Why the First Gay Olympics Was a Watershed Moment Sports | HISTORY

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

Tom Wadll, an athlete the 1968 Olympics, created the Gay Gam first held 1982 to celebrate LGBTQ cln. The Gay Gam are still held to this day wh the next round schled for 2022 Hong Kong. * gay sport games *

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. 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.

SPORTS AT THE GAY GAMES

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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. 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.

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.

WHY THE FIRST GAY OLYMPICS WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT SPORTS

Eric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. He has major league aspiratns, but his path has been much lonelier than he would prefer. * gay sport games *

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.

The missn of the Feratn of Gay Gam is to promote equaly through the anizatn of the premiere ternatnal LGBT and gay-iendly sports and cultural event known as the Gay Gam. Based on the valu, sce 1982, the Gay Gam have brought together people om all over the world, wh diversy, rpect, equaly, solidary, and sharg. Created 2002, the Natnal Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) is a 501(c)(3) sports anizatn that seeks to promote the posive social and athletic enjoyment of Amerin Flag Football.

Through our league, our events and most importantly our members, we also seek to foster and gment the self-rpect of all lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr persons and to promote rpect and unrstandg om the larger muny.

GAY GAM

Currently, more than 17, 000 players om 46 ci across Canada and the Uned Stat participate member leagu, and the bt of the teams nverge once a year for head-to-head petn at the annual Gay Softball World Seri. The Natnal Gay Basketball Associatn is a 501(c)(3) nonprof anizatn that is an tegrated and all-clive anizatn dited to providg the LGBTQ muny and s alli wh a well-anized, supportive and welg sportg environment. 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.

DONATN GOAL FOR GAY GAM 11

You uld have an Olympics for anythg, ” says Shamey Cramer, a swimmer who -led Team Los Angel the first Gam, “but heaven forbid you should be gay or lbian. 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.

HISTORY OF THE GAY GAM

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.

Still, many outlets for gay athlet, namely bowlg and billiards leagu, were still tied to the bars that had served as safe harbors for s. “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. READ MORE: Harvey Milk, in the gay munyLike the mpaigns of gay polician Harvey Milk, a well-known muny anizer, the first Gay Gam were a grassroots project.

GAY GAM

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. Charlie Carson, a swimmer who traveled to om New York for Gay Gam I 1982, rells meetg a young swimmer om Atralia who had never peted agast others. 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.

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