The announcements have been made and Köln, Germany, will host the 2010 Gay Games.

http://www.gaygames.com
http://www.games-cologne.com << English
http://www.games-cologne.de << deutsche fassung
http://www.gaygameschicago.org

The videotape of the announcement in Chicago of Köln's selection as the 2010 Gay Games host is now available online at the FGG's website - visit http://www.gaygames.com - as is the English, French and German versions of the announcement release.

i'm really psyched about cologne. i've never been but i hear it is one of the gayest cities in europe.

Looks like an interesting place to visit with or without the games, which is probably a good criterium for selection. What are the dates?

Wonder what sort of 'community' organization was there before if the Romans are considered to have built this as the "first city" in Germany.

Would be a good place to start my Euro beer tour.

A really fun bar is the Ex Corner in Cologne - they have a really cool website at excorner.de. When we there a year ago, Dieter the owner was behind the bar most nights serving up Kölsch, beer only made in the Cologne area that's served in smallish glasses that make it go down very quickly. Be careful of the shots that he lights on fire - as one of our Chicago folks figured out, if you spill liquid that is on fire on to your hands, it stays on fire long enough to wake you up out of your Kölsch-stupor!

Ex Corner is right in the midst of the gay neighborhood and the Colonian

Well, I lived in Hamburg for 6 years and always loved going to Koeln! Koeln has the best-looking men in Germany, so there won't be a shortage of eye candy!

Plus, it's close to the Dutch border, so they are more relaxed in Koeln (I guess the Dutch rubbed off on them) and not as uptight as most other Germans!

Good luck men!

Guys - I hope we can live up to your expectations but we will certainly give our best. By the way the opening ceremony is going to be July 31st 2010 in Rheinenergie Stadium - which is the stadium in which the Colgne matches of next years soccer world cup will be held. When looking at the schedule we decided on that period as the beginning of August offers the best weather - secondly schools are still off which makes using a lot of those facilities easier and also allows teachers to participate in the games.

Talking about the soccer world cup - next year's gay pride will be rescheduled just like most of Germany's pride celebrations into a time after the world cup. Cologne will be on Juy 14-16th http://www.colognepride.com/portal/loader....=12988&root=914 But I suppose most of us will be doing something else wink Really looking forward to coming to the Chicago games!!!

By the way Kevin I will never forget those shots at Ex-Corner...Dieter was also really great when we had our Contdown Party with the live announcement of the winner - yet luckily no shots on fire.

Cheers,
Chris

[ November 26, 2005, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Colonius ]

Colonius...

Dieter is a GREAT bar owner!! He is SO friendly and takes great care of the out-of-towners. He made sure KevinB (my bf) and I were well taken care of. ;-)

Anybody who is in Cologne definitely needs to stop by Ex-Corner bar!!

I guess the finger pointing and navel-gazing in some of the other threads is inevitable and even understandable. But nobody who matters is going to declare "game, set, match" to one event organizer or the other at this point, and even if they did, athletes aren't going to care very much. What's going to matter in the end is the delivery of inspiring and memorable experiences which improve our lives.

While myriad discussions have raged about who did what to whom, this board has been quiet since November 2005. I'm going to suggest we we put some of our attention back on preparations for the premiere LGBT sport and cultural event for our global community in the next quadrennial cycle, preparations which I am sure are being undertaken in earnest.

How are things going with the development of Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010? What do we have to look forward to there? How do we get on the mailing list for information? When will we be able to register?

The organization of the Gay Games VIII in Cologne 2010 is running well. From time to time we send newsletter about what's going on in Cologne. And if you are interested receiving this newsletter go to our website www.games-cologne.com and register for the newsletter.
We will start with the pre-registration for the Gay Games VIII in Cologne in a few weeks. The official registration will start at the July, 1 2008. Than you will be able to register for a sports and/or cultural event too.

I signed up for the newsletter

Sailing and Field Hockey Added to Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010

Cologne’s Gay Games organizers have announced that Sailing and Field Hockey have been added to the Sports Program for Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010. By placing the sailing regatta in The Netherlands, the 2010 Gay Games will be the first where competition will take place in more than one country.

