Cologne, Germany – Cologne’s Gay Games organizers announced today that Sailing and Field Hockey have been added to the Sports Program for Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010. By placing the sailing regatta in The Netherlands, the 2010 Gay Games will be the first where competition will take place in more than one country.
July 31 to August 7, 2010 some 12,000 participants from more than 70 countries will travel to Germany’s Rhine Valley when Cologne hosts the Gay Games VIII Sports & Cultural Festival. Sporting events ranging from soccer and beach volleyball to billiards, dancing, softball and figure skating will take place. Pre-registration for all sports is now open with full registration scheduled to launch July 1, 2008.
Both sailing and field hockey have a historic presence in previous Gay Games having been contested in Chicago in 2006 and Sydney in 2002. “There were so many requests for sailing and field hockey that we decided to include them as well,” said Annette Wachter, managing director of Games Cologne.
The sailing regatta will be held in the Netherlands, about an hour’s drive from Cologne. “Sailing will be offered on the Maas Lakes near Roermond, the Netherlands – a world-renowned sailing area where the region’s best crews train and compete,” Wachter said. “There will be a shuttle service bringing the sailors to the Maas Lakes and back to Cologne.” The regatta will conform to international standards, and all results will be official and accredited internationally. Demand for sailing is expected to be high; Chicago’s 2006 sailing regatta was the first sport to fill up.
The second new sports event, a field hockey tournament, will take place at Muengersdorf Sportpark in Cologne, directly adjacent to RheinEnergie Stadium. Sixteen teams will face off against one another. Teams from Australia (men) and The Netherlands (women) are defending Gold Medallists from the Sydney 2002 Gay Games.
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