Working Together in the Spirit of Mutual Respect and Cooperation

This message is for sports and culture leaders, teams, and individual participants.

A recent LGBT news article about the Gay Games and Outgames unfortunately appears to have raised some concerns and questions, which we would like to address.

FGG, Cologne, Copenhagen, and EGLSF all are working together for the good of the worldwide community. The news article may have given the impression that we are not moving forward in this direction. Please understand that we are committed to maintaining a positive and collegial approach to exchanges and relationships with all members of the LGBT community.

The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) Board of Directors would like to make clear that we are engaged in friendly dialogue with Outgames Copenhagen. In fact, several board members are attending Outgames Copenhagen 2009, and FGG has been invited to organise a conference session on "The Future of LGBT Sport and Culture".

Cologne Gay Games 2010 host city organizers and most of the Federation of Gay Games board of directors recently attended the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) 20th anniversary celebration and Annual General Assembly. Outgames Copenhagen was also represented. We found the participation of these organisations very good for all the community.

These events took place in The Hague, Netherlands, in March 2009, during which there were also friendly discussions between FGG and GLISA.

We are all working together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. Cologne Gay Games is planning to send volunteers to Outgames Copenhagen 2009, and Copenhagen plans to send volunteers to Cologne Gay Games 2010.

EGLSF, FGG, Games Cologne and Outgames Copenhagen made use of several opportunities for dialogue and discussions at these events in The Hague. We all attended the "Building Bridges" conference on homophobia and sport, hosted by Homosport Netherlands. The conference was excellent and we appreciated very much having had the opportunity to participate. During the week, many new friends of the Gay Games were made, a few long-time relationships were confirmed, and some were renewed. We also found time to have many informal conversations at the end of the day, which we found very enjoyable. We all share similar goals, and all are working hard for the greater good of the LGBT movement.

The Federation of Gay Games continues to work in a positive spirit of respect and cooperation for the worldwide LGBT Sports and Culture Community. We welcome everyone to participate in Gay Games sports and culture events.

We look forward to seeing you in Cologne at Gay Games VIII 2010. Thanks for your continued support.

Emy Ritt and Kurt Dahl
FGG Co-Presidents