July 31 to August 7, 2010 some 12,000 participants from more than 70 countries will travel to Germany’s Rhine Valley when Cologne hosts the Gay Games VIII Sports & Cultural Festival. Sporting events ranging from soccer and beach volleyball to billiards, dancing, softball and figure skating will take place. Pre-registration for all sports is now open with full registration scheduled to launch July 1, 2008.

Both sailing and field hockey have a historic presence in previous Gay Games having been contested in Chicago in 2006 and Sydney in 2002. “There were so many requests for sailing and field hockey that we decided to include them as well,” said Annette Wachter, managing director of Games Cologne.

The sailing regatta will be held in the Netherlands, about an hour’s drive from Cologne. “Sailing will be offered on the Maas Lakes near Roermond, the Netherlands – a world-renowned sailing area where the region’s best crews train and compete,” Wachter said. “There will be a shuttle service bringing the sailors to the Maas Lakes and back to Cologne.” The regatta will conform to international standards, and all results will be official and accredited internationally. Demand for sailing is expected to be high; Chicago’s 2006 sailing regatta was the first sport to fill up.

The second new sports event, a field hockey tournament, will take place at Muengersdorf Sportpark in Cologne, directly adjacent to RheinEnergie Stadium. Sixteen teams will face off against one another. Teams from Australia (men) and The Netherlands (women) are defending Gold Medallists from the Sydney 2002 Gay Games.

About Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010
Between July 31 and August 7, 2010 the Gay Games VIII Sports & Cultural Festival will take place in Cologne, Germany. As many as 12,000 participants from more than 70 countries will take part in this quadrennial sport and cultural event. More than 46,000 guests are expected for the Opening Ceremony at the RheinEnergie Stadium in Cologne, home of the famous Cologne Soccer Club. Forty-percent (40%) of the 34 sports disciplines will take place at Cologne’s 135-acre renowned Müngersdorfer Sportpark with all other sports (except sailing) occurring within 20 minutes of the centre of Cologne. A 2,000-year old city with its roots in the Roman era, Cologne is now one of Europe’s most dynamic cities and is recognized for its sports and culture as well as its tolerance. Pre-registration for Gay Games VIII is now open at www.games-cologne.com (English) and www.games-cologne.de (German). Full registration will launch July 1, 2008.

The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986; 3,500 participants), Vancouver (1990; 7,300 participants), New York (1994; 12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998; 13,000 participants), Sydney (2002; 11,000 participants) and Chicago (2006, 11,500 participants). The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™. For more information, visit www.GayGames.org.

Gay Games Go Bi-National for 2010

http://www.newnownext.com/2008/04/gay-games-go-bi.html

A great article about the planning for the 2010 Gay Games in Chicago's Windy City Times.

Oh and check out Kelly Stevens' ongoing Gay Games Blog

Here is the WCT interview with Jochen Farber of Gay Games 2010:


Windy City Times: What's been the biggest surprise so far?

Jochen Farber: [ It's been ] the huge support from the gay community worldwide. We're getting a huge number of e-mails from people all over the world, all offering their help to do promotions for the Games. That is/was a very big surprise for us. We're getting people from Australia, the U.S. and Europe offering their help to us.

WCT: What new sports and/or activities are planned for Cologne?

JF: In the agreement with the FGG, the core sports are not changing; they are the same as in Chicago. The additional sports for Cologne will be chess, billiards, dance sports, team handball, beach volleyball, inline skating, table tennis, climbing, sailing and field hockey.

WCT: Why was chess added as a sport?

JF: Well, in Europe it really is a big sport; people really like it. And for us it's easy to organize.

WCT: What do you anticipate being the top sport—the most popular sport?

JF: I think badminton will have the most participants. I think dancing and figure skating will be the most popular.

WCT: What are your predictions ... the number of overall participants, the number of males, females, Americans?

JF: The same number as attended in Chicago: 12,000 athletes. Our hope is to be 50-50 male-female but, in the end, I don't think that will be realistic; I think there will be more males than females. We believe about 40 percent of the participants will come from North America, 40 percent from Europe and the remaining 20 percent from the rest of the world.

WCT: What did the Cologne organizers learn from the Chicago Games that you definitely plan to implement in 2010?

