"The Road to Cologne": Richard Sypniewski

Here's an extract of a profile of a Gay Games VIII athlete. Read the full profile in Living in the Queer Times HERE:

The opening ceremony [of Gay Games VII] gave me an incredible feeling running out on the field with my teammates to a stadium of tens of thousands with people from all over the world. I remember lining up before the ceremony outside the stadium there was a group of religious protesters holding signs stating, “Homosexuality is a sin”. My friend and I have a picture of us kissing underneath this sign holding the American flag. I still have that photo on my wall today. Running into the stadium gives a person such a rush. By no means would I be considered a true Olympic athlete but to feel that similar experience is like nothing else in the world. This is why the Gay Games is so important, to demonstrate to the world that the GLBT community is vast and broad and that by coming together in the spirit of competition and inclusion, we are a group of beautiful and special people.

"The Road to Cologne": Cathy Schmitz

Here's an extract of a profile of a Gay Games VIII athlete. Read the full profile in Living in the Queer Times HERE:

Cologne will be the first time I participate in an event & I chose chess, speed chess to be specific. Speed chess is played in 5 minute games, if I only play one game, I will have played. I only learned to play chess recently when I was recruited by a friend whose child played chess at my church’s grade school to be the club leader. You didn’t have to know how to play chess, the kids knew how, what they needed was an adult willing to be there and be responsible. I have been working with the kids for two years now; they have taught me a lot. I tell them chess is like life, the inevitable is going to happen. How we prepare for, and react to twist and turns in the road is what makes us who we are. The kids, both boys and girls are grades two – eight, some are siblings and the older is not always the better player. Our annual tournament champion was a fifth grade boy this year with two third graders in second and third. I told them I was traveling to Germany for a tournament and hoped to make them proud and would tell them all about it next fall.

FGG at 13th World Sport for All Congress, post 3

Here's a second report from Darl Schaaff, who is representing the FGG at the 13th World Sport for All Congress (more info on the congress HERE.):

The first day of presentations [15 June] was a bit tough, and not just because it began with a recital of all sorts of statistics about the practice of sport... I wore with pride my FGG shirt, and couldn't help but think that the presence of a visible member of an LGBT organization made quite a few people a  bit uncomfortable.

But part of the reason to attend these conferences is to remind officials in mainstream sport that there are LGBT athletes in their organizations, and that there are LGBT sports organizations serving thousands of athletes around the world.

An important element of any conference of this sort is a social program, and during our boat trip this evening, it was much easier to make contact with people. Among the great conversations I had was with Professor Doctor Gudrun Doll-Tepper, former president of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education and current Vice President for Education of the German Olympic Committee. As a researcher and professor, her specialty is inclusive sport, for which in 2009 she received an award from the International Paralympic Committee. We had a great discussion on the issues related to women's leadership in sport, and I'm counting on continuing this exchange after the conference.

Soccer... and 34 other gay sports on offer in Cologne ;)

Soccer Officially Announces It Is Gay

You can still register for Gay Games VIII! And of course, all are welcome to attend and support the 9000 participants in 35 sports and multiple cultural events.

See the Gay Games VIII website HERE for more info.

;)

FGG at 13th World Sport for All Congress, post 2

Here's a first report from Darl Schaaff, who is representing the FGG at the 13th World Sport for All Congress (more info on the congress HERE.):

I just sat through the opening ceremony of the World Sport for All Congress. The keynote address was by Dr. Jacques Rogge, the President of the IOC, which demonstrates the concern of the IOC for the subject of Sport for All.
The congress has brought together 700 participants from 90 countries. I've met up with Håvard B. Øvregård from Norway, and met with other participants from the Netherlands, Germany, Zambia, Finland and elsewhere.

In every conversation I talked freely about the Games, our role in human rights, the sports movement of 30 years. Everyone seemed quite interested and has asked many questions.

FGG at 13th World Sport for All Congress

For the first time ever, the Federation of Gay Games is attending the World Sport for All Congress, held this year at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee, the World Health Organization, and SportAccord.

The FGG is represented by Officer for Ceremonies Darl Schaaff of Anchorage, Alaska who is currently residing in Cologne, Germany in anticipation of Gay Games VIII which open on 31 July.

