|
l
Homophobia alleged at water polo: Gay members of
several water polo teams are upset by an
incident in the showers this week, when four
straight members of a Montreal team made remarks
and gestures perceived to be homophobic, the
Montreal Gazette reported.
According to the paper: "The incident
happened Monday after the Laval team, made up
almost entirely of straight men, squared off
against the Out-to-Swim London mixed squad of 12
female players and two men. Laval won 12-0.
"The trouble began in the showers at the Claude
Robillard Centre after the game, when four Laval
players joked in French about not lingering too
long in case they were jumped by their gay
opponents. They began playing drop-the-soap and
laughing as they dared one another to bend over
to pick it up, [London team manager Ben] Evans
claimed.
"Unbeknownst to the locals, a member of the
London team is a former Montrealer who
understood what they were saying and didn't find
it funny.
" 'He told them their remarks were inappropriate
and asked that they apologize, but they
continued,' " Evans said.
What furthered angered gay players was what they
said was a slow reaction by the Outgames water
polo organizers. Referees alerted Monday said
they could not do anything because the incident
happened after the match. The London team then
filed a formal complaint. "Pierre Rajotte, the
Outgames organizer responsible for the water
polo tournament, offered to ask the Laval team
to apologize. The British team rejected that
solution as too little, too late," the paper
said. The Gazette reporter was blown off when
she tried to talk to Laval players at the water
polo venue.
On Thursday, members of six teams met and asked
the organizers to take action, but complained it
was slow in coming. "They could have said,
'Sorry,' in the locker room, but they chose not
to," said Remco Kobus, a representative of Gay
Swim Amsterdam.
The matter reached a kind of resolution when
Rajotte, prior to the semifinals, "read a
prepared statement condemning the remarks made
by the Laval players and asking the offending
four to withdraw from the tournament, which they
did," the paper said.
To add insult to injury for some, Laval went on
to win the gold medal. "It compromises the
integrity of the games and certainly has
blighted our enjoyment of the tournament," Jones
said. -Jim Buzinski
(Discuss
this incident on our Discussion Board).
By
Ross Forman
l
A hockey wish: Dan
Bain, a Recreation Division hockey player from
Toronto who played in the OutGames, probably
best summed up the gay sporting summer we’ve
had. “I wish there was only one tournament,” he
said. “It’s too bad there were two events
because that dilutes the value of the win.
Nonetheless, the Outgames was a great tournament
that was very well organized with some great
players.”
Bain, 39, a right wing, has previously played in
gay hockey tournaments in New York City and his
native Toronto. “Everyone who came here came to
have a good time, but once the play started,
everyone wanted to win a medal,” Bain said.
l
Ice chips:
Lance Green was, arguably, the best
player on Toronto’s Competitive Division team.
The 26-year-old previously played Junior B
hockey in Cambridge, Ont., and is now a salesman
of patio furniture back home. He’s in his second
season playing in Toronto’s gay league. And,
yes, he is gay; his boyfriend is a student.
The Los Angeles Blades, meanwhile, walked away
with the Competitive Division title at the Gay
Games in Chicago. Their best player, a
defenseman, was reportedly drafted by an NHL
team, scored at-will in the Games and had an
amazing slapshot that he was never afraid to
unleash. He was straight as was another star,
playing with the Blades for the first time.
“If straight players are all right playing in
our gay league (in Toronto) because they agree
with what we’re trying to achieve, which is
having equality among athletes, and then (still)
want to play, then I’m all right with that,”
Green said. “If a team is adding players just
for the sake of being the most competitive team,
and they’re not gay (yet) playing in a gay
sporting event, I don’t agree with that.
“People stacking their teams with non-gay
players, just to win the tournament, can be
looked at in a gray area. But I wouldn’t go for
it.”
There were, of course, no rules regulating
sexual orientation for the Gay Games or the
Outgames. Organizers for both said about 5% of
all participants were straight.
“If you’re going to let straight people to play
in the Games, then you have to allow everyone,
regardless of skill-level,” Green said.
The Blades’ player, though, was far superior to
everyone else on the ice.
Green’s team, meanwhile, is an all-star team of
sorts from Toronto’s nine-team gay league. They
have been playing together for six months. “We
just figured that the best way for us to be
competitive was to play together every week and
try to get some team-cohesiveness,” Green said.
So why Montreal? Proximity, for sure, Green
said. “Plus, we thought the competition level
would be higher. That said, I certainly would
have loved to have played (the Blades).”
l
Straight goal: Nik Webb scored the
game-winning overtime goal for Toronto in its
Competitive Division semifinal. Webb is 21, a
salesman and he’s straight. “I’m really
excited,” he said after the game. “This was my
first goal of the tournament.” Webb is a regular
player in Toronto’s gay league, by his choice.
“The gay league is not as violent or chippy as
straight leagues. You can just come out and
really not worry about getting injured, or
getting into fights on the ice,” Webb said.
Webb is one of three straight players on
Toronto’s Outgames team, and he’s played in
Toronto’s gay league for two years.
l
Family affair: Gui Dutoit won a gold
medal in swimming and silver in the triathlon.
But it was the physique competition, which he
did not medal in, that he probably enjoyed most.
It was the first time he had done physique and
he was only doing it because his younger sister,
Bernadette Beyer, competed in physique. (see
photo)
“She
started bodybuilding 15 years ago and has stuck
with it,” Dutoit said. “She wanted to come and
support me (at the Outgames), so she suggested I
compete in physique too. In fact, that’s the
only way she said she would come (to the
event).”
And that was four months ago, “so I had some
intensive training to shape up.”
Now the bigger problem … Dutoit lives in British
Columbia; Beyer lives in South Africa. Beyer
coached her brother via the Internet and over
the telephone, telling him what exercises to do,
how to eat right, etc. She taught him his posing
routine two days before he performed.
“She’s an absolute star in my life, a great
sister to have,” Dutoit said.
The Outgames, though, were on a sad annibersary
for Dutoit. His partner of 10 years, Fani, died
of cancer Aug. 4, 2005.
l
Would you would like fries with that?:
Paul Winckles competed in the physique
competition’s over-60 division, and had a
game-plan going in for his friends back home in
Perth, Australia. If he won the bronze medal
(which he ultimately did), he was prepared to
tell everyone that there were 200 competitors,
not just three. Winckles is 62.
“The key is, don’t overdo it,” he said. “I’ve
done this on one hour (in the gym), three times
a week. And I eat six times a day.” But no Big
Macs or Whoppers. “I keep clear of white flour,
white rice,” Winckles said.The one treat he’s
missed the most heading into the Games is,
croissants.
l
Winner: Gilles Bellehumeur, 53, won the
Master’s 50-59 gold medal in physique. “It’s
incredible, an honor for me because this is the
first Outgames,” he said.
l
Mass of muscles:
Chris Filippelli was the overall winner
Thursday in the physique competition, beating
the gold medal winners from other division.
“I’m thrilled; that was a lot of fun, an
absolute blast,” said Filippelli, 47, of Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. “I was at the Gay Games, but
the Outgames was a lot more fun. I think the
Outgames was more organized, plus absolutely
everyone was friendly; it was a nice sense of
community." Filippelli also won gold in
Chicago.
“The
overall (title) was a very big moment for me,”
he said. “(My overall competitors) all looked
great and they are experienced posers.”
Fillippelli's boyfriend, Francois Trahan, was
backstage to greet the champ. |
