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15 Jul 2008 - GLRF membership roster surpasses 700 mark
20 Dec 2007 - GLRF extends holiday greetings to organizations and supporters
03 Dec 2007 - GLRF website overhaul gets underway
06 Nov 2007 - GLRF website suffers extended website outage
04 Nov 2007 - GLRF completes a successful booth regatta promotion season in Chattanooga
18 Sep 2007 - GLRF talks rowing in broad European tour
05 Aug 2007 - GLRF Regatta Advisory Group issues rowing report on 2008 Barcelona Euorgames regatta options
02 Jul 2007 - GLRF membership counts passes the 600 mark
01 Apr 2007 - GLRF launches 2007 regatta booth promotion season
06 Mar 2007 - GLRF visits Barcelona and attends EGLSF meeting in Madrid
31 Dec 2006 - GLRF passes on continued membership in the Federation of Gay Games
22 Nov 2006 - Yahoo group ‘glrowers’ suddenly deleted without warning
09 Jul 2006 - GLRF passes 500 member mark
17 Mar 2006 - GLRF and here!Films to present a benefit screening of Summer Storm in St. Louis
09 Mar 2006 - here!TV and GLRF form marketing partnership
05 Mar 2006 - GLRF attends 2006 general assembly of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation
18 Nov 2005 - GLRF attends 2005 annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games
13 Oct 2005 - Craftsbury Sculling Center ends GLRF partnership
02 Sep 2005 - GLRF attends GLISA 1st delegate congress
25 Aug 2005 - GLRF Regatta Advisory Group meets with Chicago Gay Games Sports Director
15 Mar 2005 - Gay Games bids for 2010 do not include rowing
18 Jan 2005 - GLRF announces new ROWING PARTNER program
14 Jan 2005 - GLRF launches HitTheWater!2005 training campaign
14 Nov 2004 - GLRF attends 2004 annual meeting of Federation of Gay Games
23 Oct 2004 – GLRF hosts booth at 40th Head of the Charles Regatta
10 Sep 2004 – GLRF becomes inaugural member of new sports association
01 Aug 2004 – Munich City Launch sets the stage for GLRF entry to European Continent
17 Jul 2004 – GLRF hosts a booth at the UK National Rowing Champs
27 Jun 2004 – GLRF hosts booth at NY Gay Pride Festival
21 Jun 2004 - GLRF hosts booth at LA Gay Pride Festival
06 Jun 2004 - GLRF hosts booth and social at Stonewall XI Regatta
04 Apr 2004 - GLRF rents booth at San Diego Crew Classic Expo Tent
01 Mar 2004 - Chicago picked as new host for Gay Games VII - with rowing
11 Feb 2004 - Rowing News publishes article about GLRF
09 Feb 2004 - GLRF Regatta Advisory Group presents first recommendations
18 Nov 2003 - GLRF at the Annual Meeting of the Federation of Gay Games
18 Oct 2003 - GLRF makes official public debut in Boston
05 Apr 2003 - GLRF Social in San Diego
29 Mar 2003 - GLRF at Boston Gay and Lesbian Athletic Conference
13 Nov 2002 - GLRF Incorporated in California
11 Jul 2002 - GLRF admitted as Director to Federation of Gay Games
30 May 2002 - Lambda Rowing renamed Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation
News Digest:
GLRF strokes past 700 member mark
15 Jul 2008 - Le Var; He’s an Italian rower but he lives in France and when he clicked “submit,” he became GLRF member number 700. The GLRF membership continues to grow as an international community with new members joining from Europe, Australia, and North America. Europe now accounts for 24% of the GLRF worldwide membership.
The continued growth of GLRF is cause for celebration but our conservative estimate for a realistic worldwide community is 6,000 members. As the membership roster continues to grow, it will help to show the the size and scope of the worldwide gay and lesbian rowing community. back to the news
GLRF extends holiday greetings to the rowing community
20 Dec 2007 - Los Angeles; GLRF sends annual holiday greetings to 64 recipients. Each year GLRF creates a special holiday greeting to send to the national rowing governing bodies of every country where GLRF has a member. This year, that number climbed to 24 countries and FISA. In addition, cards are sent to those in the rowing industry who have demonstrated a strong support for the GLRF organization and mission. On behalf of the GLRF membership and the GLRF organization, thank you for your ongoing support. back to the news
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GLRF launches website overhaul with new template
03 Dec 2007 - Los Angeles; The GLRF website is getting a makeover. The project, slated to take several months, will introduce a new template design, and feature more robust online tools to enhance the community interactivity. In the coming months, the website will finally be login-enabled for all web pages and not just the message board. Other conversions will include a migration to Dreamweaver, more php integration, and a fully functional mysql database.
During the remodeling, please bear with some of the dust and construction materials. back to the news
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GLRF website outage
06 Nov 2007 - Worthington; GLRF members and visitors may have experienced difficulty accessing the website between 03 and 06 Nov 2007. The problem resulted from the online hosting service’s planned server migration maintenance period. The original estimate had been for a maximum down time of 14 hours but due to technical challenges, lasted 116 hours.
