By Joe Thompson

The 1st World Outgames strikes out on its own in Montréal

A brightly burning torch of gay athleticism is coming to Los Angeles in October, but it's got nothing to do with the Federation of Gay Games. The 1st World Outgames begins Saturday, July 29 in Montreal, and the organizers are hoping to recruit scores of queer Californians to participate and attend their week-long event. With 35 different athletic disciplines including aerobics, beach volleyball, power lifting, soccer, and wrestling, as well as cultural events and parties tossed in for good measure, the Outgames appear to be the must-hit summer celebration.

"We're planning to have 16,000 athletes on the site and, according to Tourism of Montreal, we should have 250,000 visitors in Montreal during that week of events," explains Pascal Dessureault, press secretary for Outgames. "We already have 6,500 registrants from around the world, 10 months before the games, so we should very easily obtain our objective."

Such numbers sound impressive, but they also raise the question of why the first World Outgames was even created. While it's no secret that the Gay Games have previously experienced financial difficulties in some cities, they do exist already and hold strong name recognition within the LGBT community. So why would someone want to found a competing organization?

"Outgames were begun because the FGG [Federation of Gay Games] and Montreal 2006 could not come to a licensing agreement after Montreal 2006 was voted GGVII Host in 2001," explains Mark Tewksbury, co-president of the Outgames. "Where the FGG wanted Montreal 2006 to scale back on its plans and be primarily volunteer delivered, Montreal 2006 was clear that with indicators showing that up to 16,000 participants would arrive for the event, we had to be volunteer-driven but professionally delivered."

With no resolution in sight, the two organizations split and the Gay Games moved to Chicago; however, Montreal wasn't down for the count, so the organizing committee quickly created the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA), pulled their resources together, and launched the first official World Outgames. According to Dessureault, it was some weeks after GLISA released their event dates that the FGG announced that the Gay Games would be held July 15-22, thus having their event end one week prior to the World Outgames' opening ceremonies. Whether or not this was a deliberate attempt to hurt the fledgling organization is open for debate, but what is clear is the Outgames' ability to recruit large participation and on a global level. Now they're setting their sights on the United States.

"Thirty-five percent of our participants are coming from the U.S., but we still have lots of work to promote the games there," says Dessureault. To that end, organizers are hosting parties in various cities across the country that will allow individuals and teams to not only sign up to compete in Montreal, but also to increase awareness of the games.

The Los Angeles party, to be held Thursday, Oct. 20, at The Abbey, will feature Outgames organizers presenting the event, answering questions, and assisting with registrations. As an additional motivator, Outgames has launched a special promotion in which volume discounts are available for certain team sports as well as groups of all kinds, so whether you're on a team, in a dance or choral group, or simply an individual who registers as an organized gaggle of gays, you can earn discounts on your fees.

"Teams have told us that reduced pricing would help them get their members registered sooner, and we have listened," says Louise Roy, CEO of Montreal 2006, who hopes that this promotion will allow them to reach their registration goals well ahead of their forecasts. "We are launching this promotion to make the Outgames as inclusive as possible."

Another obvious factor assisting the event is the queer-inclusive Canadian government, the government of Quebec, and the city of Montreal all supporting the Outgames. Indeed, in a recent public statement, Gerald Tremblay, mayor of Montreal, said, "The organizing committee and GLISA have all the budgetary, logistical, and security components in place to ensure the delivery of a major event with the enthusiastic support of all Montrealers. I am also very pleased and proud to announce that the longevity of the Outgames is assured, now that the city of Copenhagen will carry the flame to 2009 and many other cities have expressed their interest in hosting the 2013 edition. Once again, Montreal's innovation has set the example."

So with a quarter of a million LGBT visitors estimated to descend upon a city of three million people, and all of them bringing their almighty queer dollars into the local economy, the 1st World Outgames Montreal 2006 really could become the new darling of local tourism bureaus everywhere. But for Dessureault, the real interest for attendees will be the city itself. "Montreal is renowned around the world as being a party city, and very open-minded," he says. "It should be a really great place to be in 2006."

The 1st World Outgames Montreal hosts an "L.A. loves Montreal" night at the Side Bar at The Abbey (692 N. Robertson Blvd., W. Hlywd.), Thursday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. For more information and for an invitation, email Lee at lpalmer@montreal2006.org . For more information on the 1st World Outgames Montreal 2006, see www.montreal2006.org.