Wele to the 'Gay Gam,' an Olympics alternative, where activism is enuraged and everyone's an athlete | CNN

Contents:

• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: THE HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM - THE EVENT THAT GREW BUT STUCK TO S PRCIPL
• HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM
• ORGANISERS OF THE GAY GAM CAN BE CONSIRED _________________ THAT
• GAY GAM
• HOW COVID-19 DERAILED THE 2022 GAY GAM BEFORE THEY EVEN BEGAN
• WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS
• GAY GAM NAME MEXI A SEND HOST FOR 2023 WHILE STICKG WH HONG KONG
• HONG KONG GAY GAM BE CY’S LATT COVID-ZERO CASUALTY
• HONG KONG PROTTS ULD FORCE THE GAY GAM TO MOVE S 2022 EVENT
• THE MARKETG TEAM BEHD THE 2023 GAY GAM SHAR WHAT’S STORE
• THE GAY GAM ARE BEG SEMI-RELOTED FOLLOWG ORGANIZER’S RIGNATN

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

In practice, most sports events are already “straight gam”, where the assumptn is ma that all participants are straight, and where homosexuals mt hi their sexual inty.

It is timated that about 10% of participants each edn of the Gay Gam are straight, often iends and fay members of LGBT+ participants who participate to show their support and solidary.

The Gay Gam are an ternatnal event, which wele and enurage participatn of athlet om untri where discrimatn agast homosexuals is part of the law, some plac even punishable by ath.

LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: THE HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM - THE EVENT THAT GREW BUT STUCK TO S PRCIPL

It is difficult for a straight athlete, whether male or female, to fully unrstand the atmosphere and prsure that a closeted gay or lbian athlete feels when tryg to pete or participate a “straight petn. The pervasive discrimatn and putdowns of gays and lbians the locker room and on the field of play, along wh "faggot" jok and "sissy boy" remarks, to say nothg of the discrimatn accs to sports bee of beg openly gay or lbian, has had a negative ridual impact on untls men and women for s. 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.

HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM

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.

ORGANISERS OF THE GAY GAM CAN BE CONSIRED _________________ THAT

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.

Synchronised swimmg is among 36 sports nfirmed for the 2022 Gay Gam Hong KongThe Gay Gam is the world's largt all-clive sportg event but many athlet face an uncerta journey towards Fzgerald has been swimmg sce he was five years old and says he knows he's "probably been gay sce about the same time" he didn't know how to tell his lol pool what he was trag for. "When I told the manager I was preparg for my first Gay Gam, I was fearful they'd say: 'OK, we really don't want you practisg here, you n leave, '" says Fzgerald om his home Vanuver.

GAY GAM

The LGBT Sport podst - The one on the history of the Gay GamFor nearly 40 years, the FGG has brought people om around the world together for a quadrennial celebratn of LGBT+ sport and culture. But to unrstand the origs of the Gam, you have to go back to 1982 - and the dream of one Amerin bids to host 2018 Gay Gam'You have people om untri where 's crimal to be LGBT+'Tom Wadll was the founr of the Gay Gam, and had peted the Olympic thlon for the USATom Wadll loved New Jersey, he went to llege on a track scholarship - and reprented the Uned Stat the thlon at the 1968 Olympics Mexi Cy, where he fished sixth. Inially, he had hoped to stage a 'Gay Olympics' - but an junctn om the US Olympic Commtee over the e of the word 'Olympic' meant he had to e 'Gay Gam' while the name changed, Wadll's ia remaed the same - to provi an clive, multi-sport event that was open to all petors, regardls of sexualy.

Wadll did not want the Gay Gam to be a petor or alternative to the Olympics, but wanted to apply the ethos of the Olympics to an event where people of all sexuali and abili uld pete, a style that mirrored the stcture of the Olympics. But by this pot, the event he'd created was well tablished - and gettg bigger wh each passg 2013, then-Deputy Prime Mister Nick Clegg lent his support to London's unsuccsful bid to host the 2018 Gay Gam - and 2014, then-US Print Barack Obama rerd a vio msageexternal-lk to wele petors to the Gam Oh.

