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January
2005
    
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Kudos
To Those Who Registered Early!
General Registration Now Open
 Gay
Games VII Early Registration was extremely successful -
we can't wait to host everyone in Chicago in 2006! Early
registration closed on 31 December and General Registration
opened smoothly on schedule. General Registration is now
available online
or by calling 773.907.2006.
Registration for the Gay Games is easy. Complete our online
registration form, make your payment, and you’re registered.
Your fee is in two parts – the base registration fee of $175
and your sport/culture participation fee (varies by event)
which starts at $35.
What do you get when you register for the Gay Games?:
• Participate in
your choice of sport or cultural event
• Opening Ceremony ticket – prime seat!
• Closing Ceremony ticket – prime seat!
• FREE Week-long Transit Pass
• Gay Games VII Participation Medal
• FREE Spectator pass to most sports
• FIRST CHANCE at special event tickets
• Program Guide
• Souvenir Bag
• Collectible Participant ID/Accreditation
• Discounts from Area Merchants
• FREE Gifts from our great sponsors
• Special Online Gifts until 2006
• Plus, of course, the chance to be part of the legacy of
the Gay Games.
2005 Resolution:
Register
for the Gay Games today. |
P.S.
If you’re like us, you may not be sure which of the 30
sports is best for you in 2006. We understand. Register
for the sport in which you are most likely to compete
and if you change your mind, let us know next year and
we’ll modify your registration record. Or take advantage
of our prepay option – reserve a spot in the Gay Games
at the early bird rate and give us more details later.
To register now, visit our website at
GayGamesChicago.org. |
How
To Register at 2004 Rates Even Though it's 2005
 Want
to pay for your entire team? Have someone who wants to sponsor
you or your team? Have a group of friends planning on going
to the Gay Games and want to save money? Pre-Pay allows anyone
to pay the Base (Part 1) Registration Fee for 5 or more participants
at one time. Best of all – you pay the 2004
price – saving $50 per person!
Each player's personal information isn’t necessary at
the time of Pre-Pay. Simply provide us with the number of
spots you are pre-paying and a credit card – we give
you a Pre-Pay Code good for the number of spots you’ve
purchased. Individuals then return to our website and register
normally, enter the Pre-Pay Code when prompted, and –
here’s the top secret information – the base registration
fee is gone, already prepaid and at the 2004 Rate. Just the
sport fee is due, and that fee doesn’t increase over
time.
Prepay is available via phone only at (773) 907-2006. E-mail
info@gaygameschicago.org
if you’d like us to call you – we’ll even
save you the long distance phone charges. |
After
Registration, Book Your Lodging Online!
 Athletes,
artists and fans planning to attend Gay Games VII in Chicago,
15-22 July 2006, can now make reservations at several downtown
hotels online
from the Gay Games website. Offered in partnership with area
hotels, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and One
Stop Chicago, the online reservation system provides access
to the large block of reasonably priced accommodations reserved
last spring by Chicago organizers of the Gay Games.
In this first phase, nearly
20,000 room nights are available at nine separate downtown
Chicago hotels with room rates starting at US$109/night, a
discount of as much as 50% off regular hotel rates.
The online system is designed for both international and domestic
visitors, accepts major credit cards, and has an interactive
capacity allowing individuals to modify their reservations
online. Read more online. |
Welcome
Team Adelaide, Team Toronto, Team Indiana, SoCal Muscle!
Has Your Organization
Joined The Gay Games VII Partner Program? 
The Gay Games are just over year and a half away. It may
seem like a long time, but organizations and individuals alike
are already making plans to come to Chicago. Connecting participants
with their city or country teams or the sports organizations
that develop rules or sanctioning is crucial to everyone's
planning schedule - months and even years before everyone
comes to the Windy City.
To increase your organization's visibility plus link to members
in your local area or sport, join the Gay Games VII Partner
Program. Click to Learn
about the program, or see who's joined
already. |
| |
London Powerlifter
Chris Morgan Named Gay Games Ambassador
Two-time
Gay Games medalist adds silver medal in world championships
 If
the three guiding principles of the Gay Games are Inclusion,
Participation and Personal Best™, the fourth
unofficial principle surely is Inspiration. For powerlifter
Chris Morgan of London, the inspiration to combat stereotypes
and homophobia led him to a silver medal in the 1998 Amsterdam
Gay Games, a gold in the 2002 Sydney Gay Games, and last month
a silver medal in the World Drug-Free Powerlifting Championships
in Atlanta. Now he hopes to use that drive to inspire other
LGBT athletes in his role as the newest international Federation
of Gay Games Ambassador.
