For Mayor Frank Jackson, "Gay Games 9: will be THE event in Cleveland in 2014"

A Vision Video interview with Mayor Frank G. Jackson of Cleveland and others at the Gay Games 9 booth at Cleveland Pride 2011.

Clevelanders: Gay Games 9 tshirts available!

Let everyone know that you’re excited about Gay Games 9! Get your own Gay Games 9 t-shirt and wristband for $20.00 (cash only). All proceeds benefit GG9. Pick yours up TOMORROW at G2H2 at the Clifton Martini and Wine Bar or at W2H2 – July 22nd at Zinc Bistro.

A look back at Oregon athletes at Gay Games VIII

We missed this last year, but the anniversary of Gay Games VIII is a great opportunity to post some extracts from this article about Oregon athletes in Cologne:


That’s it, folks. Four years in the making, Gay Games VIII—held July 31–August 7 in Cologne, Germany—is over and done with. Boasting 10,000 athletes from 75 different countries participating in 35 sports, the event hosted GLBTQ athletes for camaraderie, equality and competition. And right in the thick of it were some of Oregon’s elite competitors muscling their way into the spotlight. Some traveled within the Team Oregon 2010 pack—a self-funded group of GLBTQ Oregon athletes—and some paved their way while also setting up regional rock ‘n’ roll gigs in Europe. Either way, Oregon can be proud of this year’s alumni—and all those medals they brought back.

Table tennis superstar and queercore punk rock pioneer Kaia Wilson took to Cologne with her sights set on winning gold, but managed to expand her social swath by booking a short tour in Germany along with fellow Oregon Gay Gamer and musician Debbie Fox.

“The atmosphere was very inclusive and friendly, with some tangents into party-time/cruising—I mean, I didn’t do that! Come on!” joked Wilson. “[There was] also a very serious competitive athletic agenda by most participants.”

Wilson won a gold medal in mixed doubles along with her lottery-drawn table tennis partner Joyce Stuart, but failed to advance past the first round in her singles division. Wilson also took home a bronze medal in the team singles event.

[...]

As for the distant future, all of the athletes from Oregon were busy looking ahead to 2014 when the games come to Cleveland, Ohio.

“The Gay Games have made me super gay jazzed about international gay sporting events!” raved Wilson. “I am a huge fan and really recommend folks try to do it. Next Gaymes will be in 2014 in the U.S.A.! Start training now!”

Read in full HERE.

Cleveland Pride a focus for preparations for Gay Games 9

From Anthony Glassman's report on the 2011 Cleveland Pride parade and festival in the Ohio Gay People's Chronicle:

After the parade, attendees noticed something different this year at the festival: shorter lines at the gates because a second entrance was added, leading directly to the food booths. Also, instead of stopping and having a Pride volunteer put a disposable wristband on them, fairgoers were handed an orange Gay Games commemorative rubber wristband which they were asked to put on themselves, streamlining the entry process.

{...]

This year’s Pride was, to a great extent, the beginning of a road to a very specific destination.

“The goal is to use Cleveland Pride over the next three years to gather our allies and the LGBT community and grow it proportionately, leading up to 2014,” [Cleveland Pride president Ted] Saporito noted, adding that the idea is to have Cleveland Pride 2014 roll seamlessly into the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland.

Read in full HERE.

30 million visitors to greater Cleveland each year, and looking for more from Gay Games 9

Tami Brown, VP of Marketing for Positively Cleveland - Photo Bob Perkosk

From a feature on tourism in freshwatercleveland.com:

Last year, Cuyahoga County raked in $5.9 billion in economic impact by welcoming 14 million visitors who, in turn, supported 61,000 jobs. If we zoom out to the entire 17-county "Cleveland Plus" area, those numbers soar to 30 million visitors, 163,000 jobs, and $13 billion in economic impact.

[...]

The biggest tourism story of 2014 may just be the Gay Games, which is projected to net $60 million for the local economy.

"The number one thing an LGBT tourist is looking for is a destination that is welcoming," says Brown. To that end, Positively Cleveland has been rolling out the rainbow-colored welcome mat to gay tourists since 2007, when they published their first LGBT Visitor's Guide. The brochure focuses on many of the same regional assets -- world-class dining, museums, theatre, live music -- but in an inclusive manner. Brown believes that single gesture helped snag those coveted Gay Games.

