Soccer added to Sin City Shootout

We just added Soccer for the 2013 Sin City Shootout Sports Festival!

This brings the total to 8 different LGBT sports taking place.

The West Hollywood Soccer Club will be the sports coordinator for soccer.

Check back September 1st to register and get all the information on your sport.

www.sincityshootout.com/

A look back to an athlete's blog from Gay Games VI

Steve, a tennis player from San Diego, was a bit of a pioneer, writing a blog of his trip to Australia to participate in Gay Games VI. Follow his experiences each day as he arrives in Australia, competes in Sydney, and enjoys the sights down under. From the blog's home page:

Track the progress of one Team San Diego tennis player as he puts forth his personal best competing in Gay Games VI, Sydney 2002: Under New Skies. In this online journal, I'll share news, views, experiences, photos...whatever occurs to me. And you'll be able to follow my match-for-match progress as I attempt to take home the gold for San Diego in the C- Division singles and mixed doubles tennis events and in the Poetic Justice poetry slam of the Gay Games VI Sport & Cultural Festival. I'll add entries to this journal on a regular basis and will occassionally e-mail those on my list reminders as the updates are available.

20 July 20121 / Team DC Night OUT at the Kastles tennis match

News from Team DC:


Night OUT at the Kastles
Friday, July 20 at 7 PM vs the Orange County Breakers

Tickets are available NOW online HERE.  There are two prices to choose from:
$13 for reserved Grandstand seats (normally $15)
$28 for reserved Chairback seats (normally $30)

Tennis legend Chris Evert will be on hand before the match to meet and greet fans.  This will be on a first come, first served basis for all attendees.  The Kastles play at the Waterfront Tennis Center at 800 Water Street (easy walk from the Waterfront Metro) and tickets are moving quickly, so don't delay!

Then, join members of the Capital Tennis Association on Sunday, July 22 at 7 PM vs the Kansas City Explorers and featuring Serena Williams!  Tickets for this night start at $77 and you will get reserved Chairback seats up close to see Serena warm up for the Olympics.  As an exclusive part of the CTA Night on July 22, a special Meet and Greet with a Kastles player (other than Serena...sorry!) will be held.

As a special "Doubles" treat, anyone who purchases 4 or more tickets using the Night OUT/CTA link will be entered into a raffle for 2 free seats to the Kastles' finale on July 24. The link for both events is https://sites.google.com/site/kastlesgroup/.  These matches will definitely sell out, so if you want tickets, act now!

Billie Jean King on Elton John, Title IX, marriage equality and more

From an interview with Gay Games Ambassador Billie Jean King on Washingtonian.com:

Many people don’t know the story of Elton John and his hit song “Philadelphia Freedom”—that it was written for you and the World Team Tennis franchise by the same name. How exactly did that come to pass with him?

It was so amazing. I played for Philadelphia my first year, 1974. I had met Elton John in ’73. Elton started to come out to the Freedom matches and sit on the bench. And we made sure he had a uniform, and he was like our cheerleader, our surrogate coach—and he just loved it. When he wasn’t touring, he’d come. He loved tennis. So one time we’re going to one of his concerts, and we’re sitting in the backseat of a car, and he goes, “I want to write a song for you.” And I think he’s kidding, and he says, “No, I’m serious. What are we going to call it?” And I’m like, “Oh, my God, I have no idea.” And then he says, “How about if we call it ‘Philadelphia Freedom?’” And he wrote it in the summer of ’74, just after the team tennis season, and it became number one. It was a very big hit. I think we have the best signature song in sports, and nobody ever talks about it. I mean, it’s an amazing story, I think.

Let’s quickly touch on some other topics. This year is also the 40th anniversary of Title IX. And as one of the women who’s been at the forefront of equal opportunity in sports and in every walk of life, what are your thoughts on the impact that ruling has had four decades later?

Well, it’s incredible. And it didn’t just impact sports. Before 1972, if you wanted to be a doctor at Harvard, they only had a 5 percent quota. I met a woman the other day who said her mother was in a class of 500 and they only had 12 women. And what ’72 did is open up the doors and never let that happen again. And now 54 percent of the college enrollment is women. And it would never have happened if it hadn’t been for Title IX.

