LGBT+ History Month: Gay Gam 2023 - where 's the takg part that unts - BBC Sport

Contents:

• DONATN GOAL FOR GAY GAM 11
• SPORTS AT THE GAY GAMES
• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• GAY GAM NAME MEXI A SEND HOST FOR 2023 WHILE STICKG WH HONG KONG
• 20 SPORTS FOR GAY GAM 11 - GUADALAJARA 
• LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: GAY GAM 2023 - WHERE 'S THE TAKG PART THAT UNTS
• FERATN OF GAY GAM
• GAY GAM SE SELECTN
• GAY GAM REGISTRATN AT HISTORIC-LOW LEVELS, STG DOUBT ON EVENT’S FUTURE
• HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM
• FERATN OF GAY GAM ANNOUNC TOP THREE CI BIDDG FOR 2026 GAY GAM
• PRI MONTH SPOTLIGHT: GAY GAM
• FGG AND GAY GAMES AMBASSADORS
• GAY GAM FERATN MOV TO REOPEN DISCSNS ON BED QUADRENNIAL EVENT WH RIVAL ANISATN

DONATN GOAL FOR GAY GAM 11

Thanks to some robt fundraisg and a genero scholarship program, hundreds om highly unrserved untri and muni have been brought to the Gay Gam to wns “Participatn, Incln, and Personal Bt ™” first-hand and see the llective power of those valu. As the world’s largt sports and cultural event open to all, the Gay Gam have created and nurtured a movement that has bee among the greatt forc for muny empowerment and social change. The ternatnal Feratn of Gay Gam (FGG) is the global erng body for the quadrennial Gay Gam, the world’s largt sports and cultural event open to all.

Sce 1982, the quadrennial Gay Gam have taken or will take place seven untri, selected by the Assembly an extensive procs, cludg Hong Kong 2023. The thoands of participants the Gay Gam have e om more than 100 untri, and marketg materials are regularly produced multiple languag (eight and untg). Sce 1986, Gay Gam Scholarships have been award to nearly 1, 000 unrfund dividuals om 70 untri, providg a life-changg week of acceptance and enuragement that the recipients would never have experienced otherwise.

SPORTS AT THE GAY GAMES

The Gay Gam has also given back to non-prof anizatns host ci, leavg lastg legaci, most recently followg Gay Gam IX Cleveland + Akron 2014 and the Paris Gay Gam 2018.

The Gay Gam change the world by challengg sports bodi, media, and ernments to create more opportuni for athlet regardls of genr, age, abily, or physil challenge.

Notable exampl are areas such as: A breakthrough transgenred cln policy that the Olympics and others now follow; Great expansn women’s sports, where the Gay Gam offered multiple wrtlg weight class for women 10 years before the Olympics; Welg of participants wh HIV / AIDS, who regularly achieve their personal bt; Anti-dopg polici that enable athlet on meditn to participate the Gay Gam; To addrs the needs of younger and olr participants (some of whom have been g to the Gay Gam sce 1982), multiple age-based tegori have been created more than 14 sports. The LGBTQ+ sports movement that was large part created by the Gay Gam 1982 ntu between the quadrennial sports and culture ftival.

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

The Feratn of Gay Gam wel athlet om every sport to search the pag, where they will fd rmatn about their sport, offer their own ntributns to the velopment of petive opportuni for their sport, and work wh fellow athlet so that the range of LGBTQ+ sport n ntue to grow and reflect society as a whole.

September 2021: The Feratn of Gay Gam (FGG) and Gay Gam 11 Hong Kong (GGHK) jotly release their updated Genr Policy to make the Gam more clive. And so Wadll created the Gay Gam – then lled the Gay Olympics, until the Internatnal Olympic Commtee sued over the name. They draw over 10, 000 athlet and sometim seven or eight tim as many spectators, said Shiv Pl, vice print of external relatns for the Feratn of Gay Gam.

And unlike at the Olympics, activism is enuraged at the Gay Gam, as has been sce the begng when the HIV/AIDS crisis was ravagg LGBTQ muni. Above all, though, the Gay Gam are an event for queer and trans people to gather safely, play sports they love and be themselv whout fear of tolerance. The Gay Gam uld be an act of prott then, too, Wadll cid, an event durg which LGBTQ people uld play the same sports they watched durg the Olympics and achieve the same kd of glory he had at the 1968 Olympics.

GAY GAM NAME MEXI A SEND HOST FOR 2023 WHILE STICKG WH HONG KONG

HIV/AIDS awarens has been baked to the Gay Gam sce s ceptn: In addn to banng discrimatn based on genr, sexualy, race and other tras, the Gay Gam wouldn’t allow any participant to be turned away based on their HIV stat. The Gay Gam also succsfully lobbied the US ernment to briefly waive a prev ban on HIV-posive people enterg the untry so they uld pete the 1994 Gay Gam New York and the 1996 Olympics Atlanta, chang ma wh the help of the US Olympic Commtee. Though Wadll emphasized that sports weren’t the central foc of the Gay Gam, the event has hosted athlet wh real prows.

