Sports
Golf sees revival after Olympic reinstatement
Lambda Links offers tournaments, weekly play through Oct. 31
With the rise and fall of Tiger Woods and the reinstatement of golf for the 2016 summer Olympics, the sport is experiencing a mini revival. The Lambda Links Golf Club is the local LGBT chapter of the sport boasting a membership roster of 80 players. The members play each weekend from April 1 to Oct. 31, rotating weekly between Saturday and Sunday. Membership is $35 and entitles the players to three guest passes for the season and priority tee times for themselves and guests with passes. Also included is eligibility for official United States Golf Association (USGA) handicap as a member of a sanctioned USGA golf club.
The Links play different courses every weekend in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia metro area utilizing the stroke play format. Matt LaChance, secretary of the Links stated, “The costs range from $40 to $80 for 18 holes depending on the course.” In stroke play, golfers record the number of strokes taken at each of the 18 holes and the player with the lowest score is the winner. When taking the handicap into consideration, the player subtracts their handicap from the total score to generate their net score, and the player with the lowest net score is the winner. Handicaps are essentially a representative of the average over par of a number of a player’s previous above average rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. To keep things interesting, the Lambda Links toss in six special club events during the season, which include a four-person scramble event, a two-person best ball event and the season end club championship.
If you are interested in becoming a member, the Links welcome all skill levels though the following criteria must be met:
• You have played at least five 18-hole rounds of golf.
• You know about pace of play.
• You are familiar with the rules of golf.
• You are familiar with golf etiquette.
Nonmembers may play with the Links for an extra $5 each time. However, nonmembers must wait until Thursday before the playing weekend to request a tee time slot, taking what is still available. A nonmember is a person who does not have a guest pass from a current club member. A nonmember or guest may also participate in the special club events for an extra cost of $10. They may also participate in the club championship but are not eligible for prizes or trophies. The remaining events for the 2010 season are the club championship on Sept. 25 and the Halloween tournament on Oct. 31.
Inquiries can be directed to [email protected] Check out the Lambda Links at lambdalinks.org
Gay Games update
A couple of local athletes were omitted from the last column’s Cologne Gay Games medal count: Karen Dixon took gold in golf and power lifting; Jay Walton won two bronze medals in figure skating.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
Comings & Goings
Kansas passes bathroom bounty hunter bill
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Spring into sold
New book profiles LGBTQ Ukrainians, documents war experiences
PHOTOS: Queen of Hearts
Two very different views of the State of the Union
Va. activists preparing campaign in support of repealing marriage amendment
