I first heard about the Gay Games late in 2001, and was excited that Gay Games VI were to take place in Australia. I ended up officiating for basketball, and celebrated my 22nd birthday on the closing night of the Games with referees from all over the world that I had never met before. It was amazing to see Sydney covered in Gay Games banners, to meet other queer officials, and see people enjoying social and competitive sport in different languages and from so many different angles. I immediately began four years of planning for the 2006 Gay Games, with the goal of playing as well as officiating. I returned to Melbourne where I was busy officiating, coaching and managing a mainly queer women’s basketball team, and playing basketball and soccer, as well as getting involved with FGG-member Queer Sports Alliance of Melbourne (QSAM).
I registered as an individual basketball player for the Gay Games VII in Chicago, but was soon organising a random group of Aussies and Americans to meet up and play in Chicago. This was my first trip outside of Australia. I spent the long hot days (you remember the Gay Games VII heatwave!) refereeing and playing from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, and loving every minute. I then repeated the operation with a group of Dutch girls at the Outgames in Montreal. The sports experience didn't stop: I travelled to London to visit my brother with a newfound friend (a gay Aussie bloke who had competed in powerlifting in Chicago and Montreal). While there, I was invited by the a couple of girls from the London Cruisers, a lesbian basketball team, to join some Spanish Girls in the Panteres Grogues competition in Barcelona.
I had such a great time that I decided to do it all again in Cologne in 2010, refereeing and playing basketball with "Mixed Zone", a ragtag bunch of German, American and Dutch players. For the first time I travelled with my partner, a cyclist (and later, after a few Mixed Zone injuries, a basketball player). I experienced the Gay Games anew through the eyes of my partner, from borrowing a bike from a complete stranger on the morning of the competition, to winning a silver medal, and the delightful random encounters and meeting new friends from all over the world. Seeing again what I held felt eight years earlier motivated me to help others share this experience, and to get further involved in the Gay Games.
I have been playing, refereeing, and coaching basketball for over fifteen years, and have played indoor and outdoor football (soccer), hockey, touch football, Aussie rules football, and a number of other sports along the way. Every sport and competition I have played has had a driving force of volunteers behind it. Whilst I have volunteered for as long as I have been involved in sport I felt it was time to step up and become part of the driving force behind the Gay Games. With a strong history in Industrial Relations (a Master’s degree in Workplace Relations and Employment Law and several years experience within the public service and several industrial Unions and Employer Organisations), I felt that I could brings my skills in personnel issues to the Board as an officer at large in charge of People Management, focusing on developing human resources for the board and managing the essential volunteer pool.
As we work toward Gay Games IX and plan for one quadrennial event in 2018, I'm excited by the challenges and opportunities for the Federation and the Gay Games movement, and am glad to be part of this adventure with our FGG Delegates and Volunteers!
Contact Jennifer at jforward@gaygames.org.
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