Sports
Night of Champions returns
Team D.C. unveils this year’s scholarship recipients
Team D.C. Scholarship recipients, from left, Lily Chong, Kyra McClary, Sam Song, Fayra Bonilla and Lisa Chen (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Team D.C. College Scholarship program has begun to feel the effects of the changes in sports culture as they relate to LGBT athletes.
As the younger generation is aging into their high school years, the fear of competing as an openly gay athlete is beginning to subside. There are certainly still challenges, but in their eighth year of awarding scholarships to openly gay local student-athletes, Team D.C. granted a record nine awards this year.
Scholarship chair Bud Rorison also points to the groundwork laid over the years by the scholarship committee for the increase in this year’s recipients.
“People finally know about the scholarship and are finding it on websites and in scholarship searches,” Rorison says. “We have had great pipeline high schools over the years such as Montgomery Blair and Wilson, but this year we had a nice presence from the Virginia high schools.”
He is quick to point out that one of the reasons Team D.C. gave out so many awards this year is because the nine recipients all had strong reasons to warrant the scholarship.
“It was tough this time as all the kids were amazing,” Rorison says. “They touched on all the relevant factors such as grades, sports, financial needs and compelling backgrounds.”
In another first for the scholarship program, Team D.C. arranged a picnic at Meridian Hill Park where all the recipients met for the first time.
“It was definitely a bonding experience for them,” Rorison says. “We fully expect them to become the role models for the next wave of kids.”
John Ramsey was born in Missouri and grew up in Silver Spring, Md. During his first two years at Montgomery Blair High School, he played basketball and baseball, but chose to concentrate on baseball for his final two years where he played first base.
He came out to his teammates in the fall of his junior year. He would go on to be named captain of the baseball team in his senior year.
“It was much more enjoyable and comfortable for me after I came out. I felt freed,” Ramsey says. “When it came to talk of girls and me giving false output, the two years before it were awkward.”
Ramsay just wrapped up fall ball at Oberlin College where he finds himself at the bottom of the pile looking to build his way up to being a starter for the baseball team. Their season will begin again in the spring.
“My freshman year is going to be a developmental year,” Ramsay says. “I am going to focus on academics first and the baseball stuff will be secondary. I will still be the best I can be athletically.”
Lisa Chen began her sports career at West Springfield High School in cross country and basketball. She grew up in Bowie, Md., and moved with her family to Springfield, Va., before high school.
She was out to her teammates but struggled with the process at home.
“It was kind of a don’t ask, don’t tell situation and it almost felt like the wrong time for me to be out,” Chen says. “I wasn’t ready for the conversations with my mother.”
Finding support for gay athletes from Team D.C. was “just awesome,” Chen says.
Chen has a signature look of wearing bowties and she has taken that look with her to the University of Virginia. Now in her first semester, she has already joined the fencing club and says that her independence is going to be important during her college years.
“UVA is known for being preppy and I am going to embrace that with all my bowties. I am not going to worry about getting my hair cut too short or hiding my bowties,” Chen says. “I am here to learn and I am looking forward to it.”
The scholarship winners will be honored along with members of the LGBT sports community at Team D.C.’s A Night of Champions at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday, Nov. 7.
John Ramsey (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Team DC Scholarship recipients:
Kyra McClary
Graduated from: T.C. Williams High School
Attending: Smith College
Sport: rowing
Lisa Chen
Graduated from: West Springfield High School
Attending: University of Virginia
Sports: cross country, basketball
Gabe Perkins
Graduated from: West Potomac High School
Attending: Virginia Commonwealth University
Sport: swimming
Lily Chong
Graduated from: Mt. Vernon High School
Attending: George Mason University
Sport: dance
John Ramsey
Graduated from: Montgomery Blair High School
Attending: Oberlin College
Sport: baseball
Fayra Bonilla-Rubi
Graduated from: Lee High School
Attending: Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Sports: JV soccer, rec soccer, marching band
Sam Song
Graduated from: Poolsville High School in 2013
Attending: St. Lawrence University
Sport: swimming
Jemmesha Parker
Graduated from: Luke Moore Alternative High School
Attending: University of District of Columbia
Sport: cheerleading
Nora O’Leary
Graduated from: Washington-Lee High School
Attending: Loyola University (New Orleans)
Sports: JV soccer, golf, varsity soccer manager, gymnastics team manager
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.
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