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.
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.
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.
Gay Games Ambassador Michelle Ferris will be contributing to witsup.com, a website for women in triathlon:
2 x Olympic Track Sprint Medalist Michelle Ferris will be our 'virtual bike mechanic'.
Michelle has over 20years of experience in the cycling industry and is part of the Sales & Marketing team at Shimano. She is also the friendly face that a lot of Ironman athletes see on race day when they're having bike difficulties...
So excited to have Michelle and her wealth of knowledge on board the witsup.com team
Un très intéressant article de Têtu traite de Michelle Ferris, médaillée olympique en cyclisme, et excellente ambassadrice des Gay Games :
DANS LE VESTIAIRE DES FILLES. L'ancienne cycliste australienne ouvertement lesbienne Michelle Ferris, double médaillée d'argent olympique, s'interroge: était-ce parce qu'elle était homo, même non déclarée, ou pas assez jolie qu'elle a toujours eu du mal à attirer les sponsors?
Le poids commercial d'une sportive est-il soluble dans son homosexualité? Au début des années 1980, Martina Navratilova avait vu disparaître un certain nombre de contrats de sponsoring dans la foulée de son coming out. Plus de trente ans après, la situation devrait avoir bien changé. Et pourtant, les sportives de haut niveau out sont toujours denrée rare. Faut-il y voir là un lien de cause à effet? C'est en tout cas l'une des questions induites par le magazine australien DNA, qui consacre un long article à la question suivante: «Les sportifs homos reçoivent-ils les mêmes propositions de sponsors que leurs pairs hétéros?» Si le fil rouge légitime de ce dossier est le médaillé d'or olympique du plongeon à 10m Matthew Mitcham (lire notre article), l'ancienne cycliste Michelle Ferris (à gauche sur la photo) est, elle aussi, sollicitée.
Le coming out n'est jamais venu
La double médaillée d'argent sur piste à Atlanta et Sydney, retraitée depuis dix ans, explique ainsi qu'elle s'était tout au long de sa carrière préparée à faire son coming out, mais que celui-ci n'a jamais pu se produire. Simplement parce que la question ne lui a jamais été posée. «J'imagine que je n'ai pas accordé suffisamment d'attention au fait que j'étais homo, explique l'ancienne championne de 35 ans aujourd'hui ambassadrice des Gay Games. À l'époque, je n'ai pas dû juger important d'en faire toute une affaire, mais aujourd'hui, avec le recul, je me dis que j'aurais dû faire davantage autour de ça et focaliser moi-même un peu l'attention là-dessus».
Gay Games Ambassadors Ferris, Mitcham, Leigh Ann Naidoo, John Amaechi
at Gay Games VIII in Cologne, Germany in 2010
From theSydney Star Observer, news of Ambassador Michelle Ferris, who will be welcoming Matthew Mitcham and Blake Skjellerup as new Gay Games Ambassadors on 1 September 2011:
Two-time Olympic silver medallist Michelle Ferris will be on hand at the upcoming Federation of Gay Games 2011 New Ambassador Launch Dinner to officially welcome some new faces into the Gay Games family.
Ferris, who was appointed a Gay Games ambassador in 2008, will present fellow Australian athlete Matthew Mitcham and New Zealand speed skater Blake Skjellerup as the two newest ambassadors. It’ll be a reunion of sorts for Ferris and Mitcham, who both travelled to the Cologne Gay Games last year to support the Australian contingent.
“It was a such a great atmosphere at Cologne — meeting all these people from around the world and enjoying not just the games, but the social side of it as well. I’m looking forward to catching up with Matthew and all the Team Sydney members, as well as welcoming Blake as an ambassador,” Ferris told the Star Observer.
Ferris said she’d suspected after last year’s trip that Mitcham would be eager to make his ties to the Federation of Gay Games official.
“After spending a couple of days with the other ambassadors and getting a feel of the family atmosphere there, after having firsthand experience of that, if you get to the end without wanting to be a part of it, there’d be something wrong really.”
The lavish gala dinner, to be held at the Hyde Park Marriott Hotel on September 1, is an opportunity for the 314 Team Sydney members who attended the Cologne games to reunite and relive their experiences. Dr Kerryn Phelps will MC the dinner, while Ferris will give a talk about her experiences as an ambassador.
INFO: Tickets to the dinner are limited and bookings are essential. Tickets are $70 for Team Sydney and SGLBA members, $80 for non-members. Visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/FGG or email TS_treasurer@teamsydney.org.au
The Tour de France is a great excuse to write about Sydney Spokes and Gay Games Ambassador Michelle Ferris in the Sydney Star Observer:
It was a good week for sport in this country with the Great French Bike Ride forcing sunburnt English people in Wimbledon stands off the front page.
My late night prowling watching spokes go round on SBS has been curtailed by work, so I have had to learn the next morning how poor Spanish doctor Jesus Losa has provided another drug-filled exit strategy to a Russian rider in France.
