Gay Games VIII - City Team Fact Sheet

Gay Games VIII
31 July to August 7, 2009

City Team Fact Sheet



Opening Ceremony: Saturday, 31 July 2010
· Evening event (start time still TBD). Planned running time is 2.5 hours.
· Takes place at RheinEnergieStadion, home of Cologne’s football (soccer) club.
· Team San Francisco enters first, then athletes enter by country alphabetically, and then by state and province for USA and Canada. Team Cologne is the last group to enter.
· USA athletes enter by U.S. state, alphabetically. Thus, Team Dallas and Team Houston enter together as part of Texas. Canadian athletes enter by Canadian province.
· Cologne will establish rules for what may be carried into the stadium with each city team (banners, signage, etc.). These rules have not yet been published. You can view Chicago’s rules online at http://www.gaygameschicago.org/ceremonies/lineup.php but keep in mind that Cologne’s rules may vary.
· Note: There is a cycling meeting (not a race) on Saturday, 31 July 2010.

Closing Ceremony: Saturday, 7 August 2010
· Typically an afternoon event (start time still TBD)
· The venue may be either the Gay Village in the city, or at Laxness Arena (a concert venue).
· Athletes enter all together to represent the new found friendships of people from around the world so no city banners or flags necessary.

2009 Promotional Event(s)
· One Year To Go Registration parties – 15 July to 15 August 2009
· 10 Euro Discount Code available for people who register at the event - cityteams09
· Resources available:
· Chicago 2006 DVD (to play)
· Chicago 2006 CDs (for drawings or giveaways)
· promotional materials
· Short Cologne Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JHARCnUOA
· Matthew Mitcham Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjdiMwxjijY
· Artwork for any newspaper ads you place.
· In some cities, an FGG representative may be available to participate.
· Help with press release for local market, if needed.
· Contact Kevin Boyer at kevin.boyer@games-cologne.com to acquire materials.

Logos on Uniforms, Pins, Banners
· City Teams typically produce uniforms for athletes coming from their city. Uniforms vary from the very simple (t-shirts with same color and logo) to more complicated (shirts, jackets, track pants, caps, etc.)
· The Games Cologne and FGG logos can be incorporated into your City Team uniform and banners. In fact, we encourage it.
· The Federation of Gay Games will soon announce a simple process by which you can ask permission to use the FGG logo on your uniforms.
· Trading Pins cannot use the Games Cologne logo, but you may request permission to use the FGG logo.
· All logo usage needs to be approved.

Online Promotion
· Link back to Gay Games VIII at http://www.games-cologne.com/.
· No approval necessary to place the logo on your website.
· Buttons and banner ads (both GIF and Flash) are available online at http://www.games-cologne.de/en/static/take-part/banner#Buttons_GIF
· Professional “tourism” images of Cologne are available upon request from Kevin Boyer, kevin.boyer@games-cologme.com.

Print Materials for Events
· You may request postcards, brochures, posters and business-cards for promotional purposes.
· Vinyl banners are available for major events (they are to be returned and will be re-used by others.)
· To request materials, you can submit an online request at http://www.gaygames.com/en/marketing/ or contact Kevin Boyer at kevin.boyer@games-cologne.com.

Travel & Lodging for Cologne
· Air Travel: Fly into Cologne, Dusseldorf (40 minutes by train) or Frankfurt (1 hour by train). Continental, Delta, United, and Air Canada all have direct flights to Dusseldorf (1 or 2 stops on the way). Flights to Cologne are sometimes a bit more expensive and usually involve another stop or a 2nd airline but are also available. Frankfurt is a major hub and many airlines fly direct, sometimes nonstop from the USA or Canada.

· Airport Transfer: All three airports have train stations with trains going to central Cologne. Visit http://www.bahn.de/ for details and pricing for trains from Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Cologne’s Stadtbahn light rail system connects the airport to the rest of the light rail system.
· Airline Discount: Cologne does not yet have an airline partner but expects to have one sometime this fall.

· Hotel Accommodations: Cologne’s official housing partner is HRS – Hotel Reservation Service. The system is already online and is very easy to use. http://www.games-cologne.de/en/cologne/accommodations

· Group Accommodations: Using the system, select 10 or more rooms for 10 or more adults and you’ll get a page with instructions on how to request group booking information. There is a form to complete, or you can email them at groups@hrs.de, or call them at +49 (0)18055 2077 300 or at +49 (0)221 2077-300.

· Hosted Housing: Cologne will have a hosted housing program. To be notified about the program, sign up for their e-newsletters. http://www.games-cologne.de/en/take-part/offer-accommodations

· Ground Transportation: Cologne has an excellent bus and rail system. Mass transit is available for access to all sports venues except for sailing, where Cologne is providing a shuttle. You should not rent a car to get around in Cologne but car rentals are available for day trips if you prefer.

City Team Events in Cologne
· Parties: Some city teams like to have an event in the city upon arrival or sometime during the week. Soon Cologne will post a list of bars, clubs and restaurants in Cologne at http://www.games-cologne.de/en/cologne/gay-cologne where you can choose a venue for a possible event.
· Meetings: Meeting rooms are available during the Gay Games. Contact Marc Naimark (mnaimark@gaygames.org) for details.

Communicating with Registered Participants
· Listserv: For the 2006 Gay Games, Chicago organizers and the FGG created a listserv system that allowed City Teams to send messages to registrants in their geographic area. These lists still exist and are in the process of being merged with Cologne’s registration data. A final solution is not yet in place but is expected soon. For the moment City Teams are likely to have access EITHER to the Cologne data or to both the Cologne and Chicago data. The contact for listserv information is Paul Oostenbrug, at poostenbrug@gaygames.org.
· The Chicago data lists are much larger than the Cologne lists will be at the beginning and would be a good starting point for summer promotions.

· Qubesport: Cologne highly recommends urging all of your athletes and artists to register for Qubesport.com. This is a fairly new online LGBT sports community. Cologne will help establish a Qubesport group for your City Team or sport to facilitate information sharing. Note that Cologne benefits financially if people sign up so it’s good to encourage people to go there.

· Pick-Up Players / Teams: Qubesport is what Cologne is using to help people find a team, doubles partner, or to pick up players.

FGG Membership & Partnership Program
For information on the FGG Membership and Partner programs, visit http://www.gaygames.com/en/membership/index.htm or contact Paul at poostenbrug@gaygames.org.

Other Links:
· Scholarship Program - http://www.gaygames.com/en/participants/scholarship/index.htm
· Federation of Gay Games Annual Meeting - http://www.gaygames.com/AM2009

Contacts: Kevin Boyer, (312) 588-3713, Kevin.Boyer@games-cologne.com
Paul Oostenbrug, (773) 525-9531, poostenbrug@gaygames.org