Among the presentations to look out for is that of the Norwegian Olympic Committee on the integration of the fight against homophobia at all levels of sport.

More information on the congress can be found HERE.
All our posts on the congress can be found HERE.
More information on the IOC Sport for All commission can be found HERE.

Ambassador David Kopay at Seattle Run/Walk with Pride

Gerry Lewis, Kelly Stevens, and Dave Kopay

Gerry has attend 6 Gay Games so far.

David Kopay at RWWP event.

Gay Games Ambassador David Kopay attended Seattle Run and Walk with Pride today, proudly wearing his Cologne Gay Games red shirt. Ambassador Kopay will help hand out winning medals in Cologne, Germany at Gay Games VIII. David Kopay was the first American Football player to publicly "Come Out".

Are you a woman? Do you play hockey (ice or field)? Cologne needs you!

Online registration for Gay Games VIII may be closed, but manual registration remains possible in some sports (more info HERE).

In particular, Games Cologne is keen to find a few more women's ice hockey and field hockey teams. Individual players are welcome: Games Cologne can help you put together a team for the event.

"The Road to Cologne": Todd Urban

I was prompted to enter the Gay Games in Cologne because I have been asked to run the aquatic events when the Games come to Cleveland in 2014. In the past, I swam at both the Games in New York City and Amsterdam. The thrill of both events was being able to march onto the stadium fields with other gay athletes from around the world. There is such a sense of camaraderie and fun that lasts throughout the entire Games. I was overwhelmed seeing how many top level athletes are gay, but also impressed by the not-so-accomplished athletes who are there just for the personal challenge.

Read the full profile in Living in the Queer Times HERE.

Kaia Wilson's "Journey to the Gay Games"

Trailer for Kaia WIlson's "Journey To The Gay Games" from Kristina Davies on Vimeo.

Visit her website HERE.

Cologne profile for Gay Games participants and visitors

The city’s skyline is marked by one of the most dramatic architectural works in Europe – the 515-foot Cologne Cathedral, which was built over the course of six centuries and merits a visit to appreciate the sheer wonder of its interior. Cologne also has plenty of cultural high points. Near the cathedral are the fabulous Museum Ludwig, which contains one of Europe’s most impressive collections of modern art (with Picasso a particular specialty) and the Romisch-Germanisches Museum, known for its priceless collection of Roman artifacts. The starkly modern Wallraf das Museum excels in European art of the past seven centuries, and the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Art) is a rich trove of furnishings, decorative arts and textiles from throughout Europe. It’s also worth looking for tickets to the renowned Cologne Opera and the city’s esteemed WDR Symphony Orchestra.

There’s also some serious shopping in the city center, with the massive Olivandenhof department store among the hot spots for retail. The pedestrian-only Schildergasse is the most popular shopping street in the city – lined with brand-name shops and always abuzz with people. If you’re a fan of German snacks, don’t miss Hoss an der Oper, a justly famous delicatessen that proffers everything from sausages to fine Rieslings. Another retail highlight is the 4711 shop, which sells the product for which the city is named, eau de Cologne, a rather heady perfume with a citrus-y fragrance.

Visitors will find several enchanting places to stroll around the City Center, including the broad and open Stadtgarten, which lies just west of the city. Just follow Rudolfplatz west a few blocks and look for the soaring Colonius telecom tower, which rises 872 feet above the park. It’s also enjoyable to stroll along the Rhine, walking across the historic and dramatic Hohenzollem rail bridge (look for the triangular tablet along the river promenade just south of the bridge – it’s a memorial to gay and lesbian victims of Nazism), sauntering back down the right bank, and crossing back over via the Deutzer Bridge, which deposits you right into Old Market (Alter Markt) district.

Read the full article HERE.

Sydney Frontrunners ready for Cologne

“With 25 Frontrunners attending Cologne, we are sure to receive lots of great news from our squad,” said club president Michael Squire. “We even have a few doing the triathlon, which requires not just three specific events combined into one, but also lots of transport hassles with the transfer of bulky gear around the globe. We are looking forward to the Farewell party, which Team Sydney is arranging on Saturday June 19 at the Göethe Institute, Woollahra.”

