10/08: October 2008
EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Tolerance award for Tanja Walther Sport is colourful This October the 9th FARE Action Week takes place under the slogan Different colours, One game. Although FARE initiative focuses on football (soccer), similar initiatives are emerging throughout Europe (and rest of the world) in other sports as well. So show your colours in your sport with pride!
Contents TOLERANCE AWARD FOR TANJA WALTHER INTERNAL AFFAIRS & INTL. COOPERATION MEMBER’S CORNER NEWS SECTION SPORTS EVENTS COMING UP...
DFB President Theo Zwanziger, German national league player Philipp Lahm and Tanja Walther, the representative of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation, were awarded with the “Tolerantia Preis” to commemorate their achievements in their work on tolerance and against discrimination. The awards were given to the recipients on September 7, 2008 in front of 20.000 people in the LTU Arena stadium in Dusseldorf by Bastian Finke, head of the gay anti-violence project MANEO. The award is presented each year in France, Poland and Germany to honour people who are committed to fight against discrimination, hatred and violence. Tanja Walther and Dr. Zwanziger were awarded for their advocacy work in the fight against homophobia in sports.
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, former UN sec. gen.
Philipp Lahm has been given the award for publicly condemninng discrimination of homosexuals in football.
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Internal affairs & Intl. cooperation EGLSF AGA and 20th anniversary Today a teenager - tomorrow an adult EGLSF is still a teenager, but next year she turns into an adult - in 2009 EGLSF can celebrate her 20th anniversary. The anniversary and our annual general assembly will take place in The Hague, The Netherlands, from the 5th to the 7th of March 2009. The board strongly encourages all members to participate in the celebration of our anniversary and our general assembly. In the next newsletters we will give you more detailed information about AGA etc., for be time being you should know that there will be hosted housing as well. Outreach and AGA EGLSF has 1.000 € for covering (part of) travel expenses paid by EGLSF members from outreach countries; 500 € is reserved for female applicants, 500 € for male applicants. Applications must be sent to Juha Meronen (juha@eglsf.info) no later than the 20th of November, and all applicants will receive an answer in the first week of December. Please note, that outreach support will only be given to a. member clubs, and b.members that have not received any support the last two years (for women an exemption can be made to this rule as long as there is no equal (50%) participation of men of women).
The board requests all member clubs to consider supporting outreach clubs, in order to make the participation in our anniversary and assembly possible for as many of our members as possible.
Important e-voting for EGLSF members For the first time in the history of EGLSF, we are holding a referendum via electronic voting in order to let members of EGLSF vote on topics regarding EuroGames. The voting is exclusively to know if the members agree for having big EuroGames in 2011 and also if we should for 2012 EuroGames organisers at the 2009 AGA as well. Detailed information can be found in the document, sent to EGLSF members representatives (email/person indicated in the 2008 membership form). Please read it carefully and give us your votes on the two topics regarding EuroGames. The results of the referendum will enable the voting for the future EGLSF organiser at the AGA in the Hague in March 2009. Please note that the deadline for voting is October 31, 2008! If you are a member of EGLSF, and your club has not received the voting documents, please email Lou Manders at lou@eglsf.info.
2011 EuroGames bidding The deadline for sending the first draft bidbook was set the 31st of October, 2008. Since the voting results will not be known by then, the board has decided to prolong the time period of delivering the draft bidbook until the 21st of November 2008 - it should be sent to lou@eglsf.info.
EGLSF Board meetings In September and October, the seven board members of EGLSF have had three skype meetings and a regular board meeting in Cologne. At the board meeting in Cologne, held on September 27 and 28, the following topics were discussed: EuroGames 2008, 2011 and 2012, Future of EG, AGA 2009, International relations, Outreach/diversity platform. Board members also had a change to meet with SC Janus, EGLSF member, and discuss expectations and plans with them. Cooperation with Gay Games 2010 was also discussed. We would like to thank SC Janus for enabling the board to meet in Cologne, and offer their hospitality to us. More detailed report about Cologne board meeting is to follow in the next issues of EGLSF Newsletters. The next board meeting is scheduled to take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on November 29&30, 2008.
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Standardising EuroGames and tournaments The board thanks for suggestions submitted to us regarding rules and regulations for future EuroGames and tournaments. If you (as an individual, or as a club) have a suggestion, or would like to propose a moreration, please send an email to Juha Meronen at juha@ eglsf.info or Lou Manders at lou@eglsf. info. On the basis of the inputs, a special discussion about sports at the next annual general assembly in The Hague will be held.
