Featured events


7-9 September 2012
Brussels Games
Brussels

Brussels Gay Sports will offer a weekend of fun and fairplay in the capital of Europe, with volleyball, swimming, badminton, and tennis, as well as fitness and hiking.

Learn more HERE.
26-28 October 2012
QueergamesBern
Bern, Switzerland

The success of the first edition of the QueergamesBern proved the need for an LGBT multisport event in Switzerland. This year will be even bigger, with badminton, bowling, running, walking, floorball.

Learn more HERE.
17-20 January 2013
Sin City Shootout
Las Vegas
The 7th Sin City Shootout will feature softball, ice hockey, tennis, wrestling, basketball, dodgeball, bodybuilding and basketball.

Learn more HERE.

13-16 June 2013
IGLFA Euro Cup
Dublin
After this year's edition in Budapest at the EuroGames, the IGLFA Euro Cup heads to Dublin for 2013, hosted by the Dublin Devils and the Dublin Phoenix Tigers.

Learn more HERE.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Roger Brigham looks at the G-Force Athlete Buddy program

From today's Jock Talk column by Roger Brigham in the Bay Area Reporter:

As Jock Talk has been reporting lo these many months, an unprecedented number of initiatives to support young LGBT athletes have been launched within the last year. Just about the only thing that has been missing has been a hotline.

Until now.

Athlete Buddy System is a volunteer initiative launched by Denver-based nonprofit GForce Sports, the same folks who have fielded a national gay hockey team for several years and announced the start of a national gay lacrosse team a month ago. Mike Smith, director of ABS, said the organization is recruiting and interviewing potential mentors to handle calls from LGBT athletes and coaches who need someone to listen.

"We're just getting it started over the last six months or so," Smith told the Bay Area Reporter. "We're actively interviewing athletes who are interested in being mentors for us. We're trying to diversify. We don't want just a bunch of male hockey players. We want to get some lesbians and some other sports. All told we'll probably have about 10 or 12 people."

Smith, 45, who is gay, is not an athlete but became involved with GForce when he was researching a play he was writing about a gay hockey player. A hotline for troubled LGBT athletes seemed like a natural progression for the rest of GForce's work, which includes Invisible Athlete forums, in which gay athletes speak before groups at high schools or colleges.

"It seems with all of the suicides happening there must be a way we can reach out to athletes," he said.

Keep reading HERE.

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