Local LGBT athletes were doing their last-minute packing this week before shipping off to Germany for the world’s largest LGBT sporting event.
The Gay Games, held this year in Cologne, Germany, will include representation from 55 athletes from the Philadelphia area.
The quadrennial Olympic-style event runs July 31-Aug. 7, with opportunities for athletes to compete in 35 different athletic disciplines. The Philadelphia contingent will participate in 13 sports, covering everything from bowling to martial arts to tennis to wrestling. The largest groups, with 15 and 13 athletes, respectively, will compete in softball and swimming events.
Kurt Douglass, co-chair of Team Philadelphia — the umbrella organization that oversees all of Philadelphia’s LGBT sports clubs and the local delegate to the Gay Games — said the countless hours he and marketing director Bob Szwajkos, as well as all of the participants, put in to prepare for the trip paid off at the send-off party last week at Stir.
“At the bon voyage party, you could really see that the entire community is behind Team Philadelphia and all of the athletes, so that’s the reward we were able to get for the year we had out there,” he said.
Szwajkos agreed that organizing the local contingent was no easy feat.
“We’ve been to more fundraisers and more sporting events than I can even count,” he said.
Each athlete had to pay his or her way, and Szwajkos said the individual teams held fundraisers to support their members.
Portions of the Team Philadelphia membership dues helped to subsidize uniforms — which consist of jackets and opening- and closing-ceremony shirts — and Szwajkos said LGBT community members turned out in full force to support the athletes with both financial and in-kind donations, such as the contribution of shirts by the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus and another gift of small Pennsylvania flags, which the athletes will carry in the opening ceremonies.
In addition to the sporting component, the Gay Games also encompass LGBT culture. The Philadelphia Freedom Band, a local marching band, will take part in its first Gay Games, alongside LGBT singers, dancers and performers from around the world.
Douglass attended the second Gay Games in 1986 as part of a marching band, and will march with the Philadelphia Freedom Band as a twirler in the opening ceremony, while Szwajkos will carry a flag for the band.
Douglass is also going to compete athletically, playing tennis.
“For me, I think it’s the use of athleticism to tell our stories,” he said of his reason for participating. “It’s just one more facet of our diversity. I think all of society can recognize and understand athletics on some level, so it allows us to have conversations around the same table with people from all backgrounds.”
Szwajkos ran a marathon at the 2006 games and is one of three local marathoners this year.
While the Gay Games are competitive, he noted that it’s also a chance to socialize with LGBT individuals of different cultures.
“It’s an opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, who all have the added feature of athletics in their profile,” Szwajkos said. “From the low-amateur level to the high-level athletes who will be there, we’re going to be at so many different events.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].