"'It felt fiant to say: No, I'm not gog to be ightened' New York hosted the 1994 Gay GamNo two Gay Gam feel the the Olympics, each host cy brgs s own style and flavour to the event. "It was amazg, bee there was this terrible thg gog on wh HIV and Aids, and people talkg about how sick was to be gay, what a dreadful thg was, and how we're all gog to die. Wh a gay sports history datg to 1979, Cologne’s tradn of openns, bed wh two great villag and a ncentratn of sports at the German Sports Universy translated to a highly memorable week for 9, 500 participants om 70 untri.

HOW COVID-19 DERAILED THE 2022 GAY GAM BEFORE THEY EVEN BEGAN

Qutn 73 Multiple Choice Qutn 73 Multiple Choice Organisers of the gay gam n be nsired _________________ that they have created a new orr which anyone, regardls of abily or sexual orientatn, n pete. The Gay Gam is a worldwi sport and cultural event that promot acceptance of sexual diversy, featurg lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) athlet, artists and other dividuals.

Found as the Gay Olympics, was started the Uned Stat San Francis, California, 1982, as the brachild of Olympic thlete (Mexi Cy 1968) and medil doctor Tom Wadll, Brenda Young, and others, whose goals were to promote the spir of cln and participatn, as well as to promote the pursu of personal growth a sportg event.

WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS

Ia of non-natnal, but rather the flexible cy team reprentatn was one of the key novatns the first stance of the event, as petors e om many untri, cludg those where homosexualy remas illegal and hidn.

The 1994 Gay Gam, held June New York Cy to ci wh the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, the morn start of the LGBT movement the Uned Stat, "overtook the Olympics size" wh 10, 864 athlet pared to 9, 356 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 10, 318 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

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

They work wh ternatnal and natnal sports feratns, as well as LGBT+ sports anizatns to set the l for the petns GayGam, and wh their member anizatns to select which cy will host the next Gam. The IGLA Champnships is an annual IGLA (Internatnal Gay and Lbian Aquatics) licenced event for athlet wh foc on aquatic sports, sometim tegrated wh Gay Gam or (former) World OutGam, sometim wh EuroGam, but also often pennt.

But the Gay Gam were meant to be the on-brand, money-spng showpiece, posng Hong Kong as a lorful, tolerant statn, unaaid to wele ee-spendg LGBT visors at a time when thori maland Cha are crackg down on var forms of sexual and genr exprsn—and when the lol hospaly sector badly need a shot the arm.

HONG KONG GAY GAM BE CY’S LATT COVID-ZERO CASUALTY

LGBT Rights Asia When the Feratn of Gay Gam award the host cy duti for the 11th Gam to Hong Kong, a spokperson for the cy’s bid said was a “major step for the LGBT muny the regn. The cy’s equal opportuny watchdog and tourism board have backed the Gay Gam, however, and a spokperson for John Lee, Hong Kong’s top official, tells TIME the ernment “fully rpects and is mted to protectg all rights and eedoms safeguard by the law.

Sger Ta Turner was the ma draw at the openg ceremony San Francis for the first Gay Gam 1982, but cy supervisor Doris Ward may have received the biggt reactn om the crowd. Olympian Helps Organize Gay GamAthlet wave to the crowd at the 1994 Gay Gam New openg ceremony at the 1994 Gay Gam New skatg petors at the 1994 Gay Gam New closg ceremony for the 1994 Gay Gam New York was held at Yankee men's softball fal at the 1994 Gay Gam was held Central Gay Gam clu a body-buildg the 2002 Gay Gam Sydney, Atralia, nners ngratulate each other at the 5, 000-meter fal.

Like many other LGBT athlet, Wadll wanted to make a siar, powerful statement wh an event for gay MORE: 8 Memorable Protts by Amerin Athlet “You were eher a drag queen or the leather muny—those were the stereotyp that were prented to the public at that time, ” says Rick Thoman, a track and field athlete who peted the first Gay Gam. “The Gam offer another place to ‘e out’ bis a dark bar, ” Jill Ramsay, the chair of swimmg and divg at the first Gam, told the Bay Area Reporter, one of the natn's first gay newspapers,  1982. How the First Gam Play OutAnnie Wells/Los Angel Tim via Getty ImagShamey Cramer was stmental anizg Gay Gam followg the gural event Gay Gam I, teams were anized by cy, each signg their own uniforms.

