20 July 2012 / First Philadelphia GLTA tennis tournament!

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a city of many firsts in the nation; first daily newspaper, first stock exchange and the first bank were all founded here! It was only a matter of time until it also held its’ first GLTA tournament.

Philadelphia Liberty Tennis Association will host the first ever Philadelphia Open July 20 through July 22, 2012. It will be hosted at the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education Center – a USTA national tennis facility winner. Many East Coast players will recognize the facility as the same one that hosted the 2011 Atlantic Cup. This is a truly amazing indoor/outdoor facility so there are no worries about weather! And if you’re not lucky enough to make it to the later rounds, Philadelphia’s Gayborhood is one of the most happening gay areas in the country! They boast a three to four square block area of over twenty gay bars and restaurants to celebrate with your friends! The city’s tourism board recently launched a campaign geared towards the LGBT community; “Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay! 

Philadelphia Liberty Tennis looks forward to hosting athletes from around the world to celebrate togetherness and sports! Registration for the event is now open HERE and we are limiting entries for the first year; so we encourage interested players to register early!

Watch Miami tennis tournament livestreamed

Livestreaming continues today!

Watch the 2012 Sunshine Cup LIVE from Miami, FL starting Sat. May 19th starting at 8 AM

Click HERE for the live stream

21 July 2012 / GLTA Columbus Classic tennis tournament

Home to Abercrombie and Victoria’s Secret Columbus Ohio has embraced another international brand. This year they host their very own GLTA tournament. Joining other recent recruits, Berlin, Dublin, Zaragoza, Bali and Cape Town, Columbus Metropolitan Tennis Organization (CMTO) is pleased to announce The “Columbus Classic” will be held July 21-23, 2012 at the indoor/outdoor courts of Wickertree Tennis Club.

Co-Director Mark Buckingham and John Cox, heard there was enough interest in hosting and participating in a GLTA event and have powered ahead. John explains “Columbus played host to the Gay Softball World Series, the Midwestern Invitational Classic (COMIC) bowling tournament and Labor of Love volleyball tournament . Each of these events attracts thousands of GLBT athletes and their supporters to Columbus. It is only natural that we now host a GLTA event.”

‘’We really listened to players. Consolation matches are scheduled for single and doubles. Making this a great value for money event is a top priority’’

Discover for yourself why Gay Travel named the city as their “Most Underrated Gay City” of 2011. Make certain to “like” their Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/ColumbusClassic) or visit their website (www.ColumbusClassicTennis.com) for complete event details, lodging, and surprises that will make this a unique stop on the 2012 GLTA circuit. Columbus has over 20 LGBT bars and nightclubs and is well known for their Short North business district, which is a mile-long strip in downtown Columbus that boasts several art galleries, LGBT-friendly stores, bars and restaurants

Columbus airport lies just 8 miles east of downtown and is served by most major airlines, with direct flights throughout the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard (as well Toronto, Canada), although relatively few direct flights to Western U.S. cities. Because of the low fares offered by discount carriers JetBlue, Midwest Express, and Southwest Airlines, fares to Columbus from other cities served by these airlines can be quite reasonable.

8 June 2012 / GLTA interviews Rome tournament director

From a very interesting interview on the website of FGG member organization GLTA:

Welcome to the vision of Maria Antonietta Manganello, President of Yellow Sport an Italian GLBTE Multisport Association. She is the dynamite Tournament Director for the GLTA event in Rome..

The GLTA is working at local and international levels to bring more women to our events. Amsterdam, Brussels, New York, Paris amongst other tournaments are sending out a bigger than ever welcome invitation to women. Pink Ladies the GLTA women’s event in June are also reaching out to the men. They along with Madrid are offering a mixed doubles event this year. During 2012 we will be running Facebook ads and competitions for free tournament entries for women. On a personal level we will be prominently featuring and profiling women who work and play in the GLTA.

[...]

You are clearly a very committed GLTA’er how many tournaments do you play?
We run 3 GLTA tournaments during the year for a total of around 250/300 players. The only women Pink Ladies in Torre del Lago (Tuscany) in July, and 2 men/women in Rome in June and September. Our flagship is the Rome Open in September where we have been able to involve, in this four-day event, a whole Tennis Club (T.C.Garden) and most of its members with a great and joyful atmosphere and a perfect fusion between straight, trans and gay people. I don't want to consider this as a miracle, but just the start of commonness! Sometimes I try also to be a player, as I do every year in Eindhoven... I would really like to play more...we'll see if I can find a clone for the future!

Why do you think relatively few women enter GLTA tournaments?
In my view the female mind is more complicated than the male one....women try to be more protective, even with themselves, and rarely like to go out from their safe entourage. This determines a kind of reluctance to open up to new experiences and knowledge, even less if they are not in a relationship. For a woman, to take the decision to sign in to a tournament abroad, to book a flight and a hotel and to go there for playing by herself is the most of the times unthinkable! Clearly, not because we are not able to do it, but because we don't like to do things alone...we go in two even to the bathroom at school...

