8,000 Participants Now Committed
to 2006 Gay Games in Chicago

CHICAGO – Chicago organizers of the 2006 Gay Games announced today that they now have more than 8,000 participants from more than 30 countries committed to attending the 7th Gay Games,15-22 July 2006.

“Year-end campaigns designed to increase the number of registrations in team sports were wildly successful and the pace hasn’t slowed much since January 1,” said Brian McGuinness, Gay Games executive director. “Our registration rates to date are ahead of expectations and we may exceed our forecast of 12,000 participating athletes and artists in Chicago next July.”

McGuinness added that several sports are close to full registration and will close in coming weeks.

One sport – Sailing – has been closed for nearly a year. A second sport – Golf – has reached its capacity and registration will officially close by Friday, 3 February 2006.

“Golf registrants have been running ahead of projections since online registration opened in June of 2004,” said McGuinness, noting that there may be a wait list opened for Golf participants. “Capacity in Golf has already been increased once, and there are no more available tee times.”

Several team sports saw dramatic increases in registration during December, according to Nancy Harris, Gay Games sports director. She added that Ice Hockey may soon be closed to new registrants

“The 1998 and 2002 Gay Games in Amsterdam and Sydney each had 16 participating men’s and women’s Ice Hockey teams,” said Harris. “We already are past that with over 20 teams, and we are negotiating the addition of a sixth day of Ice Hockey competition to accommodate more teams.”

Harris said Ice Hockey teams should register within the next 30 days to ensure their participation.

Several other team sports have exceeded team registrations so significantly that the sports are close to their forecast totals now, six months from Gay Games VII opening day.

The message from the staff and board of the 2006 Gay Games couldn’t be clearer. “Register now,” said McGuinness. “If you wait, it might be too late to participate in your sport, division, or event.” Make the personal commitment today to attend one of the world’s most important events for our community and register now to secure your spot. We're going to have a full house come July!”