And unlike the “regular Olympics, ” at the Gay Gam, a same-sex figurg skatg pair n don matchg nim jumpsus a performance set to “Hopelsly Devoted to You. Wadll died of AIDS 1987, one year after the send Gay Gam, but the Gam and his dream for their impact have only grown sce. Participatn the Gay Gam steadily grew every year was held, and 1994, at the New York Gay Gam, the number of participants exceed the number of athlet at the 1994 Wter Olympics.

The openg ceremony of the Gay Gam is still emotnal all the years later, Pl said, pecially when participants om untri where homosexualy is not accepted march the Para of Natns.

20 SPORTS FOR GAY GAM 11 - GUADALAJARA 

The Feratn of Gay Gam has announced will spl s quadrennial event next year, hostg two different events two different ci: Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexi.

While the Gay Gam have had lofty goals of brgg the world to Cha to celebrate the LGBTQ muny, the realy is that this is not gog to happen. For much of the last few years, the Gay Gam has watched as the reali of selectg Hong Kong as a host cy have grown: the creasg encroachment of Che thorarian le Hong Kong, a lack of tert amongst athlet Hong Kong as a host cy, human-rights issu Cha, the COVID-19 panmic, and more. Var athlet — and even votg members of the Feratn of Gay Gam — have reached out to me over the last few years to anonymoly levy their ncerns.

This latt move — claimg they will host the Gam two different ci — is the latt step before the Hong Kong Gam are eher nceled all together or rced to an event that is unregnizable as the Gay Gam.

LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: GAY GAM 2023 - WHERE 'S THE TAKG PART THAT UNTS

Given what happened 2017 wh the Outgam — athlet arrivg om around the world to fd there is no event — the Gay Gam will have to make some very ser cisns the g weeks and months that uld alter the future of the event.

FERATN OF GAY GAM

Yet the wrg was on the wall for Hong Kong when anizers told the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Football Associatn they uldn’t host their world champnships njunctn wh the Gam — somethg they had done for s.

Even as LGBTQ sports leagu and events have explod around the world, the Gay Gam’ attendance numbers have cled sce the 1990s, a batn of multiple factors. The arrival of the Gay Gam our cy reprents a great opportuny for social change towards the LGBTTTIQA+ muny addn to generatg jobs and growth opportuni for GAMESThe Gay Gam are nsired to be the most important sports and cultural petn of diversy anized by the LGBT+ muny, like the Olympic Gam, is held every four years wh a participatn of approximately 10, 000 athlet.

"Wele to the Gay Gam, where anyone n bee an athlete and reprent their untry, no matter their age, genr, athletic skill - or ed quadrennial celebratn of LGBTQ+ sport and culture returns for s 11th edn om 3-11 November after a 16-month lay ed by the ronavis for the first time s 41-year history, the event will take place Asia and Lat Ameri as Hong Kong and the Mexin cy of Guadalajara will act as -hosts. "Really, is the LGBTQ+ Gam - alli n participate, anyone n take part, " Adrian Hyyrylaen-Trett, vice-print of external relatns for the Feratn of Gay Gam, tells BBC Sport.

GAY GAM SE SELECTN

"Instead the Gay Gam - ially termed the Gay Olympics before an junctn om the US Olympic Commtee over the e of the word 'Olympic' forced a change of name - aims to provi a place for people to play sport what is an creasgly hostile Gay Gam featur sports not seen the Olympics, such as ballroom dancg'We have to be realistic, there are a lot of world cris'From the 2022 World Cup, where issu om the illegaly of homosexualy Qatar and the scrappg of the OneLove armband created a mabre sishow to the football, to the scramble of sports erng bodi to brg new l or tegori for transgenr athlet, sport 2023 is a difficult place to be for many LGBTQ+ the Gay Gam there are no qualifyg tegori and the sports have rankgs which a person n select the level at which they want to squash, for example, there are four skill levels: advanced and ele, good, recreatnal or begner. And 's bee of this that the Gay Gam has grown to have more participants than even the Olympics, wh more than 10, 000 people takg part the event Paris 2018.

"Organisers hope for more petors om Ai, Asia and Lat Ameri at the 2023 event'It's a feelg of nervons and excement'But Hyyrylaen-Trett believ this uld be the most diverse Gay Gam yet, thanks to beg hosted two new ntents, along wh iativ such as a scholarship the Gam n Congo to enable more Ain athlet to pete. The Gay Gam was found by Olympic thlete Tom Wadll 1982 and held s first event om Augt 28 to September 5 San Francis, California that year.

