Team Philly SportsWeek will feature a panel discussion organized by Our Group, an organization of and for LGBT NCAA college athletes. Our Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support the athletic community, will be opening Team Philadelphia’s SportsWeek on June 5th 2009 with a panel discussion focusing on the current environment for LGBT student-athletes at universities nationwide. The attitudes toward LGBT individuals in general society versus attitudes toward the same individuals within the athletic community show a huge discrepancy with the athletic community’s views lagging about ten years behind that of the general population. The group of current and former studentathletes along with their advisory board of the top some of the top scholars in the field, are determined to merge that gap. Members of the Our Group board will discuss current challenges within the athletic community while telling their own personal stories ranging from struggle to triumph and acceptance and focusing on the importance of action within LGBT community as well as support within the athletic community.
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Team Philadelphia is proud to bring you SportsWeek 2009 from June 5 thru 14. Our goal for SportsWeek during the past seventeen years has been to showcase Philadelphia gay sports teams so that gay and lesbian athletes in the area can see the many opportunities available to them.

The GLBT sports community in Philadelphia offers a healthy and friendly environment in which to participate and many of our area teams continue to represent Philadelphia in international and national level competitions in such sports as swimming, soccer, wrestling, and running, to name a few.

During the past three years, Team Philadelphia has been able to expand our SportsWeek event to include competition events that involve local area athletes as well as gay and lesbian athletes and their teams from up and down the East Coast. This year’s showcase competition is the International Association of Gay and Lesbian Martial Arts [IAGLMA] Get Ready for Gay Games VIII Cologne Event on Saturday June 13th. This Event consists of a wide variety of workshops, seminars, as well as the Jim Nickoff Memorial Martial Arts Training Tournament.

Also on the menu is the ReGAYtta Tournament on Saturday, June 6th. This event is marked by our 2nd LGBTQ dragon boat race in Philadelphia during the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta festival. Our boat will be represented by participants from Philadelphia's finest gay sports teams!