GLISA and FGG annual conferences This year, the Gay & Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) International Delegate Congress will be hosted in Vancouver, Canada. The event will be hosted in conjunction with the Interpride event and the GLISA North America Delegate Congress that also takes place in Vancouver. During the two and a half days, current situation and the future of GLISA will be discussed among their members. More information at www.glisa.org. Federation of Gay Games (FGG) has their annual meeting in Cape Town, South Africa from October 20-25, entitled Southern Africa’s LGBT culture and sport: Opportunities, challenges and actions. With the meeting, FGG is renewing ties with African LGBT sport and culture community. Apart from FGG members from all around the world, several local organizations from the Cape Town and surrounding areas have also been invited to attend. More information at www.gaygames.com.
Members’ Corner In September issue, we have introduced EGLSF member club Atlazs from Hungary. In this edition, you can read about our member OIS - Out in Slovenija (from Slovenia). In the next newsletters, we will strive for publishing reports on different topics from our member clubs. If you would like to have your club introduced here, please contact Anne Jensen at anne@eglsf.info.
OIS - Out in Slovenija
If you have heard about LGBT sports in Slovenia and/or our sports group already, you probably associate it with volleyball and bowling only, as these two sports are usually represented at international events. Out in Slovenija (OIS) is actually the first (and only) sports and recreational group for LGBT population in Slovenia. Our activities include cycling, walking, swimming, playing badminton, bowling, volleyball; we also go camping, jogging, skiing and do other sports and activities - indoor as well as the outdoor ones. We participate in the Slovenian and international mainstream and gay sports events (mainly EuroGames, Outgames and Gay Games), and we also organise the annual LGBT International gay bowling tournament. Our aim is to offer social activities and fun through sports and recreation. Our activities are of various levels, and can be organised by anyone; the structure of the group is of an open. We try to ensure that the programme and the activities meet the demands and wishes of our members. The group was founded in 2000, and had functioned independently as an informal group till 2003. The emphasis back then was almost solely on hiking and climbing. In 2003, Out in Slovenija became sports section of DIH - Slovenian Association for Integration of Homosexuality, but it
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
kept the old principles of its operation. In the past years, we have included regular weekly trainings for some sports, and adhock activities for others. “Membership” and cooperation in OIS is mainly still informal, but with some activities - mostly regular weekly practice and international events, members of DIH are entitled to special discounts and benefits. Since we are cooperating with other LGBT sports association as well, we are considering formalising OIS as independent legal entity. In 2004 we organised the LGBT international bowling tournament in Ljubljana, and have integrated it into the Ljubljana Gay Pride weekend. We have kept this tradition, and in 2008, we carried out the 5th tournament already. The tournament is for lesbians and gays, bisexuals and transgenders, recreational and professional sportsmen and sportswomen and also those who haven’t yet held the bowling ball. We try to emphasise the element of fun at our events and the importance of participation.
purpose is to get connected, share information about upcoming tournaments, find double partners, share pictures and have discussions about different topics. All clubs are invited to add there club to the groups section and invite there members to join. Clubs and individual members have their own webpage, can connect to friends, build up a calendar of events they are attending, share their pictures, and much more. For tournament organisers, this site can be very helpful to reach as many interested badminton players as possible. They can add their events in the calendar and invite people to join. The community is an initiative of Roze Blok Badminton, a club that is situated in Delft, The Netherlands. http://gaybadminton.ning.com
FARE Action Week 2008 takes off 16 October 2008
News Section
News submitted by our members
12 October 2008 Last week a new community website started for gay badminton players around Europe (and the rest of the world). Its
Top leagues and clubs celebrate diversity This season 14 top national leagues across Europe – ranging from the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League to the Super League in Greece and Ukraine - are channelling the power of football to get a message across to the millions of people touched by game. Also, a selection of professional clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, Slovan Liberec or Young Boys Berne will be joining their supporters to celebrate the contribution of ethnic minorities to football. One example is Paris Saint Germain’s fixture on Saturday, which will see them link up with French FARE partner LICRA, to hold an anti-racism day at the Ligue 1 match against Lorient. Racism has not vanished The recent case of Atletico Madrid demonstrates that openly expressed racism and far-right agitation is still alive in some football grounds. The strong disciplinary decision taken by UEFA is likely to help tackle racism as the annual weeks of action is launched today. The sanctions are the largest to have been imposed on any football body for racism. In addition to sanctions FARE has called for renewed efforts to tackle all forms of discrimination.
http://www.outinslovenija.com
Gay badminton initiative
one thousand initiatives by campaigners, fans, clubs, national associations and ethnic minority groups across Europe. The 9th edition of the FARE Action Week runs from 16 to 28 October and will see an unprecedented 40 European countries involved in an concerted effort to rid the game of racism and exclusion.