JF: One of the positives was the exhibitions, and we're going to try to do something similar here. We also very much like the Local Ambassadors program of Chicago; we're trying to incorporate that into the FGG Ambassadors Program. The other thing is, the marketing tools ... we are still in very [ close ] contact with Chicago team people, such as Tracy Baim and Kevin Boyer. In Chicago, they went to the people to get them signed up; they didn't just mail a bunch of flyers to an event and hope they got distributed. That worked. We think we will do the same, and we're discussing with Chicago [ organizing ] people about helping on that level in the U.S.

WCT: For those who have never been to Cologne, tell us about the city and its gay community.

JF: There are about 1 million people living in Cologne, of which about 10 percent are openly gay and lesbian. Cologne has the biggest gay community in Germany. To [ be gay or lesbian ] and walk publicly holding hands is normal; that's been the case for 15 or 20 years already. Cologne is in the heart of Europe, so you can reach every bigger European city in a few hours.

WCT: How emotional was the Closing Ceremony in Chicago, knowing that Cologne was next?

JF: At that point, I wasn't really highly involved with the [ Cologne ] operations, yet it still was very emotional just observing it. I know that the mayor of Cologne, along with the co-presidents for the organizing committee, [ were ] thrilled at that moment. The atmosphere in [ Wrigley Field ] was just brilliant. Taking the flag from Chicago was, for our whole committee, the most emotional moment for the whole Games in Chicago.

WCT: What will the Cologne legacy be?

JF: People, technology and reach.

WCT: The Chicago Games had a lot of celebrity involvement. Do you foresee that in Cologne, too?

JF: For sure. But we're not able to discuss the names now, not until contracts are signed. We saw from the past that having celebrities involved is important.

WCT: Do you foresee a financial success, or at least breaking even like Chicago did?

JF: For sure, we foresee a financial success. The reason for fronting an event like this is not just about tolerance and participation; we want this to be a [ financial ] success. Our goal is not to win money; our goal is to break even, as they did in Chicago. The fact the Chicago Games broke even was of huge importance and will have a huge impact for us locally, image-wise. It really helps with our sponsors.

WCT: That said, what is the plan in Cologne to break even financially?

JF: Our total budget is about 10 million euros, and most of that is value in-kind. With sponsors and partners, we are confident we will be able to break even. And it looks quite fine right now.

WCT: Has there been any negative publicity and/or protests, much the way Chicago endured slight problems in [ Crystal Lake ] , where the rowing was held?

JF: As previously mentioned, it's totally normal to be gay or lesbian and walk hand-in-hand, or kiss one another in public. So, there is not any group in Cologne that would object to the Games. Gay and lesbian life is integrated [ in Cologne ] for years now, so I don't even see [ that subject ] coming up.

WCT: Was there anything in particular that you saw in Chicago that you do not want to incorporate into the Cologne Games?

JF: This is a tough one, because I don't want to criticize after an event. Plus, the job that Chicago did was terrific, especially given the time frame that they had to prepare. However, there is one thing, and I think everyone in Chicago agrees too, that we definitely want to do different—the Opening Ceremony. It was nice, but much too long, too much speaking, too many speeches. Our idea of the Opening Ceremony in 2010 is not to do as many political statements. Any statements, we want to make them with pictures, not words, if you know what I mean.

We want to have a fantastic Opening Ceremony with entertainment, and deliver the FGG message: inclusion, participation and personal best.

WCT: Does it seem like it's over two years away, or does it seem like it's rapidly approaching?

JF: That's a good question. It feels like right now we're in a very good shape. Sure, not everything is done, but we have a lot of time to do it. We're trying to move a little quicker, particularly in the North American market, having a presence and doing public relations work.

WCT: How much impact will the 2009 Outgames in Copenhagen have on the Gay Games, and how much presence will Gay Games organizers have in Copenhagen—to observe and promote the 2010 event?

JF: I know that the people who will [ participate in Copenhagen ] or main clients, so to speak, they don't care about [ the politics between the two events. ] They just want to do their sports, meet other people and have a great time. I know they're going to do that in Copenhagen and in Cologne.

For us, it's a must to be in Copenhagen because a large percent of [ the participants ] might also come to Cologne, so it would not be correct to miss the event and the chance to promote Cologne.

Right now we are in quite a friendly relationship with the organizing committee of Copenhagen.

