ROB SMITHERMAN: The Federation of Gay Games, which began as San Francisco Arts & Athletics, has been an amazing institution for the past 40 years, keeping alive the Gay Games vision first begun in 1982. The board, the Assembly, and the many volunteers for the FGG have worked to make each Gay Games better, and they provided the structure for success.

A group that deserves much of the credit for each Gay Games is the host city working group that actually produces the Games. Each city organization must develop, manage, and create the event from scratch, using the guidelines set out by the FGG. Every Gay Games has produced an amazing event, with over 30 sports, several cultural events, an opening and closing ceremony, and often a festival village. These successes have been due to the host city leadership, volunteers, and staff devoting their lives to the Gay Games in their city.

I have attended every Gay Games since Amsterdam in 1998. I was fortunate to be part of the staff at the Chicago Gay Games, working as a sports manager. I then worked for the host teams in Cologne in 2010 and Cleveland/Akron in 2014. I also have been a member of the Steering Committee, a working group that has several representatives from the FGG and the host city. This has allowed me to be in awe of the host city volunteers and staff, those that make the Gay Games actually work.

Each host city organizing committee is a bit different. The group could consist of almost all volunteers with a few paid staff and consultants, or it could have a larger paid staff overseen by a volunteer board. Whatever the form the host is made up of people who are passionate about the Gay Games and the LGBTQ+ community. These people give up part of their lives for many years to make the Gay Games successful in their cities.

Since I was not part of the host city organizing committees before Chicago I cannot recognize individuals of those teams specifically. However, those organizers created an incredible event for each Gay Games, and then “passed the torch” to the next one. Each host city was able to build on the success of the previous one, and each learned from their challenges and difficulties.

Many people deserve praise, but from an operations and production standpoint, one person who deserves special recognition is Stuart Borrie of the Sydney Gay Games. Stuart created a report that is the most comprehensive and clear explanation of how to organize a Gay Games. We are still using it 20 years later. He is a major reason that the host cities after Sydney were able to create a successful event.

Gay Games VII: Chicago 2006 was organized by a dedicated team of volunteers, including the co-chairs Suzie Arnold and Sam Coady, and vice-chairs Tracy Baim and Kevin Boyer. They led a volunteer team that consisted of many in the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago. They also hired a great staff that produced each aspect of the Gay Games.

Gay Games VIII: Cologne 2010 was the dream of the LGBTQ+ Sports Club in Cologne, SC Janus. Annette Wachter and Michael Lohaus were the co-chairs, with Armin Lohrmann as the executive director, and they provided such great leadership. They led a team of volunteers, most of whom were part of SC Janus. Imagine having over 10,000 people for a week-long event that was produced almost exclusively by volunteers. Their success was a result of the passion and love that they had for Cologne and for the LGBTQ+ community.

Gay Games 9: Cleveland+Akron 2014 was a special and unique Gay Games, hosted by two small cities, both with a small LGBTQ+ sports community. The eventual group that organized the Gay Games was a volunteer board headed by Steve Sokany and Hollie Ksiezyk. The board relied on a staff to organize and produce the events, headed by Executive Director Tom Nobbe, as well as Marketing Director Ann Gynn and Development Director Mary Zaller. The board, staff, and volunteers produced a successful Gay Games in so many ways, including making a positive impact in the local communities, and creating a small budget surplus that eventually was able to donate to local LGBTQ+ causes.

Gay Games 10: Paris 2018 was led by Manuel Picaud, as well as Co-President Pascale Reinteau, who developed an outstanding team that produced yet another successful Gay Games. The French LGBTQ+ sports club FGSL contributed to producing many the sports events. Emy Ritt, prior FGG Co-President, was a great asset in the ultimate realization of the most recent Gay Games. These leaders and countless volunteers produced an amazing event in an amazing city.

We now have three host cities for future Gay Games. Hong Kong, led by Lisa Lam and Alan Lang, have developed a dedicated group of volunteers to manage and produce the Hong Kong version of Gay Games 11. Guadalajara Gay Games 11 is quickly bringing together the city, volunteers and staff to host a successful event. Valencia is just getting started with its plans to produce Gay Games 12. 

We also need to acknowledge the cities that bid to host the Gay Games but were not chosen as host. Each of those cities have had volunteers who dedicated several years of developing and presenting bids for the Gay Games. I have had the honor of meeting, working with, and sharing the disappointments of many of the great representatives from the bid teams of these cities. These wonderful volunteers deserve our respect and thanks.

Being part of the host city team has been a life-changing experience. The drive, determination, and passion of each host city organization has created the Gay Games that we know today. I wish I could name all of the people who have made a difference for each host city, but the list would be too long. Please join me in honoring them by remembering their dedication and commitment to making each Gay Games a success.