What Clevelanders often overlook as one our most valuable albeit intangible assets is our authenticity. Born of rough-hewn Rust Belt history, steeped in an undying devotion to heartbreaking sports teams, and spiked with the hardcore riffs of rock and roll, authenticity is a quality that can not be manufactured -- nor faked.

Gay Games 9 at Cleveland Pride

All the colors of the rainbow were present at Cleveland Pride, but the dominant hue was... orange, as seen in this photo of supporters of Gay Games 9 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Video / Gay Games 9 at Cleveland Pride

Special thanks to Vision Video for this video showing a part of the Gay Games 9 group in the Cleveland Pride parade, and the presentation of the award for Participation to Gay Games 2014.

25 June 2011 / A look back at the 2010 Cleveland Pride Festival

A message from our hosts for GG9:

Cleveland Pride is fast approaching and we need your help!
The 2014 Cleveland + Akron Gay Games is hosting and serving at this year’s Cleveland Pride Beer Garden.
We need volunteers to help us staff the Beer Garden, our booth, and to help us spread the word about GG9 in Cleveland.
Write GayGames9@gmail.com if you can be part of the fun!

And here's a look back at last year's Cleveland Pride Festival:

Gay Games 9 needs your help this weekend for Cleveland Pride!

A message from our hosts for GG9:

Cleveland Pride is fast approaching and we need your help!
The 2014 Cleveland + Akron Gay Games is hosting and serving at this year’s Cleveland Pride Beer Garden.
We need volunteers to help us staff the Beer Garden, our booth, and to help us spread the word about GG9 in Cleveland.
For more details on how you can help, comment on this post (on this page) and let us know you’re interested.

Game On!

Gugix? Gig-ix? Gogix? Let's just write "GG9" or "Gay Games 9"

You may have noticed that our hosts in Cleveland+Akron are using "GG9" as the abbreviation for Gay Games IX. It's true that GGIX was a bit hard to read...

So for us, too, from now on it'll be "GG9" and "Gay Games 9." And you'll be seeing the graphics for Gay Games 9 very, very soon, perhaps as soon as Cleveland Pride, which takes place on June 25!

Equality Ohio part of "Born This Way" flashmob choir in Columbus

Equality Ohio, a member of the board of the Gay Games IX host committee, was one of the organizers of yesterday's flash mob choir singing Lady Gaga's Born This Way on Columbus Commons in Ohio's capital city.

See more HERE.

A Gay Games veteran looks forward to Gay Games IX in Cleveland

Honorary Danes, before opening ceremony in Cologne

We were delighted to find this post on the Facebook page of Gay Games IX (facebook.com/gaygamescleveland) from a long-time fan of the Gay Games, Alan J. Anderson:

I was thrilled to be a volunteer at the Games in NY in '94, even happier to compete (and win a Bronze Medal in Bowling) in Amsterdam, '98, to compete in bowling again and win Gold in Sydney in '02, to compete yet again (but no medals, drat!) in Chicago in '06, and participate in Choral singing in Cologne in 2010.

Each Games was unique and wonderful, and while you never forget "your first one" I also feel that each Games has, in its own way, been somehow even better than the one before. I can't wait to attend in 2014 in Cleveland + Akron!

After asking Alan if we could repost this here, he told us that he was one of the participants interviewed for the book Let the Games beGay. Here's more about this book (which you can order in the US and Germany via our Amazon links, left): Touching moments captured at some of world’s largest sporting events of the special kind. Coming from the Americas or Zimbabwe, gays and lesbians recall their personal highlights at the Gay Games in Sydney and the Eurogames in Munich.*

Participants of many different nations and teams are presented in individual portraits, rendering their impressions, thoughts and feelings, all of which are illustrated with pictures and snapshots taken during the events.

An array of chapters such as on the history of the games for gay athletes, on organisational matters, or on gay culture and politics, wrapped up with useful address listings, numbers and facts, crowned by a real VIP-editorial make this book a must-read.

Let the games beGay, a vibrant documentation of the world’s greatest sports festivals for gay people, aims at promoting international sporting events such as the Gay Games, Out Games and Eurogames – to make them heard all over the globe.

Looking forward to Cleveland's new convention center and medical mart

FreshWaterCleveland interviews Tony Prusak, the guy in charge of promoting the new Cleveland convention center currently under construction. The center is set to host several Gay Games sport and culture events. Here's an extract:

The new convention center will be largely underground occupying approximately the same space as the old one. What's really new?

