Gay Games

The Gay Games are a sporting and cultural event hosted by the gay and lesbian community. They were started in San Francisco in 1982, the brainchild of Dr. Tom Waddell, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, and the pursuit of personal best into a sporting event:

The purpose of the Federation of Gay Games is to foster and augment the self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world and to engender respect and understanding from the nongay world, primarily through an organized international participatory athletic and cultural event held every four years, and commonly known as the Gay Games.

The Gay Games were formerly known as the Gay Olympics, but a lawsuit by the International Olympic Committee forced the name change. Other groups using the name "Olympics" were not targeted similarly, leading to accusations of homophobia.

The Gay Games are open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There are no qualifying standards to compete in the Gay Games.

The Gay Games bring together athletes and artists from all over the world, many from countries where homosexuality remains illegal and hidden.

Gay Games VI in Sydney, Australia, was the largest sporting event in history, with over 14,000 participants taking part in over 30 sports and cultural events.

List of Gay Games

Name	Location	Opening	Participants
Gay Games I - Challenge '82	San Francisco	August 28, 1982	1 600
Gay Games II - Triumph '86	San Francisco	August 9, 1982	3 500
Gay Games III - Celebration '90	Vancouver	August 4, 1990	9 500
Gay Games IV - Unity '94	New York	June 18, 1994	11 000
Gay Games V - Friendship '98	Amsterdam	August 1, 1998	14 700
Gay Games VI - Under New Skies	Sydney	November 2, 2002
Gay Games VII - Rendez-Vous	Montreal	July 29, 2006

External Links

Federation of Gay Games (http://www.gaygames.org/)