08/30/2021
From Roger Brigham (GGWC coach):
Fellow Gay Games supporters,
As an active and longtime Gay Games volunteer, supporter, advocate, coach and athlete; as a former communications officer for the FGG; and as a veteran of of 45 years of news and sports reporting, I'd like to offer a few comments, observations and suggestions to supplement this email.
-- First off, absolutely if you receive inquiries, especially from the press, seeking information about HK2022 operations, planning, goals, etc., you should definitely forward the inquiries to the HK2022 team whether you personally answer the question or not. This allows HK2022 to benefit from the opportunity to interact with parties showing any interest in Gay Games XI, it affords them the chance to provide the latest and most complete information, and it enables them to address any misunderstanding about the given issue that are floating around. And it would not hurt to cc: [email protected] so that the members of the FGG-Host steering committee can be kept in the loop.
-- Many inquiries may be about your organizations' plans, hopes, concerns, preparations and so forth for participating in the 2022 Gay Games. Those are questions for your group. Obviously as leaders in your organizations you are the best to talk about your own operations, so no one is advising you to send them to others for answering. If you do have questions your organizations would like answers to, then send those directly to the appropriate spokes folks for the FGG and HK2022.
For instance, the Sydney Star-Observer interviewed the Silverbacks wrestling club, a member of FGG member organization Wrestlers WithOut Borders, about their outlook for Gay Games XI: https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/on-the-sideline-with-sarah-sydneysilverbacks/204970 . Those were questions only Harbour City wrestling could answer.
I had the opportunity to speak with many representatives and athletes from the Gay Games family recently about their concerns and hopes heading into 2022. I have always endeavored to talk with athletes in advance of major LGBT+ sports events such as Gay Games, Outgames, EuroGames and Sin City Classic to help others get a feel for the lay of the land. These reports are separate and distinct from the articles I write that are based on interviews with the event organizers or sanctioning bodies because the logistics and viewpoints of potential participants are independent of the logistics and viewpoints of event organizers. The more all parties are aware of what is happening with each other, the more optimal and harmonious the grand event is likely to be. (For a case in point when neither side knows what is happening with the other, consider the implosion of the 2017 Miami World Outgames.)
The latest story can be found at https://www.ebar.com/news/news//308203. Most of those interviewed preferred to be on background rather than the record because of how much flux we are in. Others could not comment yet because they have meetings and processes still to go through. Although there was a lot of concern about COVID (which would have been an issue no matter who was hosting the event) and the increasing imprint of the Chinese government (and of course, every individual has a different standard and definition of what supporting a government means and how it plays into their thinking), there was also a great deal of hope and optimism expressed for HK2022 organizers and Gay Games XI.
-- Getting asked, especially by news media, about the Gay Games in the years between the Gay Games should be viewed for what it is: SUCCESS! The Gay Games are one of the biggest community events of any kind in the LGBT+ world yet virtually disappear from the public conciousness in non-event years, making marketing and brand building very difficult. The more aware people are of the years of between-event labour, dedication, sacrifice, debate, politics, negotiation and training that make up the quadrennial event, the more opportunity we have to raise awareness of the value of our sports-inclusive mission.
With the pandemic again plunging Sydney and Melbourne into lockdown, opportunities to get out and play have been limited lately. But while the new restrictions might have spared me from