It doesn't mean that all the women are like this and that we don't like to socialise...it's just that we need the right atmosphere and, as TD, what I usually do is to give them a bit more of care and attention, trying to give them a more peculiar organization and mostly trying to involve them in groups (friends, girlfriends, women from the hosting club ...), so that from one side they feel comfortable and from the other side they experience a new nice way to open up their mind. I tell you, once you exceed this initial barrier; women are much more participatory and helpful than men!

How many players are you hoping to join you in Rome this year?
Hopefully always around 150/170 only for tennis, plus other 60/80 for 5-at side soccer (men and women). The Yellow Rome Open Tournament is part of the Yellow Week, an 8-days event, supported by the Municipality of Rome. It starts on the September 15th with the 24h Mountain Bike Rome 2012 that will be attended by about 2000 cyclists from around the world (info@24hroma.itsms). At the end of the week, we'll have around 2500 athletes and supporters enjoying under the Yellow flags between bike paths, soccer fields, tennis courts and the beautiful pool at the T.C. Garden Wonderful city, wonderful people, good food, great sports ...the mix could be successful non?

Do you have anything special planned for the tournament?
Do you need more than this? You are insatiable!!! For the 2012's edition, Yellow Sport wants to give more chances to enjoy to the participants. We have scheduled two additional sports: beach tennis and swimming. There will be no real tournaments, but some demo-competitions, open to anyone who wants to prove himself and participate at a minimal cost. All of them will be held always at the T.C. Garden that is one of the finest clubs in Rome. A few good looking bodies around are always good on the eyes, don't you agree?

On Friday morning, we maintain the practice of involving young people from the schools and we have planned a conference against violence and prejudice. This year we'll host a priest, Don Aniello Manganiello (he's not a relative of mine) who has devoted part of his life to fight against the Camorra in a part of Italy, where prejudice, silence and violence are the daily bread of the population. Hopefully it will be another building stone that Yellow Sport will put for the change of view about the diversities. Involving a representative of the Catholic Church in Rome in a GLBT event, in my opinion, is not something of little significance. And at the end, add a Welcome Aperitif on Thursday evening, surrounded by the gorgeous view of the Colosseum, and a Pool Dinner Party on Saturday night with music, dancing and a great friendly atmosphere. Don't you think it's a terrific tournament to not miss?!?

Read in full HERE.

In italiano / 6 June 2012 / Yellow Campo de Fiori 2012

Ragazzi/e volete partecipare ad un fantastico ed allegrissimo torneo di tennis GLBTE organizzato da Yellow Sport, immersi nel meraviglioso verde del Parco degli Acquedotti e circondati da tanto sport??? Iscrivetevi a YELLOW CAMPO DE' FIORI 2012...solo singolari a qualsiasi livello...garantite almeno 2 partite e tanti sorrisi!!!
Per info : 3381444516 oppure yellowroma@gmail.com oppure direttamente su glta.tournamentsoftware.com per la registrazione online!!!
PARTECIPATEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!:))

25 May 2012 / United States Gay Open at Stanford University

The 2012 United States Gay Open
Memorial Weekend, May 25-28, 2012
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California

Info and registration HERE.

Memorial Day Weekend means many things to many people. For some, it is a time of reflection and appreciation of the sacrifices made by others. For others, it is a time to escape to a warm beach somewhere and unwind and relax. But for many gay and lesbian tennis players from far and wide, Memorial Day Weekend has come to mean tennis. A weekend of fabulous tennis. For thirty-two years San Francisco’s Gay & Lesbian Tennis Federation has, on Memorial Day Weekend, hosted the United States Gay Open. Known as the USGO, this tennis tournament is one of the oldest and most prestigious gay and lesbian sporting events in the world. The event attracts hundreds of tennis players from across the United States, and from countries around the world. These players come to play and watch great tennis, make new friends, and enjoy all that the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer.

In recent years the tournament has often been held at Stanford University’s Taube Tennis Stadium. It will once again take place at Taube Stadium this year. There is really only one word to describe Taube Stadium – breathtaking. It is the host of the professional women’s Bank of the West Tennis Tournament – where Serena, Kim, Venus, and Victoria have all shined. The stadium is a sea of beautiful blue courts surrounded by comfortable stadium seats and, of course, Palo Alto’s sunshine.

There may be plenty of reasons for the enduring popularity of the USGO, but the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation. And the simple explanation here is that the USGO is fun. It is epic, it is exciting, it is historic, it is all that – but most of all it is fun. So what are you doing on Memorial Day Weekend? Grab your racquet and come on out to Stanford. And let’s have fun.


The USGO is North America’s largest LGBT tennis tournament and is a GLTA-sanctioned event. If you would like to help with this year’s USGO, please join our tournament committee. Help is needed with fundraising, publicity, organizing, entertainment and much more. Contact Alex Lin at usgo@gltf.org.