"The 'spirit' of the
Games runs through me," Morgan said after being named
the first Gay Games Ambassador from outside the United States.
"In 1998 I had the most wonderful, magical experience,
one that changed my life forever - walking into Ajax Stadium,
the Opening Ceremony, the Friendship Village, lifting a
weight competitively for the first time ... and walking
away from my first Games with a shiny silver medal in my
hand! I knew then that within myself I had the talent to
make world level in my 'new' chosen sport. I also knew that
the only way to do this was 'Out' and 'Proud.' This was
my calling." Read
the whole story online. |
| Pictured
above are some of the Gay Games Ambassadors: (l-r) Melissa
Etheridge, baseball player Billy Bean, actress
and director Amanda Bearse, Olympic gold medal swimmer
Bruce Hayes, actress Judith Light, former NFL
Player Esera Tuaolo, and figure skater Rudy
Galindo. |
 Gay
Games to be Interpreted for the Deaf
Gay/Deaf-Owned Firm
To Coordinate International Interpretation
Chicago-based Deaf Communication
by Innovation (DCI), a gay-owned and deaf-owned company, will
coordinate International Sign interpreters for the 2006 Gay
Games in Chicago. In a sponsorship agreement valued at almost
US$90,000, DCI will oversee daytime and evening sign language
interpretation for deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes, artists
and fans attending the Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival.
The arrangement includes interpreter training in international
sign language skills to ensure that deaf and hard-of-hearing
people from all countries will be able to participate fully
at the Gay Games. Read more online. |
German
Media Outlets Join Gay Games® VII as Global Sponsor
Monthly and Quarterly
Magazines Reach Swiss, Austrian and German Gay Men
 In
an agreement announced jointly in Berlin and Chicago, Sergej
Publishing becomes a Bronze Global Sponsor with an in-kind
advertising contribution at almost US$200,000 (150,000 Euros).
Sergej monthly magazines (http://www.sergej.de)
are news, entertainment and lifestyle magazines with a circulation
of 90,000 in Berlin, Nürnberg, Stuttgart, Dresden and
Leipzig, Germany. Mate Magazine (http://www.mate-magazin.de)
is a quarterly glossy gay male lifestyle magazine focused
on body, style and travel and has a circulation of 50,000
throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Gay Games advertising
and promotions with Mate and Sergej begin next month.
“We are extremely
proud to support the Gay Games in Chicago,” said Olaf
Alp, publisher. “The Gay Games movement has changed
lives, challenged bigotry, and reduced stereotypes for more
than 20 years. We look forward to working with them to encourage
Germans and other Europeans to travel to Chicago in 2006
and participate in the seventh quadrennial Gay Games.”
View details
online.
Deutsche
Fassung.
|
|  Gay
Games Chicago Hiring Staff!
Chicago Games, Inc. [CGI],
is looking for candidates for the positions listed below.
Deadline for resumes and cover letters is Wed., Feb. 2,
2005, noon. E-mail to: gaygameschicago@aol.com.
Or Fax: (773) 561-1343. Please identify the position for
which you are applying. CGI is an equal opportunity employer
and the host organization for Gay Games VII in Chicago.
Read more.
- Tourism/Housing/Transportation
Coordinator
- Government
and Grants Coordinator
- Culture
Coordinator
- Registration
Coordinator
- Fundraising
— Sponsor Sales
- Fundraising
— Special Events
- Fundraising
— Coordinator
-
Administrative Assistant — Marketing.
|
 Team
Chicago - Open
House!
