Sports
Countdown to Gay Games VIII in Cologne
D.C.’s contingent heads to Germany later this month
More than 100 athletes from Team DC are in the final preparations to depart for Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010, which is being held in Cologne, Germany from July 31 to Aug. 8, 2010.
There will be competitions in more than 30 sports at the Games with the Team DC contingent vying for medals in 11 sports, including soccer, basketball, running, golf, cycling, tennis, track and field, bowling, swimming, triathlon and bodybuilding. Results will be posted at www.games-cologne.de/
Through the Federation of Gay Games scholarship program, Team DC has donated registration fees and housing at the Games to athletes from the United States, Jamaica and the Philippines and is also hosting a welcome reception in Cologne for the teams of the world. Team DC actively promotes the founding principles of the Gay Games, which are “Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best.”
This would be a good time to mention where the Team DC athletes are training. While there are several individual athletes, there are also many team/clubs under the Team DC umbrella. Some are competitive teams and others are noncompetitive clubs. All are welcoming new members. You can link to the teams through www.teamdc.org
There are too many to list here, but teams include a wide array of sports: basketball (DC Sentinels), cycling (DC Velo), racquetball (Capital Splats Racquetball League), golf (Lambda Links), rugby (Washington Renegades for men and DC Furies for women), even cheerleading (Cheer DC).
SPORTS CALENDAR
DC Icebreakers
July 21, Open Skate from 7:45 to 8:45 with a social from 9 p.m. Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston/Arlington, Va. Skating is $8, plus $3 for skate rental.
Aug. 28, 3rd Annual Lazy River Tubing Event with co-hosts NOVA GL Professionals, The Straight Eights Car Club and DCthirtysomething. Tubing takes place on the Shenandoah, near Harper’s Ferry. Nearly 100 people joined in last year, dcicebreakers.com.
DC Volleyball
Tuesday Night Social Volleyball League held at the Old Mackin Gym at 2200 California St., N.W. Warm-ups are from 7-7:30 and play is from 7:30-9:45. Teams are divided based on skill levels. Contact Mike at [email protected]
Rainbow Spinnakers Sailing Club
Sailing season is underway on the weekends and on some weekdays. The Rainbow Spinnakers would love for you to join them for an afternoon on the Potomac or the Chesapeake Bay. Launches are from the Belle Haven Marina in Alexandria, Va., and the Downtown Sailing Center in Baltimore, rainbowspinnakers.org.
DC Gay Flag Football League
The DCGFFL is forming its fall league, which is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12.
Here are the fall guidelines:
Skills Training – Sunday, July 18 & Wednesday, Aug. 18
Beach Bowl – Saturday, Aug. 14
Registration Deadline – Sunday, Aug. 22
Draft – Tuesday, Aug. 24
Pre-Season Party (To receive team placement) – Thursday, Aug. 26
Season Starts on Sunday, Sept. 12
Contact [email protected]
Hang-Time with the Washington Mystics
Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., come join the LGBT community as we celebrate women in sports and cheer on the Washington Mystics at their last home game of the regular season against the New York Liberty. Tickets are $20, in section 104, rows G through P. Contact Wanda Wright at [email protected] for ticket information.
Night Out at the DC United
Sept. 25, check out some MLS action as the DC United take on the Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium. Tickets are $20 with group discounts available. Contact Jim at [email protected] or visit www.federaltriangles.org. Tickets are also available at Nellies.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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