Gay
sports
officials
aren’t
planning
to
mend
the
rift
that
separated
this
year’s
Gay
Games
and
OutGames.
Officials
on
both
sides
said
the
recent
success
of
both
events
—
Gay
Games
in
Chicago
and
OutGames
in
Montreal
—
indicates
there’s
enough
interest
to
sustain
two
major
gay
sports
competitions.
“It’s
not
a
bad
thing,”
said
Gay
Games
spokesperson
Phyllis
Jones.
“What’s
the
downside
to
that?
I
don’t
think
there
is
one.”
Gay
Games
VII,
which
drew
12,000
athletes,
concluded
July
22.
The
First
World
OutGames
had
about
10,000
athletes
and
ended
Aug.
5.
Organizers
said
they
expect
both
events
to
post
a
profit,
but
financial
results
have
not
yet
been
released.
The
Federation
of
Gay
Games
is
already
planning
its
next
event,
Gay
Games
VIII,
for
2010
in
Germany.
OutGames
officials,
meanwhile,
are
planning
several
events
for
the
years
ahead.
The
organization’s
first
continental
competition
will
be
held
next
year
in
Calgary.
A
similar
event
will
be
held
in
the
Pacific
Rim
in
2008.
Libby
Post,
an
OutGames
spokesperson,
said
the
continental
competitions
are
prologues
to
the
Second
World
OutGames
in
Denmark
in
2009.
She
said
if
the
success
that
OutGames
experienced
in
Montreal
is
any
indication,
the
franchise
has
a
promising
future.
“The
city
itself
was
so
tremendously
welcoming,”
Post
said.
“There’s
nothing
better
than
being
in
the
majority
for
two
weeks.
And
add
to
that
a
city
government
that
wanted
us
to
be
there
—
it
was
really
great.”
Reconciliation
urged
But
not
everyone
welcomed
plans
by
Gay
Games
and
OutGames
to
move
ahead
with
separate
events.
Brent
Minor,
a
Federation
of
Gay
Games
board
member
from
Washington,
D.C.,
said
athletes
told
him
they
missed
the
unification
that
one
event
offers,
and
urged
reconciliation.
“I
think
people
were
somewhat
miffed
that
there
were
certain
elements
that
weren’t
there
because
of
the
split
between
the
organizations,”
Minor
said.
OutGames
was
created
following
a
protracted
feud
among
gay
sports
officials.
The
dispute
dates
back
to
the
2002
Gay
Games
VI
in
Sydney,
which
was
plagued
by
financial
problems.
In
the
aftermath
of
that
event,
the
Federation
of
Gay
Games
pushed
through
a
series
of
rules
changes
that
required
local
organizers
of
future
games
to
surrender
financial
control.
Officials
who
had
already
started
planning
Gay
Games
VII
in
Montreal
steadfastly
opposed
the
changes.
Nearly
two
years
of
negotiations
followed,
as
both
sides
attempted
to
work
together,
but
no
agreement
could
be
reached.
The
two
groups
separated
in
November
2003,
and
Montreal
planners
staged
their
event
independent
of
the
Federation
of
Gay
Games.
Minor
said
athletes
told
him
the
separation
yielded
weaker
competition
—
and
lessened
the
international
flavor
—
at
the
Chicago
and
Montreal
games.
“There’s
no
question
that
people
felt
it
was
good,
but
it
could
have
been
better,”
he
said.
“I
think
people
who
had
been
to
previous
games
definitely
noticed
there
was
an
absence
of
something.”
Minor,
who
leads
Team
D.C.
and
helped
coordinate
trips
for
athletes
traveling
to
both
events,
said
he
plans
to
talk
to
local
athletes
in
the
weeks
ahead.
He
said
if
athletes
want
reconciliation
between
Gay
Games
and
OutGames,
he’ll
seek
it.
Gay
Games
officials
said
attendance
in
Chicago
totaled
140,000
people
—
far
more
than
planners
expected.
The
opening
ceremony
drew
32,000,
and
the
closing
ceremony
saw
another
20,000.
The
Chicago
Convention
&
Tourism
Bureau
estimated
the
Gay
Games
brought
about
$33
million
to
the
city
in
hotel,
restaurant
and
transportation
receipts.
OutGames
brought
an
estimated
$100
million
to
Montreal,
according
to
the
Board
of
Trade
of
Metropolitan
Montreal.
OutGames
was
not
without
incident,
however.
Just
as
some
religious
groups
protested
the
Chicago
games,
others
protested
the
Montreal
games.
One
church
held
a
small
street
protest
in
the
city’s
gay
village
during
the
opening
ceremony.
