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40-Day “Passing The Torch” Campaign to Celebrate Gay Games 40th Anniversary

27 Jul 2022 09:37 | Douglas Litwin (Administrator)

With the 40th anniversary of the first Gay Games fast approaching, the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is launching a 40-day series of online posts chronicling its history, told by those who have led the global LGBTQ+ sports and culture movement since its inception. Entitled “Passing The Torch,” this series of essays will be accompanied by iconic images from the FGG digital archives.

Read the entire "Passing The Torch" series as it is posted daily HERE.



“I was part of the first out lesbian football team in Europe in the mid-1980s, participated in several Gay Games beginning in 1994, and have served on the administrative side for nearly two decades” stated current FGG Co-President Joanie Evans of London UK. “It really is extraordinary to see how people’s contributions overlap and are interwoven into the fabric of the Gay Games, and how so much of that history is relevant to our goals and our future.”

Evans is just one of nine current and former FGG Board Co-Presidents contributing editorial content to the project. Nearly half of the two dozen individuals contributing editorial content participated in the inaugural Gay Games in 1982, with several participating in all ten Gay Games. Also sharing their stories about the impact the Gay Games has made on their lives and communities are world record holders and sports administrators from around the world.

“Best of all, we even have previously unpublished comments made by Gay Games founder Tom Waddell, as well as a special tribute by his daughter, Jessica Waddell-Lewinstein Kopp,” added FGG Archivist and former Officer of Marketing Doug Litwin (San Francisco, USA). Litwin has been curating this project for the past two years through the FGG Culture & Ceremonies Committee along with Honourary Life Member Shamey Cramer (Los Angeles, USA), a Gay Games pioneer and associate of Dr. Waddell; as well as representatives from the Gay Games 11 Host Organization.

The series will run from 28 July – one month before the 40th anniversary of the original Opening Ceremony at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium – and run through 5 September, the anniversary of the Gay Games I Closing Ceremony. All postings will remain online and available for viewing at THIS LINK. Also at that website, you can participate in the celebration by purchasing some of the 40th Anniversary pins now on sale (visit https://gaygames.org/store)

The 40th Anniversary of the first Gay Games will also be celebrated during Gay Games 11, being co-hosted in November 2023 in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, the first time the Gay Games will be held in Asia and Latin America. Registration for both of those events will open in the next few months. Links to both host city websites will be available soon and found at www.gaygames.org.

Read the entire "Passing The Torch" series as it is posted daily HERE.

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