From now until their departure, the Frontrunners will continue with their training with track and field runners meeting on Tuesday nights and Thursdays, while distance runners train on Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights. Squad training is on Monday evenings. For more information, go to www.sydneyfrontrunners.org.

Read the full article HERE.

Echelon features Cleveland/Akron bidding

Echelon, a magazine devoted to LGBT business, has a feature on Gay Games IX in Cleveland/Akron, and in particular on the work of the marketing firm that supported the bid. Read it from page 18, HERE.

Ambassadors on the run

Two Gay Games Ambassadors will be trying for their personal best in upcoming races.

David Kopay, a former NFL player (American football), will be running in the Seattle Frontrunners Pride Run in Seattle this Sunday. Info HERE.

Ji Wallace, an Olympic trampolinist, will be competing in the NY Frontrunners Pride Run on June 26.

If you're in Seattle or NYC those days, come and cheer them on!

"The Road to Cologne": Dawn Keltner

Read this profile of a Gay Games VIII athlete in Living in the Queer Times HERE:

I had the opportunity to try a swim meet through my company, United Parcel Service, called Corporate Challenge. I did well in the freestyle swim and as a team leg swimmer; although I have never been in a true swim meet for a school or college. I am going to try and self train for this event and I am coming for the energy that the games are all about. It is all for fun and the personal challenge. I am also a tri-athlete, but I am not about to drag all that equipment around the world. LOL. I swim 3 days a week and have a great love for the water, since I now have a goal and a passion. I am excited to be there in all the excitement of like-minded folks and am looking forward to see what the future holds.

"Our Group" launches new website

Visit their website HERE.

Our Group is an outreach and support organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) high school and college student-athletes and allies. It serves as a network to connect LGBT student-athletes with other LGBT student-athletes. Our Group is also dedicated to educating athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans to foster a sports community that is accepting for ALL athletes, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Our Group was born in January of 2008. Seven current and former LGBT student-athletes came together to discuss the different issues and challenges that LGBT student-athletes face, and more importantly, the different ways that they could help eliminate the homophobia that exists within athletics. They believed that by creating a space where student-athletes could access existing resources for LGBT athletes, as well as safely and easily communicate with other LGBT student-athletes, that they could help the many athletes who feel they must remain in the closet to participate in sport.

With the help of John Amaechi, Pat Griffin, Jeff Sheng, and Ted Rybka, this group of athletes started the arduous task of locating and contacting other LGBT student-athletes in order to make the dream of creating an LGBT student-athlete and ally organization a reality. After just two years, Our Group found over 200 supporters, became incorporated in Arizona with the goal of becoming a 501(c)3, began participating in panel discussions across the country, attended the 2009 Creating Change Conference in Denver and the Sport, Sexuality, and Culture Conference in Ithaca, hosted a panel discussion at Philidelphia Gay Sports Week, and more importantly, has been setting the foundation to create a network that provides the best resources to LGBT student-athletes and allies across the country.

Our Group continues to grow each day as we meet new student-athletes, hear their stories, and offer a place where student-athletes, former or current, can fearlessly take part in a growing community of like-minded individuals. Whether people utilize the OG website and forum or attend one of the advertised conferences and panels -- Our Group hopes to offer the resources and support that any athlete may want or need.

This is Our Group, we hope you join us in making it your group too, Welcome!

"The Road to Cologne": Chuck Coleman

Another profile from The Road to Cologne in Living in the Queer Times:

I remember longing to be loved and to love other boys as early as 1st grade. By the 3rd grade I already had sexualized these desires. At the same time, the older I got, the more I knew that being a homosexual would lead to physical assault and social rejection by these same boys. Even though I had an athletic physique, I would not allow myself to participate in sports because the emotional and physical closeness might somehow reveal my sexuality. As a result, I never learned to be competitive in a healthy way with other men; I never learned to challenge my body and mind with physical exertion; and I never learned how to catch a ball. From childhood to the time I decided to participate in the Gay Games, I never fully understood what it meant to be a man among men.

[...]

