at midnight, U.S. CDT, on Thursday,  June 15, and late fees for registrations will go up starting June 5.

"Registration must close by 15 June so that we can finalize our competition schedules and prepare for participant accreditation," said Tony Miller, Chicago Gay Games Technology Manager. "Late registration continues to be extremely heavy, leading to some early sport closures because capacities have been reached. We highly encourage those who have delayed their registration to complete this process as quickly as possible to avoid losing a slot in their favorite sporting or cultural event."

"Registration totals are rapidly approaching 12,000, the number of participants we had originally estimated," said Kevin Boyer, Gay Games Board Co-Vice Chair. "We are very excited to be meeting all of our expectations and benchmarks in the final two months of preparation. We wish all of the participants the best of luck in their training and rehearsals and look forward to welcoming each more formally at our spectacular Opening Ceremony at Soldier Field on Saturday, 15 July 2006."

Registration is open at www.gaygameschicago.org. The Gay Games Sports & Cultural Festival takes place July 15-22 in Chicago.

Sport Closures
Previously, Gay Games Chicago announced that Band, Badminton, Golf and Racquetball were closed. Ice Hockey is closed to new teams. Sailing, previously closed, was re-opened because of a change in the schedule allowing more available sailing time. Basketball, Figure Skating, Soccer, Swimming, and Tennis are all reaching capacities and may also close before June 15. All sports closures will be announced immediately on the Sports pages at www.GayGamesChicago.org. Color coding helps identify sports that are approaching capacity.

Tickets Remain Available
Tickets to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, sports and cultural events, and affiliated events and parties are not affected by the registration closure. Tickets to all events are available at tickets.gaygameschicago.org. For information on corporate, group and suite sales, contact Stacy Jacobs at stacy.jacobs@gaygameschicago.org or phone (773) 433-8001.

Late Fee Increases June 5
Starting Monday, June 5, Gay Games VII Registration Fees will increase by $30. Registration currently costs $195 plus a sport or culture fee starting at $35.  Starting June 5, registration fees will increase to $225 plus the sport or culture fee. "The increase in the late fee reflects the significant additional labor involved in adding late registrants to our competition schedules," said Nancy Harris, Gay Games Sports Director. "We would much prefer that people register now, before the late fees increase."

Registration fees include seats at both Opening and Closing Ceremonies, a 10-day CTA pass, access to the chosen sport or cultural event, free spectator access to most events, souvenir program guide, accreditation, access to the Gay Games Expo and other services.

For more information, visit www.gaygameschicago.org, email info@gaygameschicago.org, or phone (773) 907-2006.