Read in full HERE.

Billie Jean King says a change in attitude can improve US tennis,

Billy Jean King is honored along with the eight other women
who formed the Women's Professional Tour in 1973
during a ceremony at the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament
in Charleston, S.C., last month.
(Mic Smith / Associated Press / April 7, 2012)

An extract from an article in the Los Angeles Times on Gay Games Ambassador Billie Jean King's outlook on tennis in the US, which for her can be improved by imitating team sports for youth:

She's about as corporate as Bubba Watson. When she talks about her World Team Tennis, she isn't selling tickets, she's setting examples and embracing concepts.

"Let's say you talk to kids and they are playing lacrosse and tennis," she says. "They talk about lacrosse, and they talk about team. Tennis? They talk about their lesson. If they have to choose one or the other, they'll choose the team. They get a uniform. They get to be part of something with other kids. Tennis needs to stress teams. Get rid of the word 'lesson.' Call the teachers coaches, not tennis pros."

She was addressing the current sorry state of United States professional tennis.

Read in full HERE.

Tennis, Canoeing/Kayaking, and 5K Run added to Pride Games program

Pride Games is an annual multi sports festival for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their friends. Held at various sporting sites in Manchester, it's the perfect opportunity to try a new sport, re-awaken old talents or brush up on current skills...have loads of fun and meet new people!  ​

After Track and Field on 14 June, Ergonomic Rowing on 14 July, and Squash on 21 July, Tennis has been added, also on 14 July, as well as Canoeing and Kayaking on 15 July, and a 5K multi-terrain run on 21 July.

More info HERE.

More signatures on UK Sport Charter against homophobia

From PinkNews.co.uk:

British tennis champions have signed up to the government’s Sports Charter on tackling homophobia and transphobia in sport.

British number one Elena Baltacha and number two Anne Keothavong signed the Sports Charter, along with former British player Katie O’Brien.

They were joined by members of the Lawn Tennis Association at the signing.

Signing the charter commits the association and players to actively challenge all forms of homophobic and transphobic abuse or discrimination.

Dale Park, the association’s Equality and Diversity Manager, said: “It’s fantastic to have so many colleagues, volunteers and elite players sign the charter.

“We have seen great support from the LTA with the CEO, President and Deputy President all signing the Charter along with high profile players Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong, and former player Katie O’Brien.

“This sets a great example to everyone who plays, coaches and watches tennis on the type of environment we expect across British tennis.”

Keep reading HERE.

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.

6 September 2012 / 2012 PanterEsports tennis tournament

More info on the Panteres Grogues PanterEsports tennis tournament HERE.

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.

Panteres Grogues board member elected to board of Catalan Tennis Federation

A message from FGG member organization Panteres Grogues:

For the first time, the Federació Catalana de Tenis (FCT or Catalan Tennis Federation) will have on its board an out gay man, Manel Gines, a board member of FGG member organization Panteres Grogues in Barcelona. Manel is the treasurer of Panteres Grogues, and the coordinator of tennis within the multisport club.

He joins the board of FCT as part of a slate of candidates led by Joan Navarro, a childhood friend of Manel.

Their victory is a big shake-up for the federation, after a difficult election against outgoing president Francesc Orriols. The new team won by 110 to 104 in a run-off vote after a tied first round of voting.

A concrete hope for Panteres Grogues is for more favorable terms for renting tennis venues for their annual PantereSports multisport tournament, which will next be organized in September 2012. More important is the new possibility for developing projects within the FCT to fight homophobia in sport. The new team in place will be a much more interesting partner for such actions.

Sport in Spain is highly decentralized, and the autonomous region of Catalonia has full responsibility for sport. All sports clubs in the region are member of the Catalan federation for their sport, with some also being members of the Spanish national federation.

The FGG sends its best wishes to Manel in his new duties, with our hopes for a fruitful exchange between LGBT and mainstream sports bodies.