Michelle Ferris, Cycling World and Olympic Silver Medalist, Named Gay Games Ambassador

Federation of Gay Games names elite Australian athlete to join international roster of sports and cultural stars promoting the quadrennial Gay Games

(San Francisco – 15 May 2008) Australian Michelle Ferris, one of cycling’s all-time sprint stars with multiple world and Olympic medals to her credit, has been selected by the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) to be the newest Gay Games Ambassador, an international group of prominent individuals supporting the Gay Games.

The eighth edition of the quadrennial Gay Games takes place in Cologne, Germany 31 July to 10 August 2010.

“I relish the opportunity to be a Gay Games Ambassador”, said Ferris. “The Gay Games provide a unique opportunity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes and artists from around the world to come together in celebration. By highlighting our sporting and cultural achievements under the three Gay Games principles of ‘Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best’, we have the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments in a safe and supportive environment.”

Ferris’ 20-year cycling career peaked with a series of silver medals in the sprint and 500 metre time trials at the Olympic games in 1996 and 2000 and at the UCI World Cycling Championships from 1997-1999. She captured her country’s heart at Sydney’s 2000 Olympics when, after finishing in the runner-up position in the sprint to her perennial rival Felicia Ballanger of France, she said it didn’t matter because the most important thing was that she’d set a new personal best.

After retiring from the rigors of full-time cycling training and traveling, Ferris climbed back on her bike for the competitive yet less pressure-packed 13th UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships held in 2007 in Sydney. She won gold in both the sprint and 500 m. time trials in the 30-39 age category and added a third gold in the 12.5 km. points race for ages 30-44.

Today, Ferris sees her athletic accomplishments as a way to bring attention to other important issues, such as those epitomized by the Gay Games.

“Until we have full legal and societal equality”, stated Ferris, “gays and lesbians, especially those with a public profile, should come out. Elite athletes have the responsibility and the honour of serving as role models for the LGBT community, and we can do this by living our lives proudly”.

The Gay Games Ambassadors represent a broad range of achievement in sports, the arts, business and government. Michelle Ferris joins an illustrious roster that includes: from the U.K., musician Sir Elton John, world power lifting gold medallist Chris Morgan, and former National Basketball Association player Jon Amaechi; from South Africa, Olympic beach volleyball player Leigh Ann Naidoo; from Germany, world and Olympic champion cyclists Petra Rössner and Judith Arndt; from Australia, world champion trampoline gymnast Ji Wallace; and, from the U.S., tennis legend Billie Jean King, Olympic gold medal diver Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, champion figure skater Rudy Galindo, rock star Melissa Etheridge, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean, former National Football League players David Kopay and Esera Tuaolo, actors Judith Light and Amanda Bearse, and photographer Tom Bianchi.

“The selection of Michelle Ferris to be a Gay Games Ambassador is the FGG's way of recognizing her contributions to the international sport and culture community as a world champion, an Olympic medallist and an elite cyclist”, said Kate Rowe, Sydney-based FGG board member and Vice President for Diversity. “We feel truly honoured that Michelle Ferris has accepted our invitation to become an Ambassador for the Gay Games”.

Ferris and the other Gay Games Ambassadors will promote the upcoming Gay Games VIII around the world at sporting events and public gatherings in collaboration with the FGG. Although retired from elite competitions, Ms. Ferris continues participating in Masters cycling events and is looking forward to competing at her first Gay Games in Cologne.

For information on how to sponsor or participate in Gay Games VIII, visit www.games-cologne.com. For information concerning sponsors of the Federation of Gay Games, go to www.gaygames.org.

Sports folks are asking for a list of sports. We have prepared a 1 page Cologne fact sheet for you to deliver to your team mates. It also includes cultural events.

CLICK HERE to download.

Many of events will take place centrally at the German Sports University, located in Cologne. The venues are excellent and will allow athletes to compete and go watch other friends in their sport or cultural events.

Cologne also has many hotels with very good pricing, so everyone can find a hotel for their budget. They will offer University housing for some, and many others will receive hosted housing. Cologne hosts one of the biggest gay pride events of Europe every year, called CSD (Christopher Street Days). It is quite famous in Europe.

Cologne knows how to throw a party for gay and lesbian travelers. The Cologne tourism office has LGBT tourist guides.

