Interview on Gay Games VIII DanceSport documentary

Melbourne's Joy FM's "Kiss My Arts" interviewed documentary filmmaker Nickolas Bird about his film, "Ballroom Rules," filmed at the Gay Games VIII DanceSport competition in Cologne.

More Kiss My Arts HERE.

Listen to the broadcast below:

Melbourne Dance Cats talk on Joy FM radio about Midsumma same-sex dance event in Melbourne

15 January 2012 / Matthew Mitcham as Melbourne's Midsumma Carnival

We've already posted about sports groups present at Melbourne's Midsumma festival. Now here's a word from Gay Games Ambassador Matthew Mitcham who'll be at the opening Carnival this weekend:


Following our first outing together last year, I’m really excited that Telstra has asked me back to be part of their support of Midsumma in 2012. Telstra is a Major Partner this year and that means they have some major things going on with the Midsumma Festival, which kicks off with its annual Carnival at Birrarung Mar in Melbourne CBD, Sunday 15 January from 11am-5pm.

This year, Telstra’s support of Midsumma includes having a Carnival stall where you can meet me, check out some great phones and devices for the summer, charge your phone, get pre-paid credit and get some fun giveaways. The Telstra Citizen Reporters are also back – 30 members of Telstra’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, these guys and girls will be all over Midsumma, for the three weeks of Festival. They’ll be attending the wide array of Festival events, and you can check out their blogs, photos and reviews on the Midsumma tumblr site. At Carnival, the Midsumma crew will also be powered by Telstra’s really fast 4G network with wireless connectivity in the Box Office and Festival hub.

I’m very proud to once again be associated with Telstra’s support of Midsumma. It’s great to see a large corporation such as Telstra get involved on the ground with community celebrations like this. And I think it’s even better when that involvement is about a part of the community that I’m also really proud to be part of. Inclusion and diversity make a strong and cohesive community, and Midsumma is a celebration of that.

So – when you get to Carnival on Sunday, look for the Telstra stall, and come and say hi. We’ll all be there living life in full colour!

DanceSport and more at Melbourne's Midsumma festival

Dance Cats, whose experience at Gay Games VIII was the subject of the documentary Ballroom Rules, is hosting Australian SameSex DanceSports at Melbourne's Midsumma festival.

There's more sport on offer at Midsumma. See the full program HERE.

4 February 2012 / Same-sex dancing at Melbourne's Midsumma

A message about an event organized on Saturday 4 February 2012 with Dance Cats, a member of FGG member organization QSAM:

Premier Event: ultra queer! A Ballroom and Latin dance extravaganza!

Hosted by the fabulous Luke Gallagher and Kaye Sera, you'll be entertained from the minute you walk into the beautiful St Kilda Town Hall. The glamour and glitz will be dazzling as the same sex couples glide by. The excitement grows and grows on this night of heated competition with a brilliant climax at the end of the night, the Latin American A-grade final! The couples converge from around Australia and NZ to battle it out before the judges and a very vocal audience, so prepare to cheer for your favourite couples.

The dancing ranges from the glamorous Ballroom such as the Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep etc.. to the wild and passionate Latin events with Paso Doble, Cha Cha Cha, Salsa etc.. including New Vogue and Street Latin. Even the audience can get in on the act, with social dancing throughout the night for everyone to enjoy.

You'll witness the nervous beginners in the Novice events, an exciting Teams Match, seasoned champions in the A-grade and some just-for-fun Novelty events (try telling the competitors that!), where men and women dance together - how bizarre..

During the events, our judges circle the floor with clipboards poised as they study the dancers' every move, it's so intense! Audience members can join in too (at no extra charge), register for the Most out-of-time Waltz, but don't forget your tiara..

This event has been a regular on the Midsumma Festival calendar, proudly hosted by Dance Cats Studio for over a decade. Supporters and competitors come from far and wide to congregate for the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It's sexy, ultra queer and very glamorous and definitely not to be missed. Bar and Meals available, strictly no BYO.

Info HERE.

"Ballroom Rules" now available for viewing outside of Australia

Ballroom Rules, a documentary about same-sex dancers preparing for Gay Games VIII, premiered on Australian TV earlier this week.

The broadcast was a great success, and now viewers outside Australia can view the film online.


Artscape - Ballroom Rules A group of Australian gay and lesbian ballroom dancers battle homophobia, injury and personal dramas to compete in the world's biggest same-sex dancesport competition.

Ballroom dancing is the ultimate traditional sport. With a reputation for being overtly heterosexual and inflexible rules that specifically bar same-sex couples from competitions, it should be the last sport on earth in which gay men and lesbians would participate. But at a small studio in Melbourne a passionate group of same sex ballroom dancers is defying the rules.

