Philly athletes head to Games

Local Philly LGBT athletes were dressed and ready to go during a sendoff party July 22 at Stir as the LGBT community came together to wish them good luck in their trip to Cologne, Germany, for the Gay Games.

The 55 Team Philadelphia athletes making the trip include the organization's co-chair Kurt Douglass (from left) — modeling the local contingent's opening-ceremony shirt — Michael LoFurno, marketing chair Bob Szwajkos, treasurer Carl Funk — wearing the closing-ceremony shirt — Adelina Santiago and Jan Elsasser. The local competitors will play 13 different sports throughout the weeklong event, which ends Aug. 7.

Kurt Douglass said the countless hours he and Bob Szwajkos, as well as all of the participants, put in to prepare for the trip paid off at the send-off party last week at Stir.

“At the bon voyage party, you could really see that the entire community is behind Team Philadelphia and all of the athletes, so that’s the reward we were able to get for the year we had out there,” he said.

Each athlete had to pay his or her way, and Szwajkos said the individual teams held fundraisers to support their members. Portions of the Team Philadelphia membership dues helped to subsidize uniforms — which consist of jackets and opening- and closing-ceremony shirts — and Szwajkos said LGBT community members turned out in full force to support the athletes with both financial and in-kind donations, such as the contribution of shirts by the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus and another gift of small Pennsylvania flags, which the athletes will carry in the opening ceremonies.

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