Join Team Chicago for its
second Open House event on Saturday, 22
January 2005, from 10 pm to 2 am at The North End,
3733 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The event will feature a fashion
show titled "What is Your Team Wearing for the Gay Games?"
with uniforms from past Gay Games and some new uniform ideas
Team Chicago is working on for Gay Games VII. Promotional
videos and photos from past Gay Games, and a short presentation
about Chicago's plans for Gay Games VII will round out the
program. Fashion show starts at 10:30 pm. No RSVP
required, no cover. |
February 3 Chicago Town Hall Meeting
Chicago Games, Inc., the local host organization of the 2006
Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival, will host a Town
Hall Meeting on Thursday, 3 February 2005. The meeting will
take place in the Rubloff Auditorium of the Chicago Historical
Society, 1601 N. Clark Street (at North Avenue), from 6 to
8:30 pm. Details online.
|
 Upcoming
Events
Sunday,
23 January 2005 - Hunters (Chicago) Gay Games Party and Benefit
- 5:00 pm
Hunters Nightclub will hold a special Gay Games Party
and Benefit, to support athletes and artists who are impacted
by HIV/AIDS, on Sunday, 23 January 2005, from 5 to 10 pm.
Tickets: $10. See
Calendar for details.
Saturday, 29 January 2005
- New Volunteer Orientation -
Chicago South Side - 10:00 am -Our next New Volunteer
Orientation Session will take place on Saturday, 29 January
2005, from 10 am to 11:30 am at Affinity, 5650 S. Woodlawn
(Garden level). If you'd like to attend, please RSVP
to Amelia. Prospective volunteers should contact these
two Volunteer Coordinators in advance so that materials can
be provided. If interested in other events and meetings, check
the calendar.
Wednesday, 2 February 2005 - Great Lakes Bears GGVII Benefit
- 5:00 - 10:00 pm
The Great Lakes
Bears are gathering at T's Restaurant and Bar with Guest Bartenders
and Shot-men donating their tips to GGVII. T's is located
at 5025 N. Clark St., Chicago, 773-784-6000
Saturday, 5 February 2005 - Flesh Hungry Dog Show: a Gay
Games VII Benefit - 9:00 pm
Flesh Hungry
Dog brings their irreverent brand of queer rock and roll to
a special music and comedy show at The Underground Lounge
starting at 9 pm. The Underground Lounge is located at 952
W. Newport in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. $10 cover.
Visit FleshHungryDog.com
for more information. |
| Did you know
that most committee meetings are posted on the Gay Games website
on the Calendar
page? |
   
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| Sponsors
Chicago Games, Inc. is proud
to partner with a wide range of sponsors for Gay Games VII
in 2006. We offer several global sponsor levels, with a wide
range of benefits both in advance of the Gay Games and during
the week-long events. New sponsors since last signup include:
Deaf Communication by Innovation,
Sergej & Mate Magazines,Kraft
Foods, and Boi Magazine.
Business sponsorships are also available and have been crafted
to include significant benefits to local or regional businesses.
For information on how you can become a sponsor, call our
office at (773) 907-2006 or email.
Watch our
website for new sponsor announcements all the time, and
be sure to thank our sponsors! |
   
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| Contribute
To Gay Games VII
The Gay Games Movement is big
- very big - and expensive. Dedicated to reducing bigotry
and stereotypes through sport and culture, and with a nearly
25-year-long legacy affecting millions worldwide, the Gay
Games is the kind of nonprofit organization that we can all
be proud to support. More than 50,000 have participated in
the Gay Games since they began in 1982 - and that's just the
athletes and artists.
Please become a
donor or sponsor. Online contributions can be made using
your credit card or checking account. Business sponsorships
start at $500, and higher level individual donations come
with some great benefits. To donate individually, visit
our website.
To become a business sponsor, call us at (773) 907-2006, e-mail
us, or visit us online. |
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| Gay
Games VII Online Store - International Delivery Available!
Be among the first to get official
Gay Games VII merchandise: t-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball
caps, greeting cards, messenger bags and coasters. Visit
GayGamesChicago.org
and select "Store" to see all the great items available today. |
Open
Your Own Logo Store & Help GGVII FREE!
You’ve got the talent &
drive, but let’s face it -whether you run, swim or dance your
way to the Windy City, you need funds for: Teamwear &
Gear, Training, Travel Expenses & More! Click Here
for details. |
| Newsletters
If you would like to be on
our e-newsletter list, send us an e-mail to info@gaygameschicago.org. |
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