The ceiling height of the old center was about 17 feet with pillars 30 feet on center, which just doesn't work compared to modern convention centers. The new facility will feature 235,000 square feet of Class A exhibit space with 30-foot ceilings and a minimal amount of pillars. The old facility only had two dock doors. Now we'll have 18 with easy accessibility to move trade shows through.

The other really nice thing we'll have is a 32,000-square-foot grand ballroom with 30-foot windows overlooking Lake Erie, Browns Stadium and the Rock Hall that will accommodate about 2,700 guests.

How do you sell convention space that won't be open for more than two years?

We have fantastic renderings of the facility. We're able to show people exactly what the meeting space is going to look like, but the real secret is selling the vision of what Cleveland is about.

Cleveland is a foodie town. Not every Midwest city has world class restaurants like Cleveland. People are amazed by East 4th Street, Tremont, and the Warehouse District. The new casino is another added amenity to offer our conventioneers, and we have an aquarium on the horizon. Then there's the ease of access getting into greater Cleveland. It's just 30 minutes from the luggage carousel at Hopkins to Downtown. Cleveland is also a very affordable destination.

Read in full HERE.

Meet Frank Shavers, our 900th Facebook fan

Since we linked this blog to the official FGG Facebook page earlier this year, we've significantly increased our number of Facebook fans. Today we topped 900 "likes", and are pleased to tell you more about the young man who put us over that milestone.

If you haven't "liked" us yourself, you'll find us HERE (facebook.com/federationofgaygames).

Frank Shavers is a Cleveland native looking forward to 2014 when his hometown will host Gay Games IX. He's a 33-year-old Production Control Analyst for a manufacturing company in Northeast Ohio. He's been playing tennis and volleyball for three years, and softball for four.

He writes: I am of course honored to be the 900th person to like the Gay Games Facebook page. I am looking forward to the great things to come for the Gay Games. I believe I will be competing in tennis and maybe volleyball, and volunteering, of course.

I am from Cleveland and I'm very excited about the Gay Games coming here in 2014. This will be something historical for the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio. I believe hosting Gay Games IX will not only will open doors to more opportunities for Cleveland and the state, but also give people from around the world a sense of the type of community we are and can be.

I look forward to working to make the Games a success, and to competing with people from all over the world. It would be one of the milestones in my life!

To thank Frank for his interest and support, we'll be sending him a DVD of Take the Flame. We look forward to seeing Frank in Cleveland+Akron in August 2014! About Take the Flame: This is the acclaimed sports documentary, narrated by Olympic Gold Medal diver Greg Louganis, that won rave reviews on the festival circuit. We tackle the topic of homophobia in sports via the 20-year history of the Gay Games and their founder Olympic decathlete Dr. Tom Waddell. Featuring record-breaking athletes, sports luminaries like Martina Navratilova, Billy Bean and Dave Kopay, author Armistead Maupin, and many major musical superstars.

Cleveland delegation to Slovenia meets with LGBT sports group, FGG member organization Out in Slovenia

As we wrote HERE, a high-level trade delegation from Cleveland, host city for Gay Games IX in 2014, recently visited Slovenia. The delegation included several members of the board of Cleveland Special Events Corporation, the host organization for Gay Games IX, who took time during their stay in Ljubljana to meet with members of FGG member Out in Slovenia, the umbrella organization for LGBT sport in the country.

Out in Slovenia's Andrej Pisl reports:

Cleveland in Slovenia

During their visit to Slovenia between May 7 and 13, the Delegation of the City of Cleveland also met with the delegates of FGG member club Out in Slovenia to promote Gay Games IX which are to be held in Cleveland and Akron in August 2014, and to discuss possible cooperation.

From Cleveland, the Gay Games meeting was attended by the Mayor of Cleveland Mr Frank G. Jackson, Chief of Government Affairs Mrs Valarie J. McCall, City Councilman Mr Joe Cimperman, Vice President Convention & Visitor Services Mrs Sharon Gronowski, United Airlines Regional Sales Director Mr Evan M. Koppel. From Slovenia, the meeting was attended by Consul General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland Mr Jure Zmauc, Mrs Mateja Loncar and Mr Simon Licen from the City of Ljubljana and Mrs Urska Bremec and Mr Mitja Blazic from Out in Slovenia.