Sign up for the Cologne and Gay Games Newsletters!
www.gaygames.com

Sport Shooting Added to Sports Program at Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010
Popular Olympic and German sport becomes 34th and final sport offered at Gay Games VIII

Cologne, Germany, 25 June 2008 – Gay Games VIII organizers in Cologne, Germany, announced today that Sport Shooting has been added to the official Sports Program for Gay Games VIII Sports & Cultural Festival. Extremely popular in the host country of Germany, this will mark the first time that any shooting sport has been offered in the history of the Gay Games.

Air Rifle (10 meter) and Air Pistol (10 meter), both sport shooting disciplines offered in the Olympic Games, will be fired at the Cologne Gay Games in 2010. Air Rifle and Air Pistol disciplines will be offered for both men and women. Consistent with international rules, women will fire 40 rating shots in a period of 75 minutes while men will fire 60 shots within 105 minutes. Shots are fired standing free-hand, with the athletes standing without leaning and artificial support. Official rules and schedule will be posted at www.Games-Cologne.com by September 2008.

"We received many requests to add sport shooting," said Games Cologne Sports Director Karl-Heinz Schmitz. “We were surprised at how many lesbian and gay athletes, especially in Germany, wanted us to include the sport at Gay Games VIII. Assured of demand, we have added the sport.” The German Shooters Federation (Deutscher Schützenbund/DSB) is the fourth largest German sports association with 1.6 million members and almost 15,000 local shooting clubs. Sport shooting is extremely popular in other parts of Europe.

Sports Shooting completes the sports program for Gay Games VIII, now to include 34 sports: Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Billiards, Bodybuilding, Bowling, Chess, Cycling, Dance Sport, Diving, Field Hockey, Figure Skating, Golf, Handball, Ice Hockey, Inline Speed Skating, Martial Arts, Powerlifting, Road Races including Marathon, Sailing, Soccer (Football), Softball, Sport Climbing, Sport Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Track and Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Wrestling.

Sport shooting? Now there is one sport I would have never predicted - and truthfully had absolutely no idea was so popular in Germany. Ironically shooting ranges are in the news here in Toronto - because the city has just banned them from city property as part of the city's anti-gun violence crusade.

One of those great mysteries as to how some societies like the Swiss and Germans seem to be able to have guns around and use them properly for sport and hunting - whereas in others - like here in North America - that does not seem to be the case. Hence you have actions like we see here in Toronto with shooting ranges being closed as part of the crusade to ban guns from the city completely because of the recent rise of gun crime n this city. A move many sport shooters are not too happy about here needless to say.

So if Team Toronto ever decided to bid on a future Gay Games (or Outgames) I suspect you won't see sports shooting on the menu.

Also posted under topic: Gays in Sports, responding to Buccoman's question regarding Gay Sports Leagues:

Buccoman,

I sent the following to you personally, and I am posting it here, and under Gay Sports Movement, so many can read it if they want to:

Bucco,

In my case, going back to 1980 or so, the year I moved from Cincinnati to San Diego, a 'new gay movement' was about, for gay and lesbian people who enjoyed participating in sports. Tom Waddell, 1968 Decathlete Olympic Bronze Medallist in Mexico City led the charge. You can google his name for the details of the founding of the Gay Games, if you are not familiar.

The first Gay Games, temporarily called, "The Gay Olympics", were scheduled and held in San Francisco in 1982. I was aware of this from a tiny notice in a local gay newspaper. Unfortunately, I could not participate in 1982.

Gay Games II, quadrennial as the Olympics are, was scheduled and held in the Bay Area once again, in 1986. Only this time, there was much more advance notice and publicity. Here in San Diego, in the summer of 1985, a group founded Different Strokes Swim Team to go to the Gay Games in '86. I became a member of that team, as a swimmer and a springboard diver.

This scenario was going on all over the US and Canada in a myriad of sports, focusing on that one week in San Francisco, the summer of 1986.

My thoughts at the time were first; I personally needed to workout to feel good about myself. Second, swimming and diving were my high school and early age sports, at which I had done well, and upon which I could continue to improve. Third, I sensed an urgency about the local gay community to begin clubs for sporting events which gay and lesbian people could join for their health, enjoyment, and stimulating social interaction (sex? partnerships?).

Front Runners is an example of a running club that spread rapidly across the country in those years. And it was part of 'the running craze', with universal appeal, beginning a few years earlier. In early 1986, well in advance of Gay Games II, these types of clubs recognized each other, and formed somewhat of a union. Here it was called "Athletes in Motion". In other cities, it was "Team Los Angeles" for example.

