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November 2004
| BREAKING
NEWS:
French Federation
Announces Unreserved Support for the Gay Games
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 PlanetOut
By The Numbers
Everyone's been talking
about one big number since mid-September - US$1
Million - because that's the value of the corporate
sponsorship of Gay Games VII by PlanetOut, Inc., the global
online media company, the largest corporate
sponsorship ever for an LGBT sporting event.
But for the marketing
team in Chicago, it's the other numbers that mean a lot
more. 3.3 million is the number of members
in the PlanetOut network, which includes gay.com, certainly
the largest online gay and lesbian network in the world,
with as much as 20 times the traffic of
the nearest competitor. Six is the number
of languages in which the PlanetOut network operates - English,
Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese. Four
is the number of continents on which PlanetOut has LGBT-focused
websites - Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK), North
America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Latino Gay.com), South America
(Brazil, Argentina), and Australia/New Zealand. And 100
is the number of countries reached by the entire PlanetOut
Network.
Read more about the
PlanetOut sponsorship online
and visit PlanetOut.com
or Gay.com to show your
support. |
I
Want My Q-Television! 
Let your friends and family
know that you just might be on TV if you come to the Gay Games
in Chicago. Chicago organizers have signed a Letter of Intent
granting television and radio broadcast rights to California-based
Q Television Network.
The multi-million dollar cash and barter deal, once completed,
means that Q Television will broadcast live
and tape delay portions of the Gay Games in 2006, and will
feature the Gay Games in its programming leading up to 2006.
This is the first time that the Gay Games
will receive such widespread television and radio coverage.
Read more about the landmark deal online. |
| 2
Months Left to Save $50 on Registration
(Deutsche
Fassung)
Early registration for
Gay Games VII will close in just 2 months. After 31
December 2004, the base registration fee goes up
US$50. Now is the time to make plans to
be in Chicago in July of 2006 and to register online.
All are
welcome – no qualifiers necessary
30
sports + Band, Chorus, Cheer, Color Guard
Registration
Includes Opening and Closing Ceremony Ticket,
Participation Medal, Transit Pass, Souvenir Program Book,
Collectible ID Badge, Free access to most other sports,
the Experience of a Lifetime.
Early Registration
is important for many reasons.
Save
$50 - Take advantage of early registration discount
through 31 December 2004.
Establish A Personal
Goal - Less than 2 years to get ready to do your very
best.
Reserve Space
Now - Sailing has already reached capacity and
Golf is rapidly filling up!
Show and Event
Ticket Pre-Sale - Only registered participants can
purchase advance tickets to shows and finals - tickets
not yet available to the public.
Support Chicago
- You demonstrate your support for the Gay Games movement,
and your early registration fees help to fund important
planning and promotional activities.
The most popular events
during this early registration period have been Sailing, Swimming,
Bowling, Track and Field, Golf, and Tennis. To register
now, visit our website at GayGamesChicago.org. |
     
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From
the NFL to the Gay Games: Esera Tuaolo Is Newest Ambassador
“Former National Football
League player Esera Tuaolo had just come out in November
2002 when the last Gay Games was held in Sydney, Australia.
Since that time Tuaolo has heard enough about the Gay Games
that he is determined not to miss the next one in Chicago
in 2006. In fact, the 9-year NFL veteran has become the
latest Gay Games Ambassador promoting the event itself and
the Gay Games movement's ideals of "participation, inclusion
and personal best(tm)." Read the whole story online,
plus view some great photos of Esera Tuaolo in front of
Soldier Field, site of the 2006 Gay Games Opening Ceremony,
during a photo shoot in Chicago. |
| Pictured
above, left to right, are some of the Gay Games Ambassadors:
Former NFL Player Esera Tuaolo, Melissa
Etheridge, baseball player Billy Bean, actress
and director Amanda Bearse, Olympic gold medal swimmer
Bruce Hayes, and actress Judith Light.
