For Immediate Release

December 18, 2003



The International Gay & Lesbian Ice Hockey Association (IGLIHA) stands in unity with our brothers and sisters in GLBT sport to express our concern and disappointment with the failure of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and the Montréal 2006 organizing committee (M2006) to reach a compromise. This inability to reach an agreement has threatened the unity of the GLBT sports world.



IGLIHA believes it is in the best interest of our membership to withhold support or endorsement of Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 or Gay Games VII at this time.



In the spirit of the Gay Games, IGLIHA stands with Team Toronto and others calling for discussions between the FGG and M2006 to be re-opened and unresolved issues brought to binding arbitration.



We call upon both the Federation of Gay Games and Montréal 2006 to walk away from their past disputes and come to the table with new representation and a new desire to resolve all issues. We also call upon the GLBT sports community to help broker a deal and bring unity back to the GLBT sports community.



IGLIHA recognizes the important role the Federation of Gay Games plays in our community and we continue to support the ideals of participation, inclusion, and personal best, on which the games were founded. In the true spirit of the games we encourage the Federation of Gay Games and Equipe Montréal to resolve their differences and bring representation from one of Canada's largest gay communities back into the Federation of Gay Games.



The International Gay & Lesbian Ice Hockey Association (IGLIHA) is an umbrella organization representing over 2000 GLBT hockey players and 59 teams and organizations around the world. For more information visit our website at www.igliha.org or email us at info@igliha.org.