The next 13 days will see European football stand united against racism and discrimination, with the launch of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) Action Week. The initiative, coordinated by the European network and supported by UEFA will feature nearly
Kurt Wachter of the Austrian FARE partner FairPlay. Different Colours. One Game. said “Penalties act as a wake-up call for clubs and associations failing to address the racism problem at heart. FARE’s approach was always to raise awareness and to educate. There is a need to build partnerships with those fans and minorities who are challenging
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
racism on a daily basis. The Action Week is a unique opportunity to spotlight these grass-root groups who are often on the margins of football.” Challenging Homophobia: The last taboo This year the FARE network supports a growing number of initiatives and fan groups who deal with homophobia, which see some as the last taboo in football. The FC Barcelona Gay and Lesbian Fanclub Penya Blaugrana de Gais i Lesbianes and their Swiss counterparts at FC Basel, Querpass Basel will organise activities around the Champions League match of the two teams. In the Action Week the Gay and Lesbian federation of Flanders Holebifederatie launches an awareness-raising campaign against homophobia in mainstream sport. They ask each sport club to display a poster and to signing a declaration against homophobia. The Football Association is hosting tonight a panel debate at the FA Headquarters, Soho, London with a panel featuring gay rights campaigners. Yesterdays’ FIFA World Cup qualifiers between the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus in Dublin and Austria vs. Serbia in Vienna already marked the start of the biggest anti-racism campaign in European sport. http://www.farenet.org
Sports Events Coming up...
Events submitted by our members
Multisports
Sofia-Tangra-Open 2008 Sofia, Bulgaria 24 Oct – 26 Oct 2008
Multisports
Smash & Splash 2008 Eindhoven, the Netherlands 24 Oct – 26 Oct 2008
This year the tournament is taking place on 24-26 October 2008. For the first time we will be able to organise the tournament on one location. Tennis, squash, badminton and volleyball will be the sports in which you can compete. We can offer you this year the possibility to enter our workshops. There will be workshops for exercise gym, self defense, spinning, ballroom dancing and swimming. This one location has the benefit of competing in a sport and support or watch another sport. Of course we will have our famous party after our dinner on Saturday evening. There will be a delicious brunch on Sunday morning. See you in October in Eindhoven. http://smashsplash.kouroseindhoven.nl toernooicoordinator@kouroseindhoven.nl
Bowling Changing The Clocks Backward, 4. International LGBT Multisport Tournament. Participation fee for the tournament will be EUR 35.00; For the registration fee you will get: * accreditation card * a snack with a free drink on registration day (October 24) * free entrance for the Medal Winner Party Celebration on Saturday (October 25) * brunch on Sunday (October 27), * foreigner-guests get private housing (optional, on request) * tickets for public transportation (only for foreigners). http://tangra-sport.org/events.php?id_ event=63 info@tangra-sport.org
Dutch Gay & Lesbian Bowling Competition Amsterdam, the Netherlands 31 Oct – 2 Nov 2008 http://www.gay-bowling.nl cdevries@gay-bowling.nl
Volleyball
Goldelsen-Cup Berlin, Germany 7 Nov – 9 Nov 2008
International Volleyball Tournament, 36 Teams: Men C, B-, B+, Women C, B http://www.goldelsencup.de mail@goldelsencup.de
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Badminton
Tigaly 2008 Lyon, France 15 Nov – 16 Nov 2008 http://www.tigaly.com manu@c-a-r-g-o.org
Volleyball
Chile Volley 2008 Santiago, Chile 17 Nov – 23 Nov 2008 www.asvog.com info@asvog.com
Multisports
Netzo’s annual Volleyball-tournament in Amsterdam; growing bigger and bigger. This year over 500 participants are being expected, with an equal representation of Men and Women. http://www.netzo-amsterdam.nl/ sinterklaastoernooi/Sinterklaas_ Tournament.htm netzo.sinterklaas@gmail.com
Swimming
Swim for Life Brussels, Belgium 30 Nov – 30 Nov 2008
15th Anniversary Tournament Ketelbinkie Rotterdam, the Netherlands 21 Nov – 23 Nov 2008 To celebrate the founding of Ketelbinkie 15 years ago, Ketelbinkie will organise a dazzling multi-sport tournament on the 22nd of November this year. It will be a weekend of sports and fun. http://www.ketelbinkie.net tournament@ketelbinkie.net
London, United Kingdom 28 Nov – 30 Nov 2008 lyc2007@hotmail.co.uk
Swim for Life is a swimming marathon supported and organised by Brussels Gay Sports (BGS). The objective is to raise funds for the prevention of AIDS and for assistance to people who have contracted the disease. Join us on Sunday 30th November for the Swim for Life Marathon Join uson Friday 21st November for the Gaywatch Pool Party (profits go entirely to Swim For Life, which raises funds in the struggle against AIDS). http://www.swimforlife.be jerome@swimforlife.be
Multisports
XMAS Tournament Frankfurt, Germany 5 Dec – 7 Dec 2008
Volleyball
Netzo Sinterklaas Tournament 2008 Amsterdam, Netherlands 28 Nov – 23 Nov 2008
http://www.fvv.org fvv-xmas@fvv.org
Badminton
Badminton4u Tournament London, United Kingdom 7 Feb – 8 Feb 2009 http://www.badminton4u.co.uk info@badminton4u.co.uk
Swimming
Vienna Valentine ‘09
Badminton
LYC tournament 2008
take part with more then 1.000 other athletes from all over Europe. Participants from Eastern Europe may be supported by Frankfurt’s Outreach-Osteuropa Program.
