6.2002
SPORTS
V
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A
s the sun settled over the final day of the
Gay Games VI Sport & Cultural Festival
in Sydney, Australia, Team Oregon
walked away with something more valu
able than gold.
In addition to a rejuvenated spirit of com
petition and finding success at their respective
sports, members left with a sensation of free
dom and tolerance at having participated in
perhaps the most accepting event for gay men
and lesbians on the planet.
“The Games were an amazing experience
for all of us,” says Jon Palanuk of the men’s
swimming team. “Sydney outdid itself in mak
ing this an efficient, effective, exciting and
thrilling experience.”
Although some members did take first place
in their events, for many the Oct. 25-Nov. 9
festival was less about setting records and rack
ing up medals and more about personal bests.
This certainly held true for the women’s
basketball players. Despite being plagued with
injuries, the team pulled together for a strong
finish. Battling its way into the quarterfinals, it
was eventually knocked out by the Dutch team
Fatal Attraction, which went on to win the sil
ver medal.
“It was a good game, and it could have been
a lot worse,” player Bee Williams says. “We did
very well considering the injuries.”
PHOTO BY CHRIS GAARDER
One of
Williams’ best
experiences at the
Games this year was
when Team Oregon played Chinese Taipei,
the first-ever Asian team for women to attend a
Gay Games. Even though
Team Oregon won handily,
Taipei became their biggest
fans and came out to sup
port them in other games.
Team Oregon decided
to return the favor. “They
were so happy to just be
there and enjoyed playing
so much that it reminded
us that there was some
thing bigger than win
ning,” Williams remarks.
The newest member of
Many happy Team Oregon revelers settle in one place during Gay Team Oregon, golfer Matt
Games V I. Sue Gill (far right, seated) won her third gold medal in Fraser, also relished in the
sportsmanship of the
powerlifting.
S
ydney, Australia, brought the Gay Games
“Under New Skies” as it treated 13,000
participants from more than 80 countries
to a festival of sport, culture and celebra
tion unprecedented in its size and energy.
Gay Games VI kicked off with an opening
ceremony full of camp, laughter, tears and
international unity. About 40,000 people
cheered as athletes from all comers of the
world paraded into Aussie Stadium to a
megamix of the hottest club music flanked by
leather-clad bad boys and dykes on bikes.
In the most gorgeous display of absurdity, a
frenzy of pink and white pompoms billowing
from every seat catapulted the spirit of the
evening from fantastic to fabulous.
There were moments of gay pride that
exploded into something so much bigger and
more significant: the overwhelming ovation, for
instance, that the crowd gave the sole Team Iraq
athlete; Team U SA shouting “U.K.! U.K.! U.K.!"
as Team United Kingdom marched by (and vice
versa); or when Teams India and Pakistan bucked
tradition, political enmity and the alphabet to
march together. Moments like these elevated the
Games to a realm of pride, love and camaraderie
beyond imagination.
An extravaganza of fireworks, glitter, drag
queens and cheerleaders decorated the stadium
floor throughout the evening, and a parade of
dancers and musicians, including headliners
Jimmy Somerville and k.d. lang, graced the
stage and the microphone with melodies of
“Struggle, Remembrance, Acceptance and
Celebration”— the ceremony’s themes.
Games. The
Portlander
placed fourth
overall in the Men’s A
individual competition and captained the
gold medal team in the group event.
In group golfing, a person from each divi
sion is teamed up with three other people to
form a four-person mixed team. Each is then
handicapped based on golfing ability. Fraser
partnered with guys from Grand Rapids, Mich.,
and San Diego along with a woman from Am
sterdam to take the tournament.
“It was a wonderful, wonderful week,”
exclaims Fraser. “The best of my life, really.”
(Rumor has it this could be due in part to Fras
er meeting a super-cute Aussie, but who
believes these things?)
Aside from the sports events themselves, mem
bers of Team Oregon marveled at the all-encom
passing atmosphere of the Games and Sydney.
“People don’t realize that this has been a very
American-centric event,” asserts Fraser. “The gay
linden
new skies
Team Oregon runner
says there’s no place
like the Gay Games
by
These performances were only outdone by
Justice Michael Kirby, an openly gay member of
the Australian High Court, who gave a rousing
speech on human dignity. His remarks summed
up the significance of the Games: “Let the word
go out from Sydney and the Gay Games of 2002
that the movement for equality is unstoppable.
