Swimmers bunched together to maximize drafting during a race. The 22nd annual Maryland Swim for Life is slated for July. (Photo by David Lutz)

The District of Columbia Aquatics Club hosts the 22^nd annual Maryland Swim for Life on July 13 on the Chester River. The event features one-, two-, three-, four- and five-mile races. Also this year, the swimmers are partnering with the D.C. Triathlon Club to offer a 2.4 mile Triathlon Challenge.

Proceeds from Swim for Life support a number of small local organizations such as Heart to Hand, Quality of Life Retreats, Metro TeenAIDS and the Chester River Association. More information on the event along with volunteer opportunities can be found at swimdcac.org.

The D.C. Strokes Rowing Club hosts its 20^th annual Stonewall Regatta on June 2 on the Anacostia River. This year’s event features 33 races in a variety of disciplines for men and women. Also on the docket are mixed races and different levels of adaptive races. The Strokes are online at dcstrokes.org.

The Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League will be hosting the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series from Aug. 26-31 at three separate complexes in the area. The tournament, the largest annual LGBT sporting event in the world, will welcome 170 teams participating in more than 600 softball games.

In total, they are expecting more than 4,000 athletes and fans visiting Washington for the weeklong tournament. More information on the event is at dcseries2013.com. The League can be found at capssoftball.org.

The D.C. Front Runners will host Pride Run 2013 on June 7 at 7 p.m., an event of friendly competition, fun for the community and a celebration of pride. The event is the inaugural running of a chip-timed 5K run and walk coinciding with the festivities of D.C.’s Capital Pride week.

The race will begin at the historical Congressional Cemetery with a course that follows the Anacostia River toward RFK Stadium and back. More information is at dcfrontrunners.org.

The D.C. Sentinels have opened registration for the second season of the Washington D.C. Gay Basketball League. The summer league kicks off on June 5 and runs for 10 weeks at Trinity Washington University. Registration is first come first serve and is located on the website at teamdcbasketball.org.

The inaugural Freedom Sports Festival will kick off July 18-21 with six sports being contested all within the D.C. city limits.  Local LGBT sports teams will come together to host tournaments in beach volleyball, golf, racquetball, kickball, ballroom dancing and basketball.

The Festival will open at the Team D.C. Champions Awards and College Scholarship reception on July 18. Registration for the tournaments will open soon and will be posted at teamdc.org.

The DC Gay Flag Football League will send teams to compete in Pride Bowl VI in Chicago from June 27-30. Last year, 24 teams from across the United States contested in the event with one of the D.C. squads just missing a spot in the championship game. The flag football league is dcgffl.org.

The World Out Games will be contested from July 31-Aug. 11 in Antwerp, Belgium in 33 different sports. A contingent from D.C. will be attending and a uniform has been organized for the opening ceremonies. More information will be at teamdc.org.

And finally, a big thank you to Jason Collins from the Washington LGBT sports community. Collins became the first American of a major professional sports league to acknowledge being gay while being an active player. The news brought statements of support from the Washington Wizards, NBA star Kobe Bryant, former President Bill Clinton and President Obama among others.