Why the Gay Games?

Speech given by Roz Quarto, Co-President of the Federation of Gay Games at the Building Bridges Conference The Hague, 5 March 1999

First, let me say how wonderful it is to be here at a conference that is essentially about the power of sports to bring people together. It is hard for me to imagine this type of conference being held in the United States. There still seems to be little interest in discussing the topic of gays and lesbians in sports in the US. Quite frankly, sports remains one of the last places of acceptable homophobia. Just recently, the leading professional sports agent in the United States was interviewed on national television and admitted that he could negotiate a better contract for a client convicted of murder than for a client who was an out homosexual! So you can see, we still have a lot of bridges to build in sports in the United States if we are going to increase tolerance and decrease discrimination in that area.

Regardless of where we each come from, we are all witnesses, in one way or another to the importance of sports to individuals, and to society in general. Whether we are talking about professional sports, international amateur competition, or even the .weekend athlete".

For those of you that are not familiar with the Gay Games, they are a multi-sports event held every four years, and they are based on the principals of participation, inclusion and the pursuit of one’s personal best. At their most basic level, the Gay Games are open to everyone, regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation or ability. At the last Gay Games, held in Amsterdam in 1998, we had more than 15,000 participants, from 78 countries. 42% of our participants were women, and 50% of all Europeans participating were women. The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body of the Gay Games movement. We have almost 50 members, made up of individuals and organizations from four continents.

Those of us involved in the organization of the Gay Games talk a lot about the power of the Gay Games "to change the world". As you might imagine, we have had numerous internal debates about this concept, but in essence, we are saying that the Gay Games gives us a chance to effect change in the world through sports.

We all know we are living in a time when international mainstream sports are in serious crisis;.whether it is doping and bribery scandals, hooliganism and violence, or dealing with the growing commercialism in professional and amateur sports;..the world of sports is in trouble.

But those of us involved in sports, also know the power and possibility of sports both on the individual level,

when we watch a dedicated athlete reach deep down inside to find that something extra, and on the team level, witnessing a group of people working together for the greater good. By extension, sports can, and often does have, an intense community building effect.

The Gay Games is the largest gay and lesbian international event in the world. They have occurred in 3 different countries, are on their way to their third continent, and have reached out to thousands of people across the globe. The Games have often become an organizational catalyst in communities and cities where it has historically been too dangerous or difficult for the gay and lesbian community to organize in order to fight for gay and lesbian emancipation. The Games have often been the first time that these people have organized as gays and lesbians;.and it is sports that gives them the organizing motivation.

So, how do we build bridges and effect change differently than any other event;.by staying committed to our founding principals of inclusion, participation and the pursuit of one’s personal best, and by doing so in as visible a way as possible.



The idea of inclusion and diversity, regardless of our individual differences and abilities, is a well-developed concept in the Gay Games world that has engendered respect from the straight world. By challenging ourselves in our pursuit of our own personal bests, we challenge the world’s view of us as a community. When so much of discrimination and intolerance is based on ignorance, the Gay Games educates by showing that gays and lesbians are more alike than we are different from heterosexuals.

We operate under the true Olympic ideal of education through sport. We break down stereotypes and we do it across all barriers. But the change I am talking about is not only about making sports more tolerant and accepting of homosexuals, but also working toward the emancipation of gays and lesbians in society at large by using sports as a bridge to effect change.

From a visibility standpoint, we can point to incredible strides over the last few years, especially in Europe. Although Gay Games IV in New York in 1994 did get a lot of local mainstream news coverage, Gay Games V in Amsterdam had both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies televised on Dutch national television. Over 1,000 journalists from around the world were accredited, helping to spread the word about the Gay Games. Thanks to the growing visibility of the Gay Games, both the straight world and the gay and lesbian community can witness and celebrate the richness and diversity of our community.

Another practical example of the type of change possible through the Gay Games, and one of the things the Federation of Gay Games is most proud of, was the work we did in convincing the United States government to waive its discriminatory immigration policy banning entry to the United States to anyone with HIV. Not only did Gay Games participants and spectators receive a waiver against this ban, the Federation was given the opportunity to provide gay and lesbian sensitivity training to customs and immigration officials at major ports of entry into the country.

