I'm going to be at the Conference the weekend of March 26-28 in Boston. What other Outsporters will be there?

I hope you all come to the game show we'll be hosting - OUTSPORTS FEUD. It will be based on the popular television show, pulling people from the audience to participate. I'll be the Ray Combs of the hour - it should be a lot of fun.

It'll be that Saturday, March 27, 5pm to 6pm.

I hope you can make it!

I'll be there, but you know that already!

Just bumping this up - anyone else going?

Sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. But instead of Ray Combs, you need to be Richard Dawson and give each "family" member a big old kiss on the lips!

[quote]Mariner Duck Boy:
[QUOTE]Sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. But instead of Ray Combs, you need to be Richard Dawson and give each \"family\" member a big old kiss on the lips! [/quote]Maybe we'll have to convince Cyd to re-create this in Philly! wink

I couldn't find a better place to post this -
I was wondering just how the conference site was chosen every year. I understand the logistics and geography of hosting a gathering on the East Coast, particularly the Northeast for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the location of the majority of the Outsports personalities of prominence.

But - and take this as constructive criticism -

Seems like we are preaching to the choir by hosting these events in Boston and Philly. And I'd never heard of outsports or the conferences until a casual acquaintance pointed me to this site this summer.

How can we best effect change in the world of sports?

Why not host the event in Indianapolis and invite participation from the NCAA?

Why not host the event in Kansas City and invite participation from the NAIA?

Can there not be multiple sites and conferences? I'm sure the Californians would love to host an event as well since 1 in 9 Americans lives in California.

I just think we need to reach the "red states" and be heard in the corners of the country where such things must be heard.

There continues to be - even in our most liberal environments such as academia (read college sports) - widespread homophobia and lack of education. There are thousands of closeted athletes and coaches in parts of the world where Homosexual is still a dirty word.

I'm just not sure that keeping such a conference (where subjects of imporance to the world of athletics) in the already relatively liberal and open minded Northeast is going to help effect much change.

I'd personally LOVE to see the event held in Indianapolis and integrate involvement with the NCAA.

Ok, not sure where all that came from, but I guess I needed to say it since I spent a good chunk of today thinking about it and typing it out -

There are 2 different conferences:

1) Outsports.com - the first conference was held in LA two years ago, last year's conference was held in Philly. The location of the conference is largely dependent upon finding a person willing to coordinate all the logistics of the conference on a volunteer basis. LA was chosen because at the time both Jim and Cyd (Mr. and Mr. Outsports.com) lived in LA. Philly was chosen because of the # of Outsporters in the area, proximity to NY and DC, and lastly, a local volunteer willing to do most of the behind the scenes local work in organizing the conference.

2)GLAF - The first 2 GLAF conferences were held in Boston, presumably because the organizers were based in Boston and I assume they got local university space (MIT) donated or very inexpensively to hold the conference at. This year's conference was to be held in DC but was cancelled.

What is the GLAF and why was their conference cancelled?

In the absence of such a conference, why dosn't Outsports organize one?

Forgive me if I sound like I'm prying, but I'd really like to see some changes in athletics.

GLAF is Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation - check out their website at www.glaf.org. I'm not sure why they cancelled this year's conference, I don't think website states a reason (although I could be wrong about that).

Outsports is entirely dependent upon locating a volunteer(s) to organize a conference. Any volunteers this year?

Am I to read into this that no one in the GLAF or Outsports has the time to devote to such an endeavor?

Or do they feel like such a conference effects little or no change?

Most people who do not want to volunteer time into such an event either do not see value in the event itself, or do not see value in the results of the event (effect change).

I dont mean to step on feet, but it feels like that's why you are saying, since I don't see Athletic people as apathetic. Am I way off base?

I have no idea about GLAF - you'll have to contact them directly.

Re: Outsports (Jim and Cyd, if anything I am saying is incorrect, please post a correction or clarification).

Jim and Cyd both have full time jobs in addition to running this fantastic website. That leave very little time to organize a conference, which can be very time consuming. Chip volunteered the first year to handle most of the logisitics and I volunteered the second year to do the same.
There was no volunteer this year in time to hold a conference, as you need to give attendees at least a few months notice of the date of the conference, and summer is a bad time to hold the conference, as many people vacation on weekends in the summer.

There is also a school of thought that you are better off holding conferences every other year. There is another organization that I am involved in that went from every other year conferences to every year. I can't afford to attend every year, and there isn't that much new information every year to share (at least for an educational conference, Outsports conference tends to be educational AND fun). So I don't attend every year, but somehow wonder if I'm missing something by not attending.

There have been some very preliminary discussions regarding an Outsports conference next year, and I have volunteered to help whichever Outsporter is organizing the conference. Maybe they'll fly me out for free to check out the proposed hotel?! wink

Well I didn't mean it to be critical, more as a point of information.