HONG KONG PROTTS ULD FORCE THE GAY GAM TO MOVE S 2022 EVENT

READ MORE: Explore history of the LGBTQ movement AmeriIn addn to boxg, basketball, swimmg and a number of other tradnal Olympic sports, the Gay Gam featured billiards, bowlg and a physique petn held at the historic Castro Theater. Pneerg a New TradnPasl Ron/ALLSPORTGreg Louganis, one of the bt divers Olympic history, publicly revealed he was gay at the Gay Gam to the efforts of Cramer, Hahn, Carson, Thoman and many others, the Gay Gam have taken place every four years sce 1982, wh recent edns drawg parable numbers of athlet to the Olympics and Paralympics.

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. 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.

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. 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.

THE MARKETG TEAM BEHD THE 2023 GAY GAM SHAR WHAT’S STORE

Wh homophobia still rife mastream sports and so few “out” gay athlet men’s profsnal sports leagu, the Gay Gam provi a venue where LGBT+ athlet n pete a safe, supportive and queer-affirmg environment. Although spired by the morn Olympics, Wadll was also disillned by the mega-sportg event due to the more negative aspects he believed had bee a part of , namely racism, sexism, natnalism, homophobia and elism. Sce their foundg, the Gay Gam have been held predomantly smopolan, Wtern, gay-iendly ci, like New York Cy (1994), Amsterdam (1998), Sydney (2002), Cologne (2010) and now Paris (2018).

Hong Kong has been selected to host the next Gay Gam 2022, markg the first time the event will be hosted Asia and a untry where gay rights are still their fancy. And other ontiers rema: Ai and the Middle East are still vastly unr-reprented at the Gay Gam, though there are small numbers of athlet petg Paris for untri like Uganda, Sdi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and Angola. In Temecula, not far om San Diego, the nservative majory of the school board twice rejected elementary school materials that discs Harvey Milk, the sla gay rights lear, and L.

THE GAY GAM ARE BEG SEMI-RELOTED FOLLOWG ORGANIZER’S RIGNATN

Muny; 2020, voters elected Todd Gloria as San Diego’s first openly gay mayor, and have sent Toni Atks to the State Legislature, where she has bee the first lbian to serve as the lear of each hoe. Hong Kong Gay Gam Be Cy’s Latt Covid-Zero CasualtyGuadalajara, Mexi to be ‘prumptive -host’ of LGTBQ eventOrganizers had postponed gam by a year bee of panmicDennis PhilipseSource: South Cha Morng Post/Getty ImagLock This article is for subscribers anizers of the 2023 Gay Gam Hong Kong will likely move events away om the cy, where the ernment’s adherence to strict quarant and travel bans has strangled the tourism dtry.

“Faced wh ntued challeng brought on by the Covid panmic, wh the sire to ensure more participants n jo the Gam regardls of their lotns, GGHK recently proposed the ncept of a -hosted event to the FGG, ” Lisa Lam, -chair of Gay Gam 11 Hong Kong 2023, said the NextHong Kong Gay Gam Be Cy’s Latt Covid-Zero Casualty.

In June 2018, the Feratn of Gay Gam ma history when chose Hong Kong as the host for the 2022 Gay Gam, makg the first Asian cy ever to host the quadrennial ternatnal LGBTQ sportg event. Sean Fzgerald, -print of the FGG, told the Washgton Bla, that he nsirs the suatn Hong Kong “unsettlg” but adds that the lol team that assembled Hong Kong’s bid to host the 2022 Gay Gam has been “mdful of the importance of safety and secury... The Hong Kong Gay Gam anizg mtee will brief the FGG Board of Directors about the regn’s secury at the FGG’s annual General Assembly meetg Guadalajara, Mexi durg Oct.