For the twentieth time the Frankfurt LGBT clubs organise the traditional XMASTournament. Enjoy the XMAS-ambience and XMAS-market in Frankfurt-City and
Vienna, Austria 13 Feb – 15 Feb 2009
For the third time we welcome you to our international Valentine swim meet in Vienna. A weekend of culture, friends, fun and sport. Highlight this event in your calendar and check your flights right on time. http://www.kraulquappen.at info@kraulquappen.at
Multisports
Pan GaySki 2009 Alpe d’Huez, France 20 Feb – 1 Mar 2009 Next year in February Pan Idræt, Copenhagen, goes to Alpe d’Huez for a great ski holiday in the French snow. We plan to arrive February 21 and stay there for a week at hotel Eclose. The days will be spent in the
EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
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10/08: September 2008
snow, the evenings at bars and afterski. The nights might be spent at the disco or …? If you and your club are planning for a ski holiday next year, why don’t you come and join us? Pan Idræt has arranges ski trips for many years in Italy, several places I Austria and now France. This year we expect to be at least 40 people tumbling in the snow! http://www.panidraet.dk perhornrasmussen@mail.dk
Multisports
3rd Jocs Taronja València, Spain 27 Feb – 1 Mar 2009
Multisports
Out To Swim Competition 2009 London, United Kingdom 7 Mar – 7 Mar 2009
Out To Swim London will be hosting its annual competition on March 7, 2009. Disciplines will include: diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and waterpolo. Please check the OTS website for further details. http://www.outtoswim.org mikeguy01@gmail.com
Wild Wild South 2009
http://www.samarucs.org infosamarucs@hotmail.com
Interested in joining EGLSF? Would you like to know more about the benefits of being a member? Could you benefit from our service tools?
Multisports
Samarucs will host the third edition of Jocs Taronja from February, 27th until March, 1st, in València, including volleyball and swimming competitions. The registration terms and playing rules will be available after October, 1st, in the website. We hope you to come South again!
EGLSF Membership
Stuttgart, Germany 13 Mar – 15 Mar 2009 You are cordially invited to join our Wild Wild South Tournament 2009. We expect more than 400 participants form all over Europe for this multisports event. Apart from the sports competition, we will organise a big party event on Saturday night and a brunch on Sunday. Have a sports and fun weekend with us in the “wild south” of Germany! http://www.wildwildsouth.de info@wildwildsouth.de
Visit www.eglsf.info to find more, or email us at eglsf@eglsf.info.
EGLSF Newsletter If you woud like to contrubite to the EGLSF Newsletter, please use the online submission forms at www.gaysport.info. After review, your submissions will be posted online, and in the newsletter. Please note that we reserve the right to edit or not to publish your submissions. EGLSF members’ news and events have priority. To subscribe to our service, and to automaticall receive the newsletter each month when it gets published, please visit www.eglsf.info.
Photos: Page 1: GES-Sportfoto Page 2: Gabriella Körmendi Page 3: Andrej Pisl Others: public, non-copyrighted
Contact Us European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) c/o NCS Meeuwenlaan 41 NL-1021 HS Amsterdam The Netherlands eglsf@eglsf.info www.eglsf.info EGLSF Newsletter (ISSN: 1876-1763) is published by the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation. EGLSF is registered as a nonprofit sports organisation with the Chamber of Commerce in The Hague and enjoys participatory status with the Council of Europe.