I'd suggest Indianapolis then, if no one has tendered a venue. With that much lead time, the NCAA would be hard pressed to find a way to avoide something in their own backyard.

My two cents :-)

FC - Your posts weren't taken as critical. As a relatively new poster, you also weren't on the board during the first 2 Outsports conferences, so I wouldn't expect you to know the history of the conferences before you got involved in Outsports.com.

Am I to read into this that no one in the GLAF or Outsports has the time to devote to such an endeavor?

Or do they feel like such a conference effects little or no change?

Most people who do not want to volunteer time into such an event either do not see value in the event itself, or do not see value in the results of the event (effect change).

I dont mean to step on feet, but it feels like that's why you are saying, since I don't see Athletic people as apathetic. Am I way off base?

hmm... Apparantly hitting the back button will repost a message you had sent earlier.

My bad.

I learn new things about computers and technology every day.

Giving you something else to be frustrated about??
wink wink

To join the dialogue, last year's Outsports convention in Phila was simply for fun. We were not with an agenda, trying to effect change, set goals or anything of the sort. It was just an early summer gathering for fun. And fun it was, thank you scottie and others. I thought CANMARK was organizing a Canadian conference, and I thought he had no choice about it, we told him so last year. Or am I wrong about this?

I don't think we were forceful enough when we told him he had no choice.

I wouldn't characterize the Outsports conferences as entirely for fun, either in L.A. or Philly. There were speakers at both of them on gay/sports-related topics. Of course, the speakers were very entertaining as well as being informative.

A few points.

Re: GLAF Conference.
It was my understanding that while the first conference was very successful, the second one was a bit less so because it was basically the same thing: same issues, same people. There was less excitement, and the attendance didn't increase. People felt: Why should I go to this conference when it's basically the same as the last. But, by making it a biannual event, the added time makes it more of an 'event,' there are more issues arising, more demand, more 'newbies,' and hopefully, bigger turnout. (It's like if you had the Gay Games every year it wouldn't be as big a draw as having it every 4 years.)

FC, you might consider joining the GLAF's yahoo group and then you'll received updated postings from them. They also have regional 'committees" (Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C) which you could join--or, you could start your own (I know I was asked if I wanted to develop a Toronto chapter; I declined due to lack of time). With your 'inside' perspective on college sports, obviously you could provide some insights that they would appreciate, and they may even want you as a panel speaker at their next year's conference.

scottie taught me a lesson: you can't just wait for somebody else to organize an event. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself.

So, FC, you already have a leadership role as a coach. You might consider making your suggestions known to the GLAF--or the NCAA. Another boardmember I know goes to the NCAA meetings (he's a prof at a college), and I believe he told me there was at least one 'session' on issues related to gays in sports.

There's another organization called the GLAA (Gay & Lesbian Athletes Assn.) which you could join, too. They have a mentoring program where they try to match up gay athletes/coaches with mentors. And they can also provide resources and educational materials regarding gays & sports.

And, I believe the GayGames and OutGames will have some conferences and panel discussions in association with their events.

So, there's lots on the horizon.

Yes, I have said that I would be interested in organizing a future Outsports convention. Just not this year. Perhaps next year. (Yes, I know that sounds Waiting for Godot-like, but surely there are others who would like to host the fine men (and women) of Outsports, and plan a fun and informative convention.)

We are starting to consider options for 2006. We thought that taking 2005 off would be a good idea (we are both swamped with so much).

As Scottie said, we are dependent on people wanting to do legwork on the ground in their hometown. We have been considering somewhere in Canada (Toronto or Montreal), Chicago and potentially Florida (spring training?).

We need to find a place people will WANT to go to. I don't know how many people will get excited to travel to Indianapolis on their vacation. Also, we have always done an outing to a sports event (LA Clippers, Philadelphia Phillies). So, we'd like there to be something going on in the city the weekend we're there.

If you or anyone else is interested in helping to bring the 2006 Outsports convention to your town, please drop a line to Jim or me.

scottie and canmark have been on the mark regarding the GLAF conference that was held at MIT the past two years. I had the fortune of attending the first while a graduate student at MIT. And even though I live in Cambridge, I didn't bother with the second year.

While I don't know the GLAF organizers that well (I do know one of them casually), none of them are 'in athletics' in a career sense. One got his MBA at MIT and the other I think is/was in the Computer Science Department. They 'are athletes' in the sense that they participate in sports.

How they managed to pull of such an event while a graduate student at MIT is totally beyond me (One had graduated already at the time, but presumably had, you know, a job).

Hopefully GLAF will be revitalized and ready to tackle the issue again in 2006; but these guys are anything but apathetic.