The Gay Games motto includes, "Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best". Many of us at that time, bought into this concept for Gay Games II, and committed ourselves to fostering the movement for Gay and Lesbian Sports. It was a very scary time for Gay men in those years. For many of us, our friends were dying in multitudes of AIDs. There was no hope. Except, some of those infected, and nearing sickness, found that they could sustain their lives that much further, if they energetically applied themselves to physical activity. And why not have that progress lead to participating in the Gay Games? People did live longer because of the movement, but not many survived that early onslaught of illness.

Years and more quadrennials, and more Gay Games came and went in the ensuing years, bringing us to today, anticipating Gay Games VIII. Cologne, Germany will be the host city this next event. What was a gay and lesbian sports development, and a 'movement' as I have called it here, is now an institution of substantial acclaim.

But again, irrespective of association, ability, label, or whatever, if you have arms and legs that work, and a brain that thinks, Gay Games welcomes you to Participate, to Include Yourself, and to try for Your Personal Best in the sporting events and activities that you love.

Go for it!

TRL

Hi,

as most of you are based in the US or Canada maybe some news directly from Cologne might be interesting to you all. Personally I have not been involved in the Games ever since the bidding process was over and Cologne won it - therefore I hope I am not too biased ;-) First of all I would recommend the following link - it's the new Image video of Cologne that the city presented just a few days ago. I think it underlines everything that we also tried to point out during the bidding process, therefore I can just add
"Welcome to Cologne"
I think everybody is looking forward to seeing you all here in 2010.

And here's the link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMed_coRK5o

But now some more details about life over here:
As everywhere in the LGBT world Pride season had its peak also in Cologne in the past weeks - starting with the Come-Together-Cup a traditional Soccer tournament where all sorts of minorities and majorities come together an play together. This year for the first time the Cologne Frontrun was also moved to that day in order to attract more people - having participated myself - I have to say it worked out. Around the same time the German Soccer Federation launched a campaign against discriminations of Gays an Lesbians in the different Clubs - very interesting to have this one launched right before the European Championship.

After all that sport there was the official opening of the Cologne Pride and the Women Pride taking place in the Fantasialand (our local Disneyland :-) So for those who are into rollercauster there is also something on offer right around the corner - have a look at fantasypride.de - unfortunately all in German.

The following weekend we had our "Veedelsfest" - the "small" street fair of the Cologne Pride. This one is more for the locals as all the tourists most of the times come for the big street fair one a week later. For everybody who has been to Cologne the "small" one is right in front of Dieter's "Corner" bar. This time we even had the broadcasting of the final match of the Euro 2008 with Germany playing Spain. Lot's of fun even though our 11 guys lost.

Then last weekend we had our main pride weekend with some news this year. Starting out with the traditional Aids-Gala on Friday, then the street fair from Friday-Sunday in the Old Town, the parade on Sunday and then for the first time the Colour party in "Kölnarena" (www.colour-cologne.de). It was a fabulous combination and the party was really cool - the best thing was the chairoplane in the middle of the dance floor. For more infos about the pride in Colgne have look at their homepage:
www.colognepride.de/index_en.html

Tonight it goes on where we will have our "Kölner Lichter" Germany's largest high-altitude musical fireworks.

And there is more to come...

Last but not least have a look at the new homepage of Games Colgne and the Cologne Tourist board:

www.games-cologne.com
www.koelntourismus.de/en/cologne-cathedral-metropolis-on-the-rhine.html

And they are just totally right - Cologne is a feeling!

See ya in 2010!

Sport Shooting at Cologne 2010

Each city has the right to add a few sports after the bidding is completed. Cologne wanted to add this very European and very German sport. It is a first. I am not sure other cities would put it on their list in future games, but never say never.

I have some transgender friends in Seattle that are active sport shooters and members of Pink Pistols. They were very curious to find out more about sport shooting at Gay Games. They have never participated, and had the impression you needed to be a super-jock to attend Gay Games. I gave the the full "Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best" motto talk.

This is a common theme among casual athletes. They think they need to be a super jock. We need more marketing to promote all levels of athletes are welcome.

