FGG Announces
Conference and Scholarships
COLOGNE, German -
The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) announced it would
organize an open-invitation conference discussing ways to
unify the ever-growing LGBT sports movement during the first
six months of 2005.
The FGG board voted 30-1-1 to organize and publicize a
conference that is open to all interested parties, held in a
city as centrally located as possible, and conducted by an
independent facilitator. The conference is being organized
in response to letters received by the FGG during the last
several weeks calling for discussion about unifying the
worldwide LGBT sports movement in the wake of two competing
large-scale events in 2006.
"We did the right thing to wait until the entire board of
directors had the opportunity to meet in person and discuss
these matters at our annual meeting," said Roberto Mantaci,
Co-President. "We had careful and considered discussions
over several sessions, including an open forum that allowed
the FGG board to listen to members of our community, and we
came forward with a proposal that gathered widest consensus
from the board."
News of the conference was just one highlight among many
from the FGG's annual meeting, held this year from 7-12
November in Cologne,
Germany. The meeting host
was Sport Club Janus e.V., a Director Organization of the
FGG and the umbrella group for LGBT sports clubs in
Cologne.
The FGG also announced a comprehensive scholarship program
to assist participants from countries proportionally
underrepresented at previous Gay Games. US $15,000 was
raised at the annual meeting alone in a campaign that will
extend for the next year to complement the outreach
scholarship program being conducted by Chicago Games, Inc.
(CGI), the host of Gay Games VII in 2006.
The
10-person CGI delegation gave an outstanding presentation,
showcasing their sports and cultural plans, sponsorships of
about US$2 million cash and $1.4 million in-kind, outreach
plans, accommodation and transit pass information, and their
new Partner Program for LGBT community groups and
supporters. Registration is ongoing with paid participants
from more than 15 countries on all continents.
"Chicago
continues to be substantially ahead of schedule," said
Kathleen Webster, FGG Co-President. "Just as important is
that we have exactly the kind of positive partnership with a
Gay Games host that our director organizations and
affiliated groups have been looking for. That is inspiring
tremendous confidence for the Gay Games' future."
Representatives from bidding organizations in
Johannesburg, Paris and the local group in
Cologne
attended orientation sessions for the site selection for Gay
Games VIII in 2010. The deadline for letters of intent to
bid is 15 January 2005.
With an ever-increasing workload, the FGG board approved
expanding the seven-person Executive Committee with four
at-large positions. Elections produced the most diverse
Executive Committee in Gay Games history, including citizens
or residents of Australia,
France,
Germany,
Italy,
South Africa, the
U.K. and the
U.S.
Mantaci, an Italian native who lives in Paris, was
re-elected Co-President and Richard Hogan of Sydney,
Australia was re-elected Male Vice President. Officer terms
are for two years. Those with another year on their terms
are Co-President Webster of Philadelphia and Eurika Otto, a
South African native residing in
San Diego, who serves as Recorder.
New officers include: Charles King, elected Secretary, the
FGG's first African-American officer; Manuel Picaud of
Fédération Sportive Gaie et Lesbienne (FSGL), elected
Treasurer, the first French native on the executive body;
and Martyn Pickup of Vorspiel, a U.K. citizen who resides in
Berlin, elected to one of the at-large positions.
Emy Ritt of FSGL, an American citizen living in
Paris, was elected Female Vice
President. Brent Minor of Team D.C.; Doug Litwin of the
Lesbian & Gay Band Association, who lives in San Francisco,
and Roger Brigham of Wrestlers WithOut Borders, from
Oakland, Calif., were elected to the remaining at-large
positions.
Three organizations joined the board this year, including
the return of two major international sports groups: the
International Gay Figure Skating Union; the Gay and Lesbian
Tennis Alliance; and an umbrella sports organization, Out
for Sport (London). Out
for Sport is the first organization from the
U.K.
serving on the FGG board in four years.
Susan Kennedy, long-time Individual Director and former
six-year Co-President of the FGG, retired from the board and
was elected to Honorary Life Member status. Stephanie
Johnstone of
Woodstock,
Ontario, Canada,
who served as interim Female Vice President during the last
year, returns to her position as a delegate from the
International Gay Bowling Organization. Outgoing Treasurer
Jerry Lovell and outgoing Secretary Charlie Carson remain on
the FGG board as Individual Directors.
The 2004 Annual Meeting capped a year of achievement on
advancing the Gay Games mission of ensuring a
community-based, sports-focused and financially healthy
quadrennial event. Among other things, board members have
been looking closely at the FGG organizational structure
analyzing ways to improve how the governing body
operates. Numerous prominent people have become Gay Games
Ambassadors, committing their support of the Gay Games'
principles of Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best™,
including recently joined Ambassadors Melissa Etheridge,
Esera Tuaolo and Rudy Galindo.
"I think this year's board meeting showed how unified and
committed we all are to the Gay Games legacy and its
inspiration for future generations," Mantaci said. "It warms
my heart to see people travel from all corners of the world
every year for our in-person meetings because they believe
so strongly in the Gay Games movement."
For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay
Games VII in
Chicago, visit
GayGamesChicago.org, e-mail
info@gaygameschicago.org, or phone (773) 907-2006. For
information about the Federation of Gay Games, go to
www.gaygames.com.