This takes our eye off the goal — can Cadel Evans ultimately be triumphant in France to gain the dubious honour of wearing Lycra in one of the world’s fashion capitals, and will it be yellow this year?
Cycling’s affinity with the Gay Games movement includes Sydney’s own Michelle Ferris’ appointment as a Federation Ambassador. No small feat if you take a moment to peruse the international sporting stars she stands alongside.
At the height of her career, Ferris was not without controversy, but it never prevented her from producing the goods at medal time. As an international star, it would have been easy to stand on a pedestal and ignore the grassroots sportspeople in our community. Instead, Australia is well represented internationally and in local media by her profile, achievement and as a down-to-earth lesbian mum.
Cycling is a great sport. The development of Clover Moore’s ultra-green bike pathways throughout the gay Mecca has altered the journey to the point where I feel my two wheels have rights of their own. For the past decade, my bike and I have developed an affinity with the rabbit at the greyhound racing track. My greyhounds have been the taxi industry, non-observant drivers and Sydney Transit buses.
Sydney Spokes is a gay and lesbian cycling group which rides in and around Sydney on a weekly basis. It is not for purists, Lycra lovers, or former world champion triathletes, even though they’re all welcome. It is a friendly group which provides social interaction while exercising. Just another way to get out to play: www.teamsydney.org.au
"GLBTI athletes from around Australia will this week head to the Cologne Gay Games, to be held in Germany from July 31 to August 7.
"Heading to Cologne with our queer contingent will be two more widely known athletes — Olympic diving champion Matthew Mitcham and retired Olympic cycling medalist Michelle Ferris. Both are Australian ambassadors for the Games, and will be on hand at various functions and events as part of their ambassadorial duties."
Michelle Ferris, Cycling World and Olympic Silver Medalist, Named Gay Games Ambassador
Federation of Gay Games names elite Australian athlete to join international roster of sports and cultural stars promoting the quadrennial Gay Games
Australian Michelle Ferris, one of cycling’s all-time sprint stars with multiple world and Olympic medals to her credit, has been selected by the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) to be the newest Gay Games Ambassador, an international group of prominent individuals supporting the Gay Games.
The eighth edition of the quadrennial Gay Games takes place in Cologne, Germany 31 July to 10 August 2010.
“I relish the opportunity to be a Gay Games Ambassador”, said Ferris. “The Gay Games provide a unique opportunity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes and artists from around the world to come together in celebration. By highlighting our sporting and cultural achievements under the three Gay Games principles of ‘Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best’, we have the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments in a safe and supportive environment.”
Ferris’ 20-year cycling career peaked with a series of silver medals in the sprint and 500 metre time trials at the Olympic games in 1996 and 2000 and at the UCI World Cycling Championships from 1997-1999. She captured her country’s heart at Sydney’s 2000 Olympics when, after finishing in the runner-up position in the sprint to her perennial rival Felicia Ballanger of France, she said it didn’t matter because the most important thing was that she’d set a new personal best.
After retiring from the rigors of full-time cycling training and traveling, Ferris climbed back on her bike for the competitive yet less pressure-packed 13th UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships held in 2007 in Sydney. She won gold in both the sprint and 500 m. time trials in the 30-39 age category and added a third gold in the 12.5 km. points race for ages 30-44.
Today, Ferris sees her athletic accomplishments as a way to bring attention to other important issues, such as those epitomized by the Gay Games.
“Until we have full legal and societal equality”, stated Ferris, “gays and lesbians, especially those with a public profile, should come out. Elite athletes have the responsibility and the honour of serving as role models for the LGBT community, and we can do this by living our lives proudly”.
The Gay Games Ambassadors represent a broad range of achievement in sports, the arts, business and government. Michelle Ferris joins an illustrious roster that includes: from the U.K., musician Sir Elton John, world power lifting gold medallist Chris Morgan, and former National Basketball Association player Jon Amaechi; from South Africa, Olympic beach volleyball player Leigh Ann Naidoo; from Germany, world and Olympic champion cyclists Petra Rössner and Judith Arndt; from Australia, world champion trampoline gymnast Ji Wallace; and, from the U.S., tennis legend Billie Jean King, Olympic gold medal diver Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, champion figure skater Rudy Galindo, rock star Melissa Etheridge, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean, former National Football League players David Kopay and Esera Tuaolo, actors Judith Light and Amanda Bearse, and photographer Tom Bianchi.
“The selection of Michelle Ferris to be a Gay Games Ambassador is the FGG's way of recognizing her contributions to the international sport and culture community as a world champion, an Olympic medallist and an elite cyclist”, said Kate Rowe, Sydney-based FGG board member and Vice President for Diversity. “We feel truly honoured that Michelle Ferris has accepted our invitation to become an Ambassador for the Gay Games”.
Ferris and the other Gay Games Ambassadors will promote the upcoming Gay Games VIII around the world at sporting events and public gatherings in collaboration with the FGG. Although retired from elite competitions, Ms. Ferris continues participating in Masters cycling events and is looking forward to competing at her first Gay Games in Cologne.