Far right, Patricia Nell Warren, athlete and author
of "The Frontrunner." Warren is the honorary director of Gay
Games VII Track
and Field Competition. |
Country
Western Dance at Gay Games VII
 You
might say that the Gay Games got its start with a little bit
of country flair. The Foggy City Squares, a San Francisco
square dance troupe, was in the very first segment of the very
first Gay Games Opening Ceremony back in 1982. The tradition
continued in 1986, 1990 and 1994 with country dance in its
many forms being part of ceremonies, festivals, and entertainment.
Chicago brings Country Western Dance back, but this time not
only for its entertainment value, but as part of the DanceSport
Competition. For the first time, participants in Country Western
Dance can win gold, silver or bronze Gay Games medals for
their expertise, athleticism and artistry. Registration for
all sports - including Country
Dancing - is now open. Y'all sign up now, ya hear? Read
the Country Western Dancing timeline online. |
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Out
and About - Gay Games Celebrations Worldwide
As the deadline for early
registration approaches (31 December), Gay Games VII events
are happening worldwide to help inform athletes and artists
about the importance of getting signed up. Special thanks
to all the sports organizations working hard on outreach
last month - especially friends in Toronto, San Francisco,
West Hollywood, Long Beach, San Diego, Dallas, New York,
Ft. Lauderdale, and Boston! If you have an event, please
send
us details so we can put it on our calendar
and post pictures on our website. If your group would like
to host an event, contact
us for details and supporting materials.
photo credit: Gil Kaan |
Upcoming
Info Events (Partial List):
3 November 2004 - Philadelphia, USA
5 November 2004 - Chicago, USA
5-7 November 2004 - Paris, France
6-7 November 2004 - New York, USA
6-7 November 2004 - Palm Springs, USA
9 November 2004
- Cologne, Germany |
11 November
2004 - Dallas, USA
13 November 2004 - Berlin, Germany
13 November 2004 - London, United Kingdom
18 November 2004 - St. Louis, USA
20 November 2004 - Chicago, USA
1 December 2004 - Chicago, USA |
 Chicago,
Join The Home Team!
For everyone from
Chicago, there is a special feeling of pride that our
hometown will be the host of Gay Games VII. Chicago will
take its place alongside some of the world’s greatest
cities as host of the Gay Games. San Francisco, Vancouver,
New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, and now Chicago stand together
as part of that legacy. At the beginning of the 2006 Opening
Ceremony, Team
Chicago will enter Soldier Field at the end of the
parade of athletes as 60,000 roar in support of Our Kind
of Town. It brings a lump to our throat just to think
about it.
Chicago area athletes
and artists have banded together like never before and
have launched their own Gay Games registration campaign.
“Join the Home Team” starts now with
an eye to the early bird registration deadline
of 31 December. To help get things started,
Gay Games Chicago, Team Chicago and Spin
Nightclub are throwing an official “Join the Home
Team” party Saturday, 20 November, from
5 - 9pm at Spin Nightclub. The party
is a celebration of Chicagoan’s support for Gay Games
VII - 15-22 July 2006 in Chicago, and a big “Thank
You” to sponsors, volunteers, athletes and artists
who have already registered as participants. Bring your
Gay Games confirmation number, drink and eat, and enter
the drawing for some incredible prizes donated by local
and international sponsors. Of course, there will be plenty
of Gay Games volunteers and experts on hand to answer
your questions if you haven’t yet registered.
Mark your
calendar for November 20, “Join the Home
Team” by registering
today online (and save $50), and start
making plans for that grand entry into Soldier Field. For
more information about Team Chicago, visit www.TeamChicago.org.
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Color
Guard and Cheer Teams Added to Cultural Program
Gay Games VII is proud
to announce the addition of Cheer Teams and Color Guard to
the "Stepping Out" cultural program. Cheer teams and color
guard have long been part of the Gay Games program, often
featured in Opening and Closing Ceremonies and at sports events,
and that won't change. But now the teams and guard will be
welcomed as an official part of "Stepping Out" - the band
program - as Gay Games participants. This means the teams
will march into Soldier Field and Wrigley Field
with the rest of the athletes and artists, receive Participation
Medals in recognition of their week-long participation
at the Gay Games, all while continuing to do what they do
best - inspiring the athletes and the fans with their displays
of athletic and artistic prowess.
