Sports
Local players enjoy challenges, concentration golf requires
Lambda Links members rediscovered sport after settling in D.C.
Paul Sliwka, on left, and Amy Powell, members of Lambda Links. (Photos courtesy the subjects)
Golf takes the spotlight this week in the ongoing Washington Blade All Star series. Two LGBT players from Lambda Links share their path to the sport of golf.
Paul Sliwka had a golf course near his home in upstate New York as a youth and he occasionally snuck in with his brother to hit golf balls. Organized sports came in the way of little league baseball and peewee football.
As a high schooler, he was a school record holder in the pole vault. Originally from Washington, he returned to the area to attend Georgetown University.
Sliwka started his own business in 2011, Central Properties, and made sure he left room in his schedule for outside activities. He began with golf lessons at Langston Golf Course and eventually signed up with Lambda Links.
“It’s nice to have a regular golf date with folks that are nonjudgmental and interesting. It forced me to become a better golfer,” Sliwka says. “The Links offered a way of playing golf that I hadn’t experienced before. They are extremely welcoming of beginners and they worked with me. It was a soft landing.”
Now an avid golfer who is competing in tournaments, Sliwka weaves in his other hobbies, skiing and art collecting, on his travels. He calls it “traveling with a purpose.”
“In life as in golf, if you keep your head down and keep grinding, good things will happen,” Sliwka says. “I love to compete and it is necessary to be patient in this sport. The first putt and the last putt are both important.”
Sliwka also competes in tournaments with the Maryland State Golf Association and played earlier this year with Stonewall Golfers in Palm Springs. Last month he won a bronze medal at the Gay Games in Paris. Coming up for him this month are the Lambda Links club championships at Twin Lakes Golf Course.
“Lambda Links is a great mix of people, men and women of all ages,” Sliwka says. “Competing in your sport makes you understand what you need. Golf for me is relaxing, lifts my spirits and makes me happy.”
Amy Powell needed a gym credit while attending William & Mary and chose golf. She didn’t think about the sport again until years later when a friend needed a golf partner. She found herself hooked.
Born in Roanoke, Va., Powell grew up a tennis player. She played on her high school team and was a walk-on at William & Mary. After completing grad school at the University of Vermont, she moved to D.C. in 1999. She bowled with the Capital Area Rainbowlers Association and the following year signed up with Lambda Links.
“Lambda Links has players of all levels and the league is a good way to get started in the sport,” Powell says. “I like having a built in social event along with a guaranteed tee time.”
Powell, who works at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, refers to herself as an achiever type and likes that there are multiple levels of challenges in golf.
“Golf is the hardest sport I have ever tried,” Powell says. “You can measure yourself in different ways; against the course, against your last round.”
Working her way through the sport, Powell played in a few Pro-Ams until a back injury knocked her out two years ago. This year marked her return to Lambda Links.
“It’s been great to see folks again and reconnect. That two-year period was like an extended winter,” she says. “Lambda Links is a healthy balance between people who want to compete and people who want to learn the sport.”
Sports
‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay
Games to take place next month in Italy
“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.
HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.
The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.
The Washington Capitals will host Pride Night on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they host the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena. A special ticket offer featuring a Pride-themed Capitals rainbow jersey is available at washcaps.com.
Fans are invited to a pre-game Block Party at District E beginning at 5 p.m. The event will feature a performance by the band NovaKane. Specialty happy hour food and beverages will be available, as well as giveaways. There will also be a presence by several local LGBTQ+ community organizations.
Egypt
Iran, Egypt object to playing in Seattle World Cup ‘Pride Match’
Game to take place on June 26
Iran and Egypt have objected to playing in a “Pride Match” that will take place in Seattle during the 2026 World Cup.
The Egyptian Football Association on Tuesday said it told FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström in a letter that “it categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match between the Egyptian national team and Iran, scheduled to be held in Seattle, USA, on June 26, 2026, in the third round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.” Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Mehdi Taj told ISNA, a semi-official Iranian news agency that both his country and Egypt “protested this issue.”
The 2026 World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The draw took place at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 5.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
The State Department’s 2023 human rights report notes that while Egyptian law “did not explicitly criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, authorities regularly arrested and prosecuted LGBTQI+ persons on charges including ‘debauchery,’ prostitution, and ‘violating family values.’” Egyptian authorities “also reportedly prosecuted LGBTQI+ individuals for ‘misuse of social media.’”
“This resulted in de facto criminalization of same-sex conduct and identity,” notes the report.
The 2024 human rights report the State Department released earlier this year did not include LGBTQ-specific references.
Soccer has ‘unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs’
The June 26 match between Iran and Egypt coincides with Seattle Pride. The Washington Post reported the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 Local Organizing Committee decided to hold the “Pride Match” before last week’s draw.
“As the Local Organizing Committee, SeattleFWC26’s role is to prepare our city to host the matches and manage the city experience outside of Seattle Stadium,” said SeattleFWC26 Vice President of Communications Hana Tadesse in a statement the committee sent to the Washington Blade on Wednesday. “SeattleFWC26 is moving forward as planned with our community programming outside the stadium during Pride weekend and throughout the tournament, partnering with LGBTQ+ leaders, artists, and business owners to elevate existing Pride celebrations across Washington.”
“Football has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs,” added Tadeese. “The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the nation’s largest Iranian-American communities, a thriving Egyptian diaspora, and rich communities representing all nations we’re hosting in Seattle. We’re committed to ensuring all residents and visitors experience the warmth, respect, and dignity that defines our region.”
The 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in the country. The 2022 World Cup took place in neighboring Qatar, despite concerns over the country’s anti-LGBTQ rights record.
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