Now, I am a 50 year old man still possessing all the positive characteristics I had at 47 with the addition of power lifting gym buddies both gay and straight as my closest friends. With three local power lifting meets under my belt, I am ready and eager to get to Cologne. I can’t believe that I am competing with other men in an intensely physical sport while being totally free to be gay without hesitation. I may never be able to throw a ball, but gay power lifting supported by the Gay Games has done more for my self-esteem and self-acceptance than all my years, and I do mean years, of psychotherapy!!

Read the full profile of Chuck Coleman HERE.

Matt Mitcham's perfect 10s

Via Outsports:

Matthew Mitcham must feel like China is a home-pool advantage for him. First, he won the gold medal in the 10-meter men’s platform at the Beijing Olympics, coming from behind on the final dive. And Sunday he won the 10-meter event again at the FINA World Cup in Beijing. And he needed a perfect score to do it. Mitcham was fourth after the first two rounds, then pulled off what was described as a “flawless new dive – an armstand-back double with a two-and-a-half twist – that earned perfect 10s from the judges.” Like in 2008, Mitcham beat two Chinese divers for the top spot.

Pre-World Cup interview with president of IGLFA

Klaus Heusslein, president of FGG member organization IGLFA, was interviewed on the subject of homophobia in football on the occasion of the launch of the 2010 Football World Cup.

Why is there still a need for an organisation like IGLFA today?
The IGLFA is the only worldwide GLBT Football organisation. We are not only organising the IGLFA Worldcup, which gives the teams from all over the world the opportunity to challenge each other but we are also trying to help teams and players from continents like Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia to participate in those tournaments through our outreach program. In addition we run the annual IGLFA World Cup which provides teams from all continents the opportunity to enjoy different styles of football as well as nurture the camaraderie inherent in sport.

How have things changed over the years?
Nowadays gay and lesbian teams are participating (especially in Europe and Northern America) in regular championships and some of them are doing this as openly gay teams without ever experiencing any homophobic reactions. Though there are still a lot of countries (even in Europe) in which homophobia is still a big issue.

What work is the IGLFA doing to try to make the mainstream game more gay-friendly and less homophobic?
We're involved in several anti-homophobia projects, such as FARE and the recently formed Justin Campaign. Some of our member teams are trying to integrate straight players into their teams or they participate openly in regular championships and tournaments to make people understand, that we are not that much different. Homophobia is at least partly caused by the fact that the general public has little/no social contact with lesbian and gay people. Bringing people in touch with each other will help to increase understanding and acceptance. In Germany there is the highly successful Come Together Cup which bring teams to play in a competition to show that prejudice of any kind is not acceptable.

Doesn’t having separate tournaments defeat the purpose of integration?
Not at all! We do organise those tournaments but many of them are open for "straight teams". In addition these tournaments are - at least at this moment - the only opportunities for teams from less liberal countries, to live there sexual orientation openly also in a sphere of a sport competition. Organising "gay tournaments" and promoting them in the so-called "normal" mass media; like in 2008 during the IGLFA Worldcup in London, might also attract the attention of the public and can help in that way to change their minds.

Read the full interview HERE.

"Chosen Few" on BBC blog

"Chosen Few... Chosen Few... Chosen Few." A dozen women are shouting out the name of their football team on a scrap of wasteland just north of Johannesburg's city centre. Tumi is leading the chant. She's now the striker and obvious star of South Africa's only openly lesbian team.

"We're all lesbians so I feel like I'm with my family. They always put a smile on my face," says Tumi, breaking off from a twice-weekly practice session. "In township teams lesbians are not allowed." We talk about the World Cup. The women have mixed feelings - happy it's coming to South Africa, frustrated that they can't afford tickets, and angry that women's football is not given the same high profile.

After two energetic hours, Tumi takes off her boots and sets off for home. "I always worry. When I'm walking the streets I watch left and right. I'm not just a woman, I'm also lesbian, and there is no justice here."

The man she says assaulted her is still living in the neighbourhood, and although she's reported him to the police, they have yet to arrest him. "The police don't take it seriously," she says. "He's threatened me again and says he knows where I live. I don't have any protection. I don't have weapon. I don't have anything. I'm just me. Just me."

Read the full article and view the video HERE.

New team from Lille

For the first time a women's volleyball team from Lille will be participating in the Gay Games. Launched by the website VeryFriendly.fr, they're sponsored by Enlightenment Films.