Out in Slovenia as the host first briefly presented the club, its history and activities, with special emphasis on international cooperation and participation in LGBTIQ sports events. After that, the Cleveland Delegation introduced their concept of Gay Games 2014. They stressed that they are very proud to host the Games in Cleveland, and will do their best to organise the best and largest Gay Games ever. As there is a large Slovenian community in Cleveland, they hope to be able to attract also participants from Slovenia to take part in the upcoming games. Slovenian representatives agreed to promote the event in Slovenia, and also assist in the regional promotion in other countries of former Yugoslavia.

The Cleveland Delegation had otherwise a busy schedule, which focused primarily on the renewal of the sister cities cooperation between Cleveland and Ljubljana and strengthening the cooperation between the cities. The delegation met with the mayors of the largest Slovenian cities, representatives of the Government and the Parliament, as well as the representatives of Slovenian sphere of economy, culture, education and civil society.

More info about Gay Games IX: http://www.2014gaygamescleveland.com
More info about Out in Slovenia: http://www.outinslovenija.com

Meet Ashley Stevens, our 800th Facebook fan

Since we linked this blog to the official FGG Facebook page a few months ago, we've significantly increased our number of Facebook fans. Last week we topped 800 "likes", and are pleased to tell you more about the young woman who put us over that milestone. (If you haven't "liked" us yourself, you'll find us HERE (facebook.com/federationofgaygames).

Ashley Stevens of Bedford Heights, near hear hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, is a student and activist, involved in various political and social campaigns, in particular for women's causes, equality, and civil rights.
Back in high school, she played softball, serving as equipment manager and infielder for her school team.

About Gay Games IX, she says "I'm ALWAYS talking up all of the progress the state of Ohio has made, in particular for LGBT rights, and more important, our potential for further progress toward equality. I'd love to see more LGBT visibility in ALL sports. I'm pleased to see that some sports that are particularly accessible, like
billiards and bowling, are on the program for 2014."

"I look forward to volunteering for Gay Games IX and doing a lot of promotion of the event locally beforehand."

To thank Ashley for her interest and support, we'll be sending her a DVD of Take the Flame. We look forward to seeing Ashley in Cleveland+Akron in August 2014!

Gay Games IX website now online

We welcome the arrival on the web of the temporary website for Gay Games IX, as well as their new Facebook page and Twitter account.

The website will gain new functions progressively, but you can already get an idea of what will be on offer in 2014 in Cleveland, Akron, and all of Northeast Ohio.


WEBSITE: 2014gaygamescleveland.com

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/gaygamescleveland

TWITTER: @gaygamesclev

Twist Creative to create Gay Games IX brand

Posters for 2011 Cleveland International Film Festival

Cleveland Special Events Corporation (CSEC), the host organization for Gay Games IX, has selected a partner to create the brand identity for the 2014 Games.

Twist Creative, a Cleveland-based brand design firm, is one of the hottest brand design consultancies in the region and has a strong connection to the LGBT community both in Northeast Ohio and New York City. Along with the pro bono work it will be doing for GGIX, Twist has helped make the Cleveland International Film Festival one of the top five such events in the US.

CSEC will be launching the GGIX brand as the country’s PRIDE celebrations begin in late May and early June.

Meet Carlin Yetts, the 700th fan of the Gay Games Facebook page

Since we linked this blog to the official FGG Facebook page a few months ago, we've doubled our number of Facebook fans. Yesterday we topped 700 "likes", and are pleased to tell you more about the guy who put us over that milestone. (If you haven't "liked" us yourself, you'll find us HERE or at gaymes.info/fgg-fb).

Carlin Yetts is an Ohio native, and a wrestler and wrestling coach who plans to compete in Gay Games IX. He writes: "I'm very excited about being number 700, and even more excited about participating in the Gay Games!"

As a resident of Columbus, Ohio, he is keen to put together a host club for the event, and is seeking other wrestlers from the state. If you are a wrestler or are interested in learning to wrestle or in supporting a new club, write us at blog@gaygames.org or look up Carlin on Facebook!

To thank Carlin for his support, we'll be sending him a DVD of Take the Flame, the story of the Gay Games.

The melting pot of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are very diverse places. In particular, Cleveland is home to some of the largest communities of Americans of Eastern European origin. For example, Cleveland is the second-largest Slovenian city in the world, after Ljubljana!

The host committee for Gay Games IX expects that the 2014 event will be a great opportunity for local groups to welcome athletes and artists from their homes, and show their cousins a warm welcome to the heartland of America.

To give you an idea of the vibrant ethnic communities found in Cleveland, visit these sites:
Cleveland Seniors
Cleveland State University "Cleveland Memory"