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New Stonewall Climbing group uses competitive format

Nine-week handicap program has six teams, six climbers

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Stonewall Climbing, gay news, Washington Blade

Bryan Yamasaki says the time was right for a new LGBT competitive rock climbing group in Washington. (Photo courtesy Stonewall Climbing)

This past April, another new sports league climbed into the mix of the LGBT sports community in Washington. Stonewall Climbing D.C. is utilizing the template set up by Stonewall Sports which promotes an active lifestyle, local community engagement and a safe space for the LGBT and allied community to play sports.

While there are other social LGBT rock climbing groups in the area, Stonewall Climbing is using a competitive team format and tapping the social networking base of Stonewall Sports to draw new climbers.

Bryan Yamasaki and Brinda Dass had already been climbing competitively on their own and the timing to launch the league fit in perfectly with Team D.C.’s bid for the 2022 Gay Games.

“There will be no rock climbing at the Paris 2018 Gay Games because there was no ‘go to’ person in the area,” Yamasaki says. “We took it upon ourselves to make sure that the sport will be represented as part of the Team D.C. bid.”

Rock climbing debuted at the Cologne 2010 Gay Games and was also a part of the Cleveland 2014 Gay Games where Yamasaki won two medals.

The new Stonewall Climbing league is a nine-week handicap program consisting of six teams with six climbers. They meet on Tuesdays from 7-10 p.m. at Earth Treks Crystal City.

They have been adding tweaks to the format as the season progresses with the handicap system allowing climbers to compete on an equal level based on their grade.

“A climber’s grade will change as they progress and new people will have a higher rate of progression. This will encourage captains to be looking for new talent each season,” Yamasaki says. “With this handicap system, I am climbing at the same level as a new climber.”

At each session, the top five highest scores per person on each team are compared and then the highest three ranking members are submitted as the team score for placement.

This season and next season is utilizing the bouldering discipline of rock climbing with several types of surfaces ranging from 10-15 feet high. There are no ropes; safety mats and padding are used to break falls.

Yamasaki says one of his goals in the first season has been to make sure the climbers are having fun. His interest in the sport is continually fulfilled by the personal challenges that it presents.

“What you are climbing is a giant puzzle that you are trying to solve,” he says. “If the route you choose doesn’t work out, then you look for a better path on the next attempt.”

Registration for Stonewall Climbing’s next season will open in August and the season will begin the Tuesday following Labor Day.

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More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes medal at Olympics

Milan Cortina games ended Sunday

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Gay French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, left, is among the LGBTQ athletes who medaled at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Feb. 22, 2026. (Screenshot via NBC Sports/YouTube)

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.

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US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey

Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday

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(Public domain photo)

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.

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Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine

Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance

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Team France's Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry compete in the Winter Olympics. (Screen capture via NBC Sports and NBC News/YouTube)

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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