UN committee blocks consultative status for LGBT human rights organization

Via The Advocate, an article that concerns the FGG, which is in the process of applying for ECOSOC consultative status...

A United Nations committee that decides which nongovernmental organizations can be accredited to the world body moved on Thursday to keep out the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

The group, which had applied for "consultative status" at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) three years ago, is an international NGO and advocacy group focusing on protecting the rights of homosexuals and lesbians worldwide.

Diplomats from Western nations that support gay rights complained that Egypt and other developing states that have been criticized by rights groups for discriminating against gays and lesbians prevented the committee from voting on whether to accredit the group, thereby leaving it in limbo.

Continue reading HERE.

Lydia La Riviere-Zijdel named SportAccord Combat Games Ambassador

Lydia la Rivière-Zijdel, winner of the 2006 Tom Waddell Award*, the highest award granted by the Federation of Gay Games, has just been chosen by the International Aikido Federation as ambassador of the AIF at the SportAccord (GAISF) Combat Games in Beijing. Scheduled from 28 August to 4 September 2010, the competition will showcase 13 martial arts and combat sports, both Olympic and non-Olympic. The event will also include a cultural program that will reflect the social and cultural values of these sports and Combat Games as a whole. Each martial arts discipline will bring 70 martial artists from all over the world to Beijing. Each discipline has chosen an ambassador who is featured on the website of the Combat Games.

See her profile on the SportAccord Combat Games website HERE.

SportAccord wishes to develop multi-sports events under its umbrella with IFs running sports with common features, as 2010 SportAccord Combat Games, in order to maximize visibility and to further promote sports.

This is part of the vision of SportAccord President Hein Verbruggen in order to unite its members and to support the resources from sports to go back to sport.

*We are pleased to note that Lydia's involvement with the FGG has continued after her outstanding contributions to the 1998 Gay Games. This year she served on the 2010 Tom Waddell Award selection committee, and as hosting producer for the Amsterdam leg of the 2010 International Rainbow Memorial Run, as shown in the photo above.

Cheer San Francisco advances on America's Got Talent

2010 Federation Legacy Award winner Cheer San Francisco is participating in America's Got Talent.>H/t to Joe My God. See minute 6:30.

"The Road to Cologne": Rene Silvin

Bodybuilder, longtime HIV/AIDS survivor, and friend of the FGG René Silvin leads off a series of profiles of Gay Games VIII contenders in The Queer Times' "The Road to Cologne". Here's an extract from this profile:

After surviving late-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1994, I was an emaciated, weakened, middle-aged man who could barely walk. Gradually, some strength returned and I learned to appreciate the rewards of bodybuilding.

My first gym-based training consisted of walking on a treadmill. I eventually progressed to building strength and endurance and I soon began to enjoy my daily hours “working out”. Becoming and staying fit grew to be more important than any other activity. Gradually, I replaced toxic, destructive behavior with what I call “my healthy addiction”, in other words going to the gym. My ability to compete in the over-60 bodybuilding class at the Gay Games represents the culmination of thirty years of struggle. It is a perfect metaphor – and reward for – being healthy.

Being of assistance to those less fortunate can only be achieved if one is healthy. No better symbol exists for “thriving with AIDS” than competing in an international event. Such an opportunity would not exist for me absent the Gay games. Consequently, I thank the Federation of Gay Games’ organizers for giving me an opportunity to attend, compete in and enjoy the camaraderie of this life altering experience.

Read more HERE.

Chris Morgan profile in Windy City Times

Chris Morgan, known worldwide as "Chunky" and arguably the best openly gay powerlifter ever, is primed for this summer's Gay Games in Cologne, Germany.

He's gunning for his personal best.

"At my three previous Gay Games, I've won medals, but have never actually lifted my best weights," said Morgan, who has claimed six medals at the Games ( five Gold, one Silver ) . "There have been good reasons [ for not lifting my best at past Games, ] such as [ an ] injury in 2002 and jet-lag in 2006. So, with the Games being in Europe, it's a major opportunity to put this issue to rest."

Morgan, 37, now lives in Devon in the southwest of England. He moved there last year from London "in an attempt to close my career out in style," he said.