Anny Salerni is the owner of Melbourne's only gay and lesbian ballroom dancing studio, and is the driving force behind the art of same-sex ballroom dancing in Australia. Anny has been threatened in the past by the governing body for ballroom dancing in Australia but she is determined to provide a safe space for her students to dance.

Banned from the mainstream, Anny and her students have limited opportunity to compete. So they must look overseas to find bigger competitions in order to improve. The world's biggest same sex dancesport competition is about to be held at the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. Anny and her students make the decision to travel half way around the world to take on the world's best same sex dancers.

22 October 2011 / Justin Fashanu Cup in Melbourne

Justin Fashanu Cup
Saturday, October 22 · 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Quarries Park- Soccer Pitch
Ramsden Street
Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia


Come support the Melbourne Rovers and Sydney Rangers.

The game is played to commemorate Justin Fashanu who was the first professional footballer to come out. There is no place in sport for Homophobia.

The Rovers and the Rangers have won the cup once each. One team will take the lead.

Australia rugby news: Portrait of a Melbourne rugger, Sydney Convicts heading for regional championship

Some news about gay rugby in Australia, starting with this profile of Sam Minter,a player on Melbourne's Chargers, FGG member QSAM's rugby club, from Dockland's News:

Melbourne’s first gay rugby union team is on its way to an international world cup and Docklands resident Sam Minter is leading the way. The National Foods employee first started playing with Australia’s first gay rugby union team, the Sydney Convicts, in 2003.

When he joined the Convicts his motivation was to represent Australia in the Bingham Cup, a rugby tournament of up to 30 teams of gay men held every two years.

Sam and his Charger team-mates challenge homophobia in sport. Sam says his sport is diverse and the Bingham Cup shows that rugby union accepts gay people. “It’s good for the gay community to see members of their community being involved in a sport that people thought was inaccessible,” Sam said.

As a child Sam always wanted to play rugby. But fears of not being good enough and being bullied because of his sexual orientation held him back.
“A lot of gay men grow up feel isolated from playing sport, especially team sport,” Sam said.

Keep reading HERE.

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Sydney Convicts, the rugby club of FGG member Team Sydney, are doing well in their local league, as reported in SX News:

"The Convicts are excited to be representing Woollahra Colleagues in the Walker Cup and we are really happy to have won our first semi-final," Convicts president David Whittaker said.

"We will be looking to take our improving form into the Merrylands match with a win for a place in the Walker Cup grand final," he said.

This is the first year the Convicts has entered the Walker Cup after being “given an opportunity to step up to a more consistent grade” and despite entering the competition late, the third grade division team managed to finish third on the overall competition ladder ahead of the finals.

Whittaker said the decision to enter the Walker Cup was to “challenge” the team and an “excellent tool” to develop its new players.

“It has prepared us very well for next year, when the Convicts need to play our strongest rugby ever in Manchester in order to win both the Bingham Cup and Bingham Bowl and bring both back to Australia,” he said.

Two Convicts teams are expected to compete in Manchester for the gay rugby world cup, the Bingham Cup, which the Convicts brought home to Australia in 2006 and 2008.

Glamourheads make a splash at Wellington Outgames

News from MCV on QSAM and IGLA member Glamourhead Sharks:

Melbourne's GLBTI swimming team, the Glamourhead Sharks, scooped the pool with a staggering 126 medals at the second Asia Pacific Outgames last week. Winning 65 gold, 39 silver and 22 bronze over the three day event the teams’ overall score was 3,190 points.

Special notice was made for Sally Bodinnar in the 200m Breaststroke, Brad Harris in the 400m Freestyle and Russell Knee in the 200m Butterfly. Glamourhead’s assistant coach Jason Bucker said the team had achieved many personal bests.

25 February 2011 / Melbourne fundraiser for AsiaPacific Outgames

Via the Sydney Star Observer:

The Melbourne Spikers Volleyball Club have found a unique way to raise money for their uniforms with a striptease competition at Neverwhere in Collingwood this Friday, February 25.

Whether you’re an OutGames competitor in Wellington, New Zealand or not, it’s a great chance to come along and support the club at the cheeky fundraising event — and who doesn’t like a display of finely-tuned, athletic flesh.

Spikers members can support themselves with this opportunity to save some bucks — competitors and attendees can offset the $10 admission price for themselves and their friends against their uniform costs (so bring nine friends and save yourself $100).

Every competitor who enters this event will also receive $50 off the price of their Spikers uniform, plus another $10 off for every friend who pays at the door on the night.

Competitors will also compete for the major prize of a $300 gift voucher from Snowgum and a free annual membership at the Melbourne Spikers.

If there are any last-minute entrants looking to register, they can do so by calling Chucky on 0403 001 577.

Lil Kit and Miss Chi Chi will be hosts for the night and clothes come off at 10.30pm. Entry is $10 for all.