Its message will eventually reach the four cor
ners of the world. The Games will be another
M ichael B arrett
catalyst to help make that happen. Be sure that,
in the end, inclusion will replace exclusion.”
A full week of athletic events celebrated
the official Gay Games themes of “participa
tion, inclusion and personal best.” Events
ranged from traditional Olympic sports such as
track and field, wrestling and swimming to
ballroom dancing, aerobics and physique.
Altogether, athletes participated in 31
sports at more than 40 venues in and around
the city, with many taking place at Sydney
Olympic Park, the heart of the 2000 Olympic
Games. Team Oregon boasted more than 60
triathletes, swimmers, volleyballers and others
who played hard and looked good doing it, had
great fun and, in some cases, won a few medals.
It wasn’t all about sports, however. A two-
week cultural festival brought artists, musicians,
activists and great minds from throughout the
world to Sydney to show off their talents in
diverse events like “Sing Out,” “Writing for
Performance,” “Tournament of the Minds:
people in Australia seemed amazed at the size of
this event. Everyone in the community was like,
‘Wow, this has been kind of a well-kept secret.’ ”
Williams was also taken aback by the friend
ly environment. “I never knew how oppressed I
was until I spent a week without being
oppressed,” she says. “Even all the mom-and-
pop stores were selling Gay Games memorabilia
like hats and pins. Sydney was just amazing.”
Many who have experienced this relatively
untapped, spectacular gala have decided they
won’t miss the next event for anything. “For
sure I’m not going to miss another Gay Games,”
insists Williams. “Even if I’m not playing, I’m
going. It was a life-changing experience.”
In other notable Team Oregon finishes,
powerlifter Sue Gill of Eugene, who battled
breast cancer after the 1998 Games, struck gold
for the third time, winning the Masters II divi
sion for women 50 and older in her respective
weight class.
Sara Wiener of Bend decided her silver from
the ’98 Games in sprint triathlon wasn’t good
enough and upped it to gold in Sydney. Her
partner, Joanne Richter, who won bronze in the
Olympic distance triathlon in ’98, won a silver
this year in the classic triathlon and a gold in
the 15-kilometer individual cycling time trials.
Additionally, tennis partners Tom Barreto
and Brian Sinclair of Portland had a solid
showing. In the Men’s Open Singles division,
Barreto made it to the round of 32, while Sin
clair blasted his way into the sweet 16. The
two also teamed up in Men’s Open Doubles,
making it to the round of 16.
In men’s swimming, Palanuk noted that while
he finished 12th out of more than 170 competi
tors in the 50-meter freestyle, teammate Chris
Gaarder placed ninth out of more than 150 con
testants in the 100-meter breaststroke. j n
G ay G ames VII: M ontreal R enpez -V ous 2006
is July 29 to Aug. 5, 2006, in Montreal (a little closer
than Australia!). For more information visit
tuivuj.montreal2006.org or wiviv.teamoreffjnusa.com.
COURTNEY P erkins is a Portland free-lance writer.
Bridge and Chess,” “Mellow Drama” and
“Draw Inspiration.”
No medals were offered in the unofficial
sport of partying, but had there been, yours
truly would have been a contender for the gold.
Five official Gay Games parties spanned the
week, beginning with “Welcome!” followed the
next day by “Sunset” on the harbor. The high
light for women was “Butch!,” which revved up
a crowd of 8,000 at a dykefest like no other, and
10,000 homy, sweaty men braved the famed
“Black Party,” where shirts were practically for
bidden and pants were at times an anomaly.
More than 20,000 Gay Games revelers and
their Sydney hosts had one last chance to
shake their booties to the grooves of Kylie
Minogue and other Aussie club hits at
“Farewell!” after the closing ceremonies.
History will remember Gay Games VI as a
brilliant success. It harnessed all the beauty
that the worldwide sexual minorities communi
ty possesses and put it on display for one grand
week in which the spirit of healthy competi
tion flourished, milestones were achieved, and
happiness reigned.
The Gay Games, which began in San Fran
cisco 20 years ago, are open to people of all back
grounds, ability levels and sexual orientations—
literally everyone is welcome to participate. 2002
veterans already have Montreal on their calen
dars for 2006, and you should, too! JTH
M ichael B arrett is vacationing in Queensland
(how appropriate) before returning to Portland to
begin framing for Gay Games V ll .