26 April 2012 / The AGLO: the first LGBT tennis tournament in Africa

The Afrian Gay and Lesbian Open, a GLTA tennis tournament, will take place in Cape Town from 26-29 April 2012. Best wishes to all for this first event of its kind in Africa!

"South Africa, and in particular Cape Town, is a shining beacon in terms of freedom for homosexuals on the African continent. Cape Town is proud to host the first GLTA event. Diverse cultures, beautiful beaches, delicious food, buzzing nightlife, vast forests and great TENNIS is what you will find when you arrive."

More info HERE.

GLTA is holding a contest with a great prize: free registration for EuroGames 2012!

Visit the Facebook page of the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association HERE, and you'll find a special holiday video. Just identify the players featured, and you can win a free registration to EuroGames 2012 this summer in Budapest!

GLTA announces new awards system

From FGG member organization Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association:

They are back for 2012: GLTA AWARDS

The GLTA strongly believes that dedication, effort and good results need to be recognized and rewarded. In 2010 we needed to suspend the GLTA awards for a number of reasons. Very few players engaged with the voting process. An award could be won with less than 30 votes. Tournaments with the most entrants had an unfair advantage in both the small and large award categories. Votes were cast by players who might not even have attended the tournament that they were voting for! Frequently awards were won by GLTA Board members! The voting process was open to abuse and the possibility of multiple votes being cast by one person. Something had to change, and the GLTA Executive Board of Directors has made some very needed corrections.

The Board have come up with a solution, while it's not perfect, it will be a vast improvement. The intention at the moment is to e-mail all players at the end of each tournament they play and ask them to score a number of the tournament features. Scores would be cast using a Likhert scale (1-7). Besides questions about venue and organisation, players are asked to score the tournament team and the tournament overall , and these two scores will be used for awards.

To explain, a tournament with 100 players could achieve a total possible score of 700 for tournament overall. If 50 players voted and they each awarded the tournament a maximum score of 7, the tournament would have achieved a 50% of the total possible score. At the year end, the tournament achieving the highest percentage of the total possible score would be awarded a GLTA Award. There is an award for Best Large and Best Small Tournament. The award for Best Tournament Director is being replaced with Best Tournament Team and votes will be cast in the same way.

Awards for Player of the Year and Volunteer of the Year will be voted on by players at the year end. We are looking at maybe using Facebook as part of that process. The most important aspect of the awards is that they are a true reflection of our players opinions and appreciation. Please use our Facebook page for any suggestions for improvement.

29 October 2011 / Yellow Rome Open Tennis and Indoor Football tournament

YELLOW SPORT is proud to present the 3rd Edition of YELLOW ROME OPEN 2011 a TENNIS and FUTSAL INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT under the patronage of FGG member organizations GLTA (Gay & Lesbian Tennis Association) and IGLFA (International Gay & Lesbian Football Association) with the support of the EGLSF.


The YELLOW ROME OPEN 2011 will be held in Rome on September 29th/October 2nd at two venues for tennis, the T.C. GARDEN and the T.C. APPIO CLAUDIO in Rome, and at A.S.D. LA TORRE for futsal. The tennis tournament will have SINGLES, DOUBLES and MIXED DOUBLES draws and CONSOLATIONS draws for all the categories (except for doubles).

The ICONS' CUP 2011, international futsal tournament, part of the main event of Yellow Rome Open, will see the participation of men & women international soccer teams from all over the world. It will be held in 2 days for women and 1 day for men, in an athletic and exhausting race to the victory!

The Yellow event also has the support of the City of Rome - X Town Council, of the Province of Rome and of the Lazio Region Board. During the event the main high schools' students of the X Town Council will compete for the drawing competition "A smash for the Civil Rights", with the theme : "A sign for integration".

All info, registration and details at www.yellowsport.it or by email at: yellowroma@gmail.com

COME & PARTICIPATE.......BE FIRST IN THE CAPITAL OF HISTORY!!!!

2 July 2011 / A big weekend for GLTA tennis

The weekend of 2-4 July will see no fewer than four Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance tournaments:

-- Bluegrass Open, Louisville, KY
-- San Diego Open, San Diego, CA
-- Seattle Classic, Seattle, WA
-- Liberty Open, New York, NY

Find out more about these and other GLTA tournaments HERE.

27 May 2011 / United States Gay Open tennis tournament in San Francisco

A message from tournament director Alex Lin:

Memorial Weekend, May 27-30, 2011
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

It began with one person, one mind, one vision.

In 1981, there was one idea to organize an openly gay tennis tournament, in which individuals could freely and proudly participate in the sport they love, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.

Now, thirty years later, this one idea by Les Balmain has blossomed into an international tennis tournament, which has spread its mission and belief to the forty gay and lesbian tennis clubs around the world that comprise the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance.

With that same love and pride, the 2011 United States Gay Open returns to its birthplace, Golden Gate Park. I am honored to be the Tournament Director of this year's USGO and to take it beyond 30 years of dedication and inspiration.

 Find out more about USGO HERE.