FGG and GLISA establish 2018 One Quadrennial Event Working Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kelly Stevens, FGG Officer of Communications, kstevens@gaygames.org, +1 206-446-6983

FGG and GLISA establish 2018 One Quadrennial Event Working Group
GLISA International (GLISA) and the Federation of Gay Games (FGG)
embark on a collaborative event in 2018.


San Francisco – (10 December 2010) The Federation of Gay Games General Assembly has voted to select 5 people to represent the Federation of Gay Games along with the Federation Co-Presidents Emy Ritt (Paris) and Kurt Dahl (Chicago). These 7 will work together with 7 people representing GLISA on a working group to begin work on with a goal of One Quadrennial Event in 2018.

FGG Co-President Kurt Dahl (Chicago) stated: “The international community has asked all parties to work toward a single quadrennial event. With GLISA, we established a 1QE 2018 Working Group to assist us in reaching this objective. We know the task at hand is difficult, but we are confident that this group can create what the community wants us to create: a single event in 2018”.

Julia Applegate, GLISA International Chair (Columbus), added: “A key goal of this group will be to determine the content of the event, subject to the approval of both FGG and GLISA. Gay Games and Outgames have a rich history to draw from in defining the shape of the 2018 event.”

The FGG members of the 1QE Working Group were selected by FGG after extensive consultation with the worldwide LGBT community. FGG representatives were elected by the full FGG General Assembly.

Emy Ritt, FGG Co-President observed: “Members of this working group come from various parts of the world, reflecting the global focus we all want to see in 2018. The event will be comprised of Sport, Culture and Human Rights, and will reflect our combined legacies and best practices.”

Wessel van Kampen, GLISA International Vice-Chair stated: “The timeline for our organisations is tight, but realistic. We also know that we need to keep the end result in mind: this is the first of a series of quadrennial global events that will unite our community - in 2018 and beyond!”

Under the auspices of both the FGG and GLISA Boards, the 1QE Working Group will commence its work as soon as possible and will provide status and progress reports to the FGG and GLISA Boards and membership, as well as to the community and interested partners.

The following FGG representatives to the 1QE 2018 Working Group were elected by the full FGG General Assembly:

Emy Ritt – Paris, France
Kurt Dahl – Chicago, USA
Paul Oostenbrug – Chicago, USA
Martyn Pickup – Berlin, Germany
Leigh-Ann Naidoo – Cape Town, South Africa
Kelly Stevens – Seattle, USA
Jon Baldan – Sydney, Australia


The following people will represent GLISA in the 1QE 2018 Working Group:

Julia Applegate – Columbus, USA
Wessel van Kampen – Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Lin McDevitt-Pugh – Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Thomas K Dolan – Vancouver, Canada
Sumit Baugh – New Delhi, India
Kevin Haunui – Wellington, New Zealand
Gloria Careaga – Mexico City, Mexico


The ninth edition of the quadrennial Gay Games will be held in Cleveland + Akron, OH August 9-16, 2014. For information about Gay Games IX Cleveland 2014, visit www.gaygames.org.

For information about the Federation of Gay Games, visit www.gaygames.org.

For information about GLISA, visit www.glisa.org.


Additional biographies and photos are available upon request.

About The Federation of Gay Games:
The international Federation of Gay Games is the governing body the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of “Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best”™. The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games were held in San Francisco (1986 - 3,500 participants), Vancouver (1990 - 7,300 participants), New York (1994 - 12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998 - 13,000 participants), Sydney (2002 - 11,000 participants), Chicago (2006 - 11,700 participants), and Cologne, (2010 – 10,000 participants). Gay Games IX will be held in Cleveland, OH 9-16 August 2014.

“Gay Games”, “Federation of Gay Games”, the interlocking circles device, and the phrase “Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best” are trademarks of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc. Trademarks are registered in the USA, Canada, Benelux, the UK, Germany and Australia.