Continue reading HERE.

Portrait of Glenn Burke

An athletic phenom rises out of poverty in Oakland to professional baseball stardom only to end up a wasted crack addict. The failure was not Glenn’s but that of little minds.

Funny thing about heroes; we can forgive minor flaws, providing they don’t violate our limited moral underpinnings. Glenn was never able to realize his full athletic potential because he became the first professional baseball player to declare his homosexuality.

Baseball is the most masculine of sports: fundamental indolent, full of nonsensical traditions, overblown preening, repulsive habits, and laiden with intolerance.

Continue reading HERE.

Triathlete Scott Simpson training for Cologne

Scott Simpson is an HIV+ triathlete, student and inspirational speaker avoiding real work so he can find more time to train and learn. A former party boy, Scott has gone from the fictional national drinking team to the real Canadian national triathlon team and is current provincial long course champion in his age group. Scott is also founder of, and inspiration for, the Race for Dignity, which is both an annual spinathon in Toronto and annual school campus events coordinated by Dignitas Youth chapters. Cumulatively, they have raised almost a million dollars for the medical humanitarian NGO Dignitas International, contributing to over 11,000 people living with HIV/AIDS gaining access to ARVs in Malawi. Scott is currently training for Ironman Louisville 2010.

Read this extract from his report on a recent event (in full HERE):

For those not in the know, this is 4 races in 3 days and totals just slightly more than the ironman distance. Many folks use it as a training weekend for their ironman race this summer. Some are racing in the team division, but like most, I'm doing the solo version.

It all starts late Friday afternoon with the prologue super sprint: 250 metre swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run. Saturday consists of an olympic distance race (1500 metre swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run) in the morning followed by another olympic distance race in mid-afternoon. The twist for this third race is that the bike is first, followed by the swim, and ending with the run. Then Sunday tops it all off with a half-ironman race: 2 km swim, 90 km bike, 21.1 km run. The bike courses are notorious for the hills, hills, and more hills.

Lady luck smiled on me the previous day as I managed to snag a room at the sold out lodge at the race site when a team pulled out of the event at the last moment. Since I had only entered the race a month earlier, the closest hotel I could find was 40 minutes away but I was able to cancel my reservation without penalty. Now I could just ride my bike to each race. Sweet.

I was using the races as a training weekend toward my 2 major goals: Gay Games olympic triathlon in Cologne on August 1st and Ironman Louisville 4 weeks later. As such, the Triple T races were to finish off a training block and to be followed by some very easy -- and well deserved -- recovery days.

Indiana University's gay-friendly athletics program

This is the story referred to in our previous blog post, HERE.

Read it in full in the Advocate HERE.

As it happened, the window opened at a pivotal moment in the recent history of Indiana University’s flagship campus in Bloomington, home to more than 40,000 students southwest of Indianapolis. Months earlier, controversy had erupted when the Kelley School of Business presented Marine Gen. Peter Pace, retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with a yearlong appointment. The general angered gay rights activists in 2007 when, during his tenure as the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, he expressed his personal view that homosexuality is “immoral” and asserted his support for the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Given the bumpy episode, Kitto says he resolved to approach Glass and the athletic department for a meeting last December with the goal of fostering stronger ties between the gay community and other campus departments. He had no idea what to expect.

“We in the LGBT community generally have stereotypes about people in sports,” said Kitto. “The thing that floored me about all these people is that they didn’t care.”

Support from the athletic department and the football team in particular felt immediate and strong. The department donated items to the silent auction for the LGBT homecoming, and the football coached helped judge the Mr. Out at Kelley contest.

Kitto felt comfortable asking Kraft about making an appearance at Indy Pride, and Kraft responded affirmatively the next day.

How about diversity among gays?

From Outsports:

After reading the Indiana University article on the Advocate Web site, I figured I’d read some of the comments from the Advocate readers. To say I was appalled, disgusted and angry would not be overstating it. While many commentors were positive, many on the article about the open-mindedness of a big-time college athletic department said gay athletes and sports fans are, and I quote, “Nazis,” “self-hating,” “losers,” “rednecks” and “filth” who need lobotomies.

Read the full post, with the relevant links HERE.