just o ut ▼ m ay 2 0 , 1004 ▼ 15
David Moreno
GAY G A M E S IV
Let the(
games begin!
Local athletes ready for Gay
Games IV in New York City
by Martha Allen
More than 60 Portland-area gay and lesbian
athletes will travel to New York next month to
participate in the Gay Games competition. Gay
Games IV opens June 18 and continues through
the closing ceremonies June 25.
Portland residents will compete on courts and
on mats, in the water and in the gym, according to
Tyler Cole, chairman of Team Portland. Local
athletes are entered in tennis and wrestling events,
swimming competitions and martial arts contests.
Others have been training for the triathlon, an
endurance test that combines swimming, bicy­
cling and running. Other local competitors will
enter running events, Cole said.
In all, Cole expects 60 to 65 athletes to travel
to New-York next month to represent Portland in
the games, u v a v *
____
V» “ThatVjnsi thè athletes.* C ole tatd, -adding
W h en thousands of gay and lesbian athletes convene in
New York City next month, they'll have to work hard to
keep their attention focused on their sports A myriad of
cultural events, dances, conventions and other activities
are scheduled to coincide with the games, including parties
for the athletes and their fans.
.
Opening ceremonies will put the spotlight
on the athletes, who will parade into the sta­
dium with their local or national team mem­
bers. Choreographers and composers have cre­
ated a special lighting of the flame and original
music for the event, which will feature a 1,000-
voice lesbian and gay choir and a video tribute
to Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Games.
Sporting events are planned every minute of
every day. Some are scheduled to begin hours
before the opening ceremonies, in an effort to
get through all the sports. Events this year
include aerobics, aquatics, billiards, badmin­
ton, basketball, bowling, cycling, figure skat­
ing, flag football, golf, ice hockey, in-line skat­
ing, judo, martial arts, marathons, physique,
powerlifting, racquetball, soccer, softball, sport
climbing, squash, table tennis, tennis, track and
field, triathlon, volleyball and wrestling.
that, in addition to team members, spectators and
people who plan to take advantage of the many
cultural events associated with the games also
plan to attend.
started w ith a iwo-line classified ad in
Cultural events include dance performances
by the Bill T. Jones/Amie Zane Dance Com­
pany, a night of “OUTrageous Comedy,” and a
show by Pomo Afro Homos. A ballroom dance
competition and a country/westem dance com­
petition are also scheduled during the week.
Dances and parties of every theme will
keep athletes and spectators on their toes dur­
ing the evening hours, as well. Travelers who
arrive in New York before the games can plan
to attend the Out of Towners Ball on June 17.
During the week of the games, dances are
planned every night, including an Opening
Night Jock-Sock Knockout on June 18, a Pasta
and Block Party on June 24, and a Closing
Night Blowout Bash set for June 25. More
information on events is available by calling
the Gay Games Special Events Hotline at
(212) 727-6076.
v '
Martha Allen
Just Out, which Cole placed in October 1989.
Calls started pouring in, and Team Portland was
bom. “A bunch of people called me, and we
started meeting,” Cole recalled. - • •
v About 175-local athletes competed m Guy
Games III in Vancouver, British Columbia, in
August 1990, Cole said.
“The games in 1990 were instrumental in
getting teams organized, so they could keep go­
ing on their own,” Cole said. “They really made
people more aware of the gay and lesbian sports
possibilities in Portland.”
Some of the 1990competitors will repeat their
performances in the 1994 games. Fewer people
are going this time because of the distance and
because Team Portland does not have corporate
sponsorship.
“This time, it’s just me,” Cole said. “We need
money, because we don’t have any corporate
sponsors.”
Team Portland does plan to have several fund­
raising events. Team T-shirts ($15) and pins ($3)
are available for purchase at Jelly Bean, 721 SW
10th Ave. Three bar fund-raisers are scheduled in
the coming week: at Dirty Duck Pub,439 NW 3rd
Ave., at 4 pm May 22; at the Embers, 110 NW
Broadway, from 9 pm to midnight May 26; and at
JOQ’s Tavern, 2512 NE Broadway, from 8 to 11
pm May 28.
Team members plan to leave June 17 and will
travel with members of Team Seattle to Atlanta.
There, they will gather with members of other gay
and lesbian teams from across the country to go to
New York C ity....................
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