Outsports shares coming out story of college athlete

We shared the "It Gets Better" video made by athletes and athletics department staff from St Michaels College in Vermont. Here's an extract from the coming out story of one of the athletes involved in the production of this video, as shared by Outsports:

This past year I was lucky enough to be involved in a project at Saint Mike’s as a part of the “It Gets Better” campaign that involved a lot of students, athletes, and administrators rallying around the cause. Though I’m sure there are other gay athletes at SMC, I don’t happen to know any of them personally. I don’t know any other gay athletes around the NE-10 Conference either, but I’ve never experienced any negativity around the subject and I don’t ever expect to. I hope the video, at the very least, spoke to an athlete at or elsewhere who’s struggling with their sexual identity or with fitting in.

It was one of the most rewarding activities I’ve ever been a part of, and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it, and we had an overwhelmingly positive response.  It makes me really proud to have been a part of the production and a character in the video that reached more people than we ever though it would.

Read in full HERE.

---

Hateful homophobic tennis champion shocked that people don't like her hateful homophobia

Poor hateful homophobic Margaret... somehow the fact that some people express their opinion that she's a hateful homophobe after she expressed her hateful homophobic opinions is preventing her from expressing her hateful homophobia, which is particularly odd since it's giving her so many opportunities to be in the news to express more hate and more homophobia. Like here, in The Australian:

MARGARET Court has vowed to maintain her opposition to homosexuality and same-sex marriage, undeterred by gay activists planning to use next week's Australian Open tennis championships to protest against her views.

Court, Australia's greatest women's tennis player and a senior pastor at Perth's Victory Life Centre church, said she had never "run from anything" and expected Australian Open organisers to prevent next week's tournament from being hijacked by the gay rights agenda.

"Are they not wanting me to come to the Australian Open? Is that what they are trying to do? I don't run from anything," Court told The Australian yesterday.

"I have always been a champion and always loved what I do and love tennis. I think it is very sad they can bring it into that. It is hard that they can voice their opinions but I am not allowed to voice my opinion. There is something wrong somewhere.

[...]

The prospect of protesters flying rainbow flags next week at the court named after Court presents a dilemma for Australian Open organisers, who, as every year, have invited the winner of 62 grand slam titles as a guest of honour to the tournament. Tournament director Craig Tiley, while lauding Court's achievements, has said neither Tennis Australia nor the Women's Tennis Association shared her views

Keep reading (if you must) HERE.

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.

Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova respond to Margaret Court's homophobic interview

From LaRosa's Sweet Spot on TennisChannel.com, an update on some tennis legends, one of whom is a hateful homophobe, whose BS can be found HERE:

Earlier this week, Australian tennis legend Margaret Court gave an interview to The West Australian in which she came down strongly not just against gay marriage, but gays themselves .

Among the controversial statements made by Court, now a pastor in Perth’s Victory Life Church:

* “Politically correct education has masterfully escorted homosexuality out from behind closed doors, into the community openly and now is aggressively demanding marriage rights that are not theirs to take.”

* “"[Marriages between a man and a woman] are not perfect, often dysfunctional and despite the fact the role models may be distorted and even severely flawed, there is no reason to put forward alternative, unhealthy, unnatural unions as some form of substitute.”

* "To dismantle this sole definition of marriage [as between a man and a woman] and try to legitimize what God calls abominable sexual practices that include sodomy, reveals our ignorance as to the ills that come when society is forced to accept law that violates their very own God-given nature of what is right and what is wrong."

* "The fact that the homosexual cry is, 'We can't help it as we were born this way', as the cause behind their own personal choice is cause for concern. Every action begins with a thought. There is a choice to be made."

Her remarks drew fire not just from readers, who took to Court’s Twitter account to lambaste her, but from her former colleagues who beg to differ.

“I respectfully disagree with Margaret’s position on gay marriage,” Billie Jean King shares with the Sweet Spot. Out since 1981, King has long been a champion for human rights, gay rights among them. “We have to commit to eliminating homophobia because everyone is entitled to the same rights, opportunities and protection.”