Kelly

That's a great point Kelly. I'm amazed over the years when I would be discussing the Gay Games with guys in either my softball or volleyball league how often somebody would make a comment or ask a question about how do they qualify for the games.

My favourite story when illustrating that all were welcome is from Amsterdam in 1998. A touch rugby team from Australia registered as a softball team because they wanted to participate as a team - but their sport was not being offered - and I guess they figured that softball would be the easiest to learn. So even though most had never touched a bat or glove and never played the game prior to a couple of practices before flying to Amsterdam they played softball at the Gay Games. My friend Brett a softball player from Chicago was out at the venue for softball the day before the games started, saw the Aussies trying to have a practice - but they were doing some things wrong. So when he heard their story he spent over 2 hours teaching these rugby players how to play softball. And then did some coaching of them during the week too.

Now they did not win any of their games but they were fan favorites. The loudest cheer all week from the softball venue was the roar that went up when one of the Aussies hit a home run in their last game. It was one of my best memories from Amsterdam.

Hi everybody,

yesterday the official registration of Gay Games 2010 in Cologne has started. With 666 days to go you can now plan all your sports and events on-line. Having registered myself right now I have to say it is really quick to do so and very covenient as well.

See you in Cologne in 2010!

It is nice to see that the Koln Gay Games has added a registration category of Friend, so that my partner can register at a slightly reduced rate and march into the opening and closing ceremony and sit with me and receive his own participation medal.

In the past, he just bought admissions and went in by himself and we hooked up later. I couldn't convince him to just enter the 5K and walk it. In Chicago, he saw others that did just that. He saw one overweight girl hoofing it across the finish, found her inspirational and kicked himself for not doing the same. He vowed he would sign up for Koln, but was now hemming and hawing when I talked about following through. Now he has this other option.

Has anyone looked into the hotel reservation system currently at the cologne site.

http://www.games-cologne.de/en/cologne/accommodations

It looks flakey to me. They come up with three selected hotels that have ok prices, but if you click on them, the dates are for 2009 and not 2010. If you change the dates to 2010, in most cases it says the hotel is not available. In a few cases, it does come up, but with a whole lot higher prices than displayed on the teaser page. If you do the hotel search for a longer list, everything that is comparable is much more expensive.

Can anyone from Gay Games/Gay Games Cologne explain what is going on? If this is not yet ready with any games "specials" why post it now? Will there be any special gay games pricing? When is the advisable time to make reservations for hotels?

Sorry for that. There was some mistakes with the database. In one week hrs will have fixed the database and then there should be no problems anymore.
Participants already started to book their accomondation. We think that you should book rooms at a hotel until the end of the year because the cheaper once will be booked out very fast.

games cologne

Who here is thinking about competing at Gay Games in Cologne next summer?

TRL

I plan on competing in track

Well, I was the first wrestler to register some weeks back and overall registrations are going well; more than 4,000 are expected before the end of the year when the fees go up.

Just got back from the FGG meeting there and as always gorged myself on the food. It is absolutely amazing that you can eat almost any kind of ethnic food there inexpensively. Last trip had some great Spanish food but this time I went heavy on the Italian. Found a great place in Nuemarkt that served the BEST tomato soup and tortellini in ham and cream sauce (I went back for the soup three consecutive days it was so goo) and the last night chowed down at Salerno's in Rudolphplatz.

Also blocked out a complex of rooms for our athletes so we are pretty set.

Perhaps the most heartening thing to come was talking with some of the European club reps. The GLISA schism/World Outgames issue seems pretty much dead and forgotten and we were all looking forward to our athletes competing together at the Gay Games. I think the movement is actually coming out of this stronger than it was before the split.

After competing in the last four Gay Games, I've decided to opt-out in 2010.

The Euro at $1.50 is too high priced.

Köln, while I think I would like, is not highest on my list of cities I want to visit, and stopovers elsewhere will just be too expensive for the poor holders of the US greenback.

Cyd tarnished my GG gold medals with his articles, so I decided to focus on USATF nationals next year.

Hey marathon_runner26 - sorry to hear you won't be going. But before others read your post and think Cologne will be way too expensive to go to - I suggest checking the rates you can currently get for the games on some travel sites like hotels.com (or better yet call your local travel agent who may have access to wholesale rates at hotels). I can book some central 4 Star hotels for $95.00 - $110.00 a night including all taxes. That is way cheaper in US dollars than what has been available for comparable hotels for previous Gay Games or Outgames.