And from a sports standpoint, we realized early on that in order to run world class sporting events in over 30 ~ sports and to give our participants the types of tournaments they have come to expect, both in mainstream sports and in their regular leagues at home, Gay Games organizers must seek guidance from mainstream sports and governing bodies. There is no need to reinvent the wheel! By learning to work with local mainstream sporting bodies in the organization and officiating of the Gay Games, we have had opportunities in many instances to work together for the first time toward a common goal. Mainstream sporting bodies stop seeing us as gay and lesbian runners, wrestlers or swimmers, and start seeing us as JUST runners, wrestlers and swimmers. They see people volunteering for four years to prepare for an influx of 15,000 people from around the world for one week of competition; they see visitors committed to their sports, dedicated to doing their personal bests and grateful for the help and input of everyone organizing the event.

And sometimes something else happens. Not only do we learn from these experienced mainstream sporting organizations, they also learn from us. They learn about community, about celebration, about inclusion, and they even learn that a same sex ballroom dancing competition in Amsterdam can be as mesmerizing and as high quality as any other ballroom dance competition.

As the Gay Games movement continues to grow and is introduced to even more people around the world, we will remain committed to organizing our sports event based on our founding principles of inclusion, participation for all and the pursuit of one’s personal best. Because in the end, we continue to witness the power of the Games, through sports, to contribute to the fight for gay and lesbian emancipation and integration.




WHY THE GAY GAMES WERE STARTED – PHILOSOPHY AND PRINCIPLE

The concept of a "Gay Olympic Games" was conceived during the Mexico City Olympic Games in 1968 by Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell.
Himself a closeted gay athlete of international standing, Waddell had seen firsthand the discrimination faced by gay athletes.
His dream of an open, affirming, Olympic-style athletic event became manifest in 1982 when San Francisco hosted the first "Gay Games"
(as an indication of the times, the United States Olympic Committee sued successfully to keep the word "Olympic" out of the official title of the event).

The Gay Games were founded on the principles of inclusion, participation, and the pursuit of personal best. Certainly, one of the key aspects of
the Games was to explicitly welcome nonstraight athletes to participate in sport (a radical concept at the time), hence the name.
One might call the Games the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, and Straight Games", but it would be difficult to get all that onto a medal.

Why is a "Gay Games" needed? As Olympian Gold Medalist Bruce Hayes (1984 Swimming) noted:

"In 1985... I was convinced that I could not continue to compete and be an active homosexual at the same time...
I speak only from experience. The Gay Games changed my life, as I'm sure they have in some way changed the lives
of all who have participated in them. They gave me the courage to come out and the awareness and willingness to get
involved in our community's political struggles, things I sorely lacked during my years in the closet. But in a larger sense,
the Gay Games give us an opportunity to show ourselves to the world in a way the world is not accustomed to seeing us -- as athletes.
Tom Waddell's Gay Games philosophy that 'doing one's personal best should be the paramount goal in any athletic endeavor' is
resoundingly true. When we show our best to the world, we're not just showing that we can jump as high or swim as fast as anyone
else. I think my hero, Martina Navratilova, said it best: “Gay Games will change the way the world thinks about us.'"

As long as there is discrimination in access to sport (and the residual impact it has caused countless men and women over the
past decades), there is a need for the Gay Games. From the subtle but pervasive "sissy-boy" or "faggot" name calling in gym class
to the fear of girls from enjoying sport because they don't want to be perceived as a "dyke", there is a need for the Games.
And while things may be improving in many countries, gays and lesbians know firsthand how powerful the existence of a global
"Gay Games" movement can be to individuals in less-developed parts of the world.

By welcoming everyone to the Gay Games, Dr. Tom Waddell's message of inclusion, participation, and personal best is brought
to life in an international arena. Judging from the worldwide growth of the Games, it remains as meaningful today as it was in 1968.

Rev. April 2003