Gay Games

 
Who You'll Meet In Sydney
Golden Gate Grapplers Ready For Gay Games

By Cyd Zeigler Jr.

The Golden Gate Wrestling Club (GGWC) has been around about as long as the Gay Games themselves.  Both were started in San Francisco by Dr. Tom Wadell who, in 1981, wanted to see a gay wrestling club that did not revolve around sex.  With Mission High School coach Don Young, the group immediately set about securing insurance, coaxing collegiate coaches as trainers, and ensuring a low-cost venue for their members.  With their well-organized group, the GGWC saw many straight grapplers not only wrestle with the club, but also participate in Gay Games I & II, which were held in San Francisco.

Since the very first Gay Games, the GGWC has been integral to the organization of the wrestling competitions at each of the Games.  Next November at Gay Games VI, they will again be doing much of the behind-the-scenes grunt work, like setting up mats and officiating, that makes Gay Games wrestling a success.

Gene Dermody, a silver medallist in Gay Games II & III, and former male co-president of The Federation of Gay Games, is most proud of the entry-level program his club is helping to put together. 

“In Australia, wrestling is an up and coming sport.” Dermody says.  “A lot of adults have never wrestled”.  Part of their outreach will include a first-ever novice division to encourage inexperienced to attend the Gay Games as a competitor, without having to compete against former collegiate athletes.  Also featured will be a symposium on how to start a wrestling club. 

Given their deep history with the Gay Games, there may be no club better equipped to prepare for the Games than the GGWC.  For them, it all starts with reducing the cost of attending. 

“We’ll take any means we can for fundraising and PR events,” says Johnny Almony, the team captain.  With flights from San Francisco to Sydney averaging $1,200, accommodations coming in around $400 for the week, and Gay Games registration fees of $195, attending the games can get expensive.  To raise funds, the club has operated a wrestling demonstration and beer booth at the annual Folsom Street Fair, and periodically co-sponsor a beer bust at the Eagle Tavern.  They also sell singlets and other merchandise through the club to raise money.

All told, a team of 25-40 will represent the GGWC in Sydney.  One of those participating will be Erich Richter, who is also a delegate to the Federation of Gay Games.  Richter first attended the Gay Games in 1994 in New York City.

“Going in [to the New York Games], it was like a big party to me.  I didn’t understand the meaning of what it would do for me.”  Eight years later, the Gay Games holds deeper meaning for Richter.  “It bonds you to other people in a way that other events I’ve been to couldn’t.  You meet people that think the way you do from all over the world.”

Win or lose, to the GGWC, the Gay Games are an experience worth every bit of the hard work and preparation they put into it.

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Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zeigler is also the Sports Editor for Genre Magazine.  His "Jocks" stories appear there monthly.