Cheer teams and color guard - Register
Now as part of the Band Program!
(Pictured Above - Team San Francisco Cheer, Chicago's Righteously
Outrageous Twirling Corps, Millennium
Park's Pritzker Pavilion, Photos from the Sydney 2002
Cultural Program) |
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Dive
Into The Pool! – The IGLA 2004 Championships
Nearly
1,000 international swimmers, divers, and water polo players
descended on Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA for the 2004 Championships
of the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championships.
Gay Games VII was a Platinum Sponsor and the aquatics sportsmen
and sportswomen are enthusiastically looking forward to
participating in the 2006 Gay Games.
IGLA was born out of the first Gay Games and has evolved into
one of the most important LGBT sports organizations worldwide.
IGLA ensures that the highest aquatics standards are met at
each Gay Games and designates the Gay Games as their Annual
Championships every four years. Read our online
story about the general membership’s overwhelming redeclaration
of support for the Gay Games and the FGG, as well as some
fun pictures from the event. |
Aquatics
T-shirts NOW AVAILABLE!
Whether
you're a swimmer, water polo player, diver, or a fan, these
special Gay Games VII Aquatics T-shirts are
sure to be a hit. These shirts were created especially for
the International
Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) 2004 Championships
in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The first order of 100 shirts sold
out in 3 days. So we've reordered and they're available
to aquatics athletes and enthusiasts alike. |
Volunteers!
Our next New
Volunteer Orientation Session will take
place on Sunday, November 14, from 5 to
7 pm at Borders Book Store at 1500 W. 16th
St. in Oakbrook, north of the Oakbrook
Shopping Mall. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP
to Amelia
or Kashaun.
Prospective volunteers should contact one of the two Volunteer Coordinators so that materials can be provided in advance.
If you want to join
a committee, or are just interested in learning more about
the Gay Games and how you might help, we welcome your participation.
Prospective volunteers should RSVP so that our Volunteer
Coordinator can send you advanced materials. Details available
online.
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This is
part of our monthly volunteer orientations. These will be
scheduled at different parts of the city. The next volunteer
orientation sessions are scheduled for Thursday 9 December
from 6:30-8:30pm. If interested, RSVP
to Kashaun or Amelia.
Did you know that most
committee meetings are posted on the Gay Games website on
the Calendar
page? |
 
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| Sponsors
Sponsors are crucial
to the success of the Gay Games and new sponsors are signing
up every day. New sponsors since our last e-update include:
PlanetOut Inc., Spin,
Harris Bank, ToBe
Magazine (Toronto/Montreal), WildDot.com,
The A.C.T. Group, Ltd.,
The Patch Bar,
Hydrate Chicago,
Abbott’s Printing, Play
It Again Chicago, Stella’s
Diner, Hot Pink,
Francesca’s Bryn
Mawr, @mosphere,
and the Nuevos Tiempos/Orgulloboricua.net
(Puerto Rico).
Sponsors bring important
financial and in-kind resources not only to the Gay Games
host organization but to the athletes, artists and fans.
Sponsors gain affiliation with an inspiring, worldwide event
with a legacy of more than two decades. Watch our
website for new sponsor announcements all the time,
and be sure to thank our sponsors! Sponsors
announced earlier: Genre
Magazine, Windy
City Media Group, ChicagoPride.com,
Desert
Daily Guide (Palm Springs, CA), Gay
Chicago Magazine, Big
City Maps, Bad
Boys Chicago, Hunter’s,
International
Women's Flag Football Association, T’s
Restaurant and Bar, Archipelago
Group, Scorpio
Art Studio, Touche,
Angel’s
Restaurant, Buck's
Saloon, Gallery
Bonfiglio, and Temptations.
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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, email
us, or visit us online. |
     
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Gay Games
VII Online Store - Now Open
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 email to info@gaygameschicago.org. |
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