As part of the fundraisg for this scholarship, FGG also spearhead the “My Gay Gam” project, which highlights participants’ backstori, wh an emphasis on stggl of the LGBT movement their home untri. Participants will still be required to e their legal name for registratn purpos, but this rmatn will be kept nfintial by Gay Gam if differs om the petor’s chosen name. Siarly, the group requir athlet to register g their legal sex for registratn purpos, but the policy stat that preferred pronoun choice will be rpected, and that “the FGG and Gay Gam host ci will never e this legal sex or genr inty a way that may encroach on any right to self- intifitn.

GAY GAM REGISTRATN AT HISTORIC-LOW LEVELS, STG DOUBT ON EVENT’S FUTURE

The Gay Gam are stgglg to register participants for the spl-cy events Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexi, this November, a suatn one source felt was a “potential tastrophe.

Outsports has learned that only about 1, 200 paid registrants — as of last week 780 Guadalajara and 433 Hong Kong — have so far signed up to participate the two ci’ Gay Gam this November. Fzgerald poted to creased registratn the months ahead of the 2018 Paris Gay Gam, even up to 1, 000 people a month he said. Yet over the urse of a month om late March to late April — acrdg to rmatn provid to Outsports by the Feratn of Gay Gam — a ltle over 200 new participants registered between the two events.

HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM

In 2017, the Outgam — dubbed a rival to the quadrennial Gay Gam — drew only about 2, 000 registrants for their Miami-based event before ncelg the entire week jt hours before started. While the Gay Gam have a much more robt history and track rerd than the Outgam, some people are htg the “panic button” for the 2023 Gay Gam. The selectn of Hong Kong as the host of this year’s Gay Gam was, even at the time of selectn 2017, a risk for the future of the event.

At the 2018 Gam, chatter amongst var people and around the Feratn of Gay Gam and other lears qutned rensirg the selectn.

FERATN OF GAY GAM ANNOUNC TOP THREE CI BIDDG FOR 2026 GAY GAM

The Gay Gam had over the prev years benefted om beg hosted ci where Amerins and Europeans — who historilly make up the vast majory of participants — wanted to travel: Sydney, San Francis, Paris, Amsterdam.

PRI MONTH SPOTLIGHT: GAY GAM

Even the betiful cy of Cologne — not well-known to Amerins — saw a 20% drop participatn om the prev Gam spe hostg a fantastic Gay Gam. The Gay Gam claims to be a force for change, and some believe they n help her a new perd of LGBTQ acceptance the world’s most-populo natn. If eher of those ci had been origally selected, the Gay Gam would not be the potentially existential crisis which they now fd themselv, plited by a worldwi panmic that origated Cha and (predictably) human-rights vlatns.

FGG AND GAY GAMES AMBASSADORS

Over the years, the Gay Gam have held an important place history, brgg the ia of LGBT men and women petg wh one another to ci like New York, Sydney, Cologne and Paris. As sports leagu and tournaments for LGBT people have popped up around the globe, the Gay Gam have clung to their Olympic-spired mol. While the S Cy Classic is able to mount a long-weekend event for over a dozen sports, the Gay Gam is at least double the length, over the urse of more than a week.

The S Cy Classic is also relatively expensive Las Vegas, whereas the Gay Gam gravate toward some of the most expensive ci the world like New York, Paris and Hong Kong. In part bee the Gay Gam offer grand openg and closg ceremoni stadiums or other public plac, the st of dog bs is much higher. An dividual Amerin petg soccer at the Gay Gam this year, for example, would pay eher a $320 registratn fee Guadalajara, or a $270 fee Hong Kong.

Whether or not the Gay Gam will actually happen Hong Kong or Mexi is a qutn on the mds of past participants Outsports talked wh for this story. Outsports spoke wh four other cy or sports lears who have all participated prev Gay Gam, most of whom requted to rema anonymo.

GAY GAM FERATN MOV TO REOPEN DISCSNS ON BED QUADRENNIAL EVENT WH RIVAL ANISATN

“Frankly, the whole thg is heartbreakg to those of who tly appreciate what the Gay Gam have meant to ourselv as well as our iends and teammat, ” said Team DC Executive Director Brent Mor, whose cy had attempted to host the Gam.

You’ve probably heard about the Gay Gam, but you might not be too sure what actually is, or if has anythg to do wh the Olympics. Well jt before the 10th Gay Gam e to Paris this Augt, we cid to go back time and brg you up to speed on s long and proud sportg history.

We also touch on the negotiatn breakdown between the Gay Gam Feratn and the cy of Montreal s bid to host the 2006 Gam.