Martina Navratilova, another vocal advocate for gay rights since she came out in 1981, is also not having it. “Seems to me a lot of people have evolved as has the Bible, [for example regarding] slavery. Unfortunately, Margaret Court has not. Her myopic view is truly frightening as well as damaging to the thousands of children already living in same gender families.”

Keep reading HERE.

WTT Smash Hits with Elton John and Billie Jean King raises funds at Cleveland event

From WTA:

CLEVELAND, OH, USA - The 19th annual WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO was held at historic Cleveland Public Hall on Thursday night. Hosted as ever by tennis legend Billie Jean King and music superstar Elton John, the event raised more than $500,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland.

Before the on-court action began, the co-hosts and players attended a pre-match reception and live auction. The top auction items of the night were the two popular Billie Jean King hitting sessions, which King served up for $17,000 each; other items included a 2012 Super Bowl Package, two Elton John-signed piano benches, hitting sessions with Andy Roddick and Martina Navratilova, and a French Open package.

As the focus switched to the tennis court, Sir Elton partnered Navratilova to a 4-3 (5-4) victory against John McEnroe and Amélie Mauresmo in a celebrity doubles set. Then things got 'serious'. With a crowd of 3,477 fans cheering on, Team Elton (Roddick, Mark Knowles, Mauresmo and Lauren Davis) recovered from an early 10-3 deficit to edge Team Billie Jean (McEnroe, Jan-Michael Gambill, Navratilova, Coco Vandeweghe) by a scoreline of 19-18.

After the men's and women's singles and doubles and the mixed had been played, the two sides were locked at 18-18. Roddick sealed the victory for Team Elton by beating Gambill in a Supertiebreaker, 7-1.

"It's a great experience playing with Sir Elton John… I love his music," said teenager Davis, who hails from Ohio but now trains at the Evert Tennis Academy in Florida. "Growing up watching these players on TV, it's so cool to be here."

Over the past two decades WTT Smash Hits has raised more than $10.5 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and local charities throughout the US.

"You have to make sure you can give the money raised to the right people," said John during a pre-match press conference. "Our challenge now is to get medicine to people who can't afford it, and get rid of the stigma that's still associated with AIDS."

12 January 2012 / Sin City Shootout

The FGG is pleased to share a message from our friends at the Sin City Shootout, an event supported by several FGG member organizations:


A winter sports festival for LGBT athletes is taking place this January 12-15, 2012 in Las Vegas Nevada.

The 5th annual Sin City Shootout, which began in 2007 as just a softball tournament, has
grown into a multi-sport event offering softball, tennis, wrestling and bodybuilding competitions.

Over 3,000 athletes will be traveling from across North America to participate in this weekend-long event.

We expect 2,250 players softball players, with an additional 750 athletes from the other sports on the program, and of course many friends and fans being a part of the event.

The event is coordinated by the Greater Los Angeles Softball Association, with tournament director Eric Ryan saying their number one goal is the athletes: “Everything we do is with the athlete in mind” Ryan said. “This includes great deals on travel, a central host hotel and discounted restaurants throughout the event that participants can take advantage of. They are traveling from across North America and we need to make them feel as welcomed as we can.”

With a central host hotel having over 1,000 rooms reserved for the event, nightly parties and social events throughout the weekend, this is sure to be a hit for all those involved.

The vision according to Ryan is to slowly add 1 or 2 sports each year to make it a true winter sports festival.

For more information on the Sin City Shootout or to make sure your sport is represented in future years, visit sincityshootout.com.

New York LGBT film festival features Renée Richards documentary

The NewFest LGBT film festival in New York will be featuring Renée, a documentary that tells the story of Renée Richard’s battle to enter the 1977 US Open as the first transsexual tennis player.

Simultaneously, it follows her today as she struggles to cope with a life of contradictions and personal conflict. Through interviews with tennis legends, family, friends and experts from the transsexual field; a story of perseverance, breakthrough and hardship unfolds.


For program details, visit the festival website HERE.