Also while airfares from New York for example to Cologne all seem to be in the $1150.00 - $1200.00 range including taxes, and require a plane change somewhere en route - one option many people use for getting to Cologne is to fly into Dusseldorf - which has direct flights from a number of North American cities. Air Berlin has fares for less than $900.00 including all taxes from New York and fares are as low as $1240.00 Canadian all the way from Vancouver. Dusseldorf has an airport train station with two trains an hour to Cologne for less than $20.00 one way for the 40 minute train.

Yeah, Germany is pretty small LOL - lots of other German airports would be OK if you find a cheap flight. Cologne is also really close to the Low Countries so check flights to Brussels, Luxemburg and Amsterdam too.

Please don't take this as a snip at Travelpat, just some comments on my experiences of past games.

As for hotels.com, I used them once and one of their employees stole my credit card number and charged up thousands of purchases in Texas. It took a lot of time and expenses to dig out from that mess. I know it can happen anywhere, but I am forever soured on them.

I purchased those gay games travel packages for NY, Amsterdam and Sydney, and ALL of them were disasters. Amsterdam being the worst when I arrived in Amsterdam to be told that the Dutch travel company involved got in a spat with the American company that sold me the package, and I would just have to pay up all over again. The only way I got my hotel room was by throwing my luggage across the lobby of the Swissotel. Some others spent the night in hotel lobby couches. I thought I would be ok for Sydney, because the package I went for was marketed under the Quantas umbrella, but that turned out not to be the case either. I think it was because of all the complaints that GG didn't offer official packages for Chicago. I made my own reservations for Chicago, and it was the first GG travel success I had. I think if you are going to use a travel agent, you should go with a local and reputable agent that you know, and avoid those trying to peddle package tours. While the companies disappeared after the games, the suspects just show up again with different names. These bad individuals ruin the business for everyone. Just my experiences and opinion.

Gosh, marathon, sounds like youve been among sharks.

Flying into Frankfurt might be your cheapest option. From there it's just a short train ride to Cologne.

I've flown into Dusseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt and all are very easy. Obviously the easiest is the Cologne airport. From there, it's about 2.5 euros to get to the downtown train station ($4) and then it's a simple subway ride to wherever your hotel is located.

Into Dusseldorf was easy as well. The train ride from Dusseldorf to Cologne was a bit more expensive ($10 I think) but drops you in the same train station and then the subway.

Frankfurt is a longer train ride, but they're fast trains. The round trip train ticket can add some money to your travel, but because Frankfurt is a hub for Lufthansa, typically flights into Frankfurt are cheaper than to Cologne or Dusseldorf.

I know people who have flown into Amsterdam or Paris (or live there) and then taken the train to Cologne. It's a longer trip, though manageable. If a great flight opens up to either of those cities, that might be an interesting thing to do, and can be a good place to return to after the Gay Games for some more fun.

My last two trips I stayed at the Renaissance Cologne - great hotel with large rooms and a reasonable price (I think it was 110 Euro for a couple of my nights and 130 for 2 more nights). The room was a suite with a King Bed - could easily sleep 3 or 4. Cologne has set up a housing system that seems pretty easy to use. Also, Cologne has opened up the Hosted Housing "Bed Request" system (somewhat quietly). Those on a budget can request to stay with a local German host.

Just a quick update on travel costs and Cologne. Not much movement on the airfares - but with the recent surge of both the Canadian and US dollars against the Euro - which has dropped to about $1.35 - now combined with some discounting by hotels - there are some great deals to be had. That is especially true if you are willing to bypass the US brand name properties that for the most part are still well over $200.00 per night.

A couple of examples from the centre of historic Cologne that I just priced on one of the hotel wholesalers we often use:

- Callas Hotel Am Dom - a 3 star hotel - double room including full breakfast for two daily - $104.00 a night including taxes. For two people for 8 nights that works out to about $415.00 each.

- 4 star rated Lindner Hotel Dom Residence is offering a few rooms for 40% off. So there are some double rooms going for just $110.00 a night including taxes!

I can't imagine the prices getting any lower - so I would be snapping deals like that up now if you are planning on going and have not booked accommodation yet.

And so ends your Good Friday Gay Games travel update.