The migration snafu caused immeasurable harm to the GLRF brand and the website credibility since GLRF was hosting a booth at the Head of the Hooch regatta over that weekend and many visitors had picked up brochures and inquired about the organization. We will be pursuing alternate hosting solutions to avoid similar situations in the future. back to the news
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GLRF ends 2007 booth promotion season in Chattanooga
04 Nov 2007 - Chattanooga; GLRF finished a busy and very successful regatta booth promotion season by hosting a booth at the Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The event, hosted by the Atlanta Rowing Club (ARC), is viewed by many rowers as one of the most exhilarating events of the North American head race season. The community of Chattanooga has taken to rowing like no other and welcomes rowers with open arms. The ARC regatta organizing committee were super nice and made a point of saying they were glad we were there.
The season finished with GLRF hosting booths at 8 regatta events in three countries and two continents. Take a look at some of the pictures at the GLRF community camera.
The GLRF regatta booth promotion program, known as Stop By Our Booth, provides an opportunity to develop awareness of GLRF within the broader rowing community and helps to foster a discussion and recognition of gay and lesbian rowers in the sport. The booths do not always go without incident. Some rowers and spectators express their indignation and outrage at the presence of a GLRF booth at straight rowing events. These individuals are collectively and gently referred to as stomping visitors with clenched fists. This season’s off color comments included: “Who let you in?” and “Why are you here” and “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” and “Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!” The supporters far outnumber the detractors and many of the supportive comments come from parents who stop by to say how glad they are that GLRF is at the regatta. When GLRF faced resistance from one club to host a booth at a regatta, USRowing, the national governing body of rowing in the United States, stepped in and declared without reservation: “they are coming and that’s that!” If you row for a US club and you’re not a member of USRowing, you should be! back to the news
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GLRF completes whirlwind European tour
18 Sep 2007 - Zagreb - Barcelona - Copenhagen - Zurich; GLRF Executive Director Brian Todd visited four European countries to promote GLRF, meet with GLRF members, and liaison with rowing clubs and sports organizations.
GLRF hosted a booth at the 2007 FISA World Masters Regatta at the Zagreb, Croatia Championship rowing facility. The event drew 2,910 entries from 39 countries filling 8,288 boat seats. Reactions to the GLRF booth were all over the place: indignation, laughter, outrage, and genuine warmth. GLRF members from Croatia, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and England stopped by to say hello. The organizing committee of the regatta went out of their way to ensure GLRF had everything it needed. The regatta director personally came by the booth on two separate occasions to ask if there was anything he or his staff could do. The local gay and lesbian mutli-sports team, qSport, was instrumental in helping GLRF resource booth materials and liaison with rowing officials as well as host GLRF members. Their assistance cannot be thanked enough, perhaps a thousand million times would only put a dent in it.
During the regatta, GLRF had the good fortune to meet with five straight rowers from a Barcelona rowing club who were eager to assist and help organize the 2008 Eurogames rowing regatta. Following the FISA Masters regatta, GLRF traveled to Barcelona to meet with these rowers as well as another rowing club who had volunteered their assistance during the GLRF Feb 2007 visit to Barcelona. The results of the GLRF Regatta Advisory Barcelona visit report were discussed as well as the results of the input from the European GLRF community. Both rowing clubs went out of their way to be accommodating and took several hours of their time to discuss regatta options and to showcase several alternate locations for a coastal rowing regatta. Unfortunately, several attempts by GLRF to meet with the Eurogames 2008 organizing committee were unsuccessful.
At the conclusion of the Barcelona visit, GLRF traveled to Denmark to meet with GLRF members and the staff of the 2009 Copenhagen World Outgames. Like Zagreb, GLRF was treated with the utmost hospitality and kindness. GLRF member and former Denmark national team member Adrian T. acted as the doting host and studly Royal Danish Rowing Ambassador, taking GLRF on a tour of Denmark and inviting us along to experience the Danish National Rowing Championships. The weekend visit to Arhus provided a unique opportunity to meet national rowing team members first hand including super cool and soft-spoken world champions Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist. GLRF member and top Danish rower Rune G. led a group of us on a bike ride tour of Copenhangen and hosted a dinner party in GLRF’s honor. The 2009 World Outgames staff opened their offices and their packed calendars to welcome GLRF, introduced the staff, and briefed us on the progress of planning for the 2009 Outgames rowing regatta. Currently two locations are under consideration: the inner harbor in Copenhagen and Lake Bagsværd. Other activities are being planned to make the regatta a truly memorable experience for all participants. Finally, a 16,000 meter piece on Lake Bagsværd with a talented 4+ crew turned the visit into sheer bliss. Words cannot begin to express the kindness and generosity of the Danish rowing community!
A weeknight stop in Zurich provided an opportunity for GLRF to meet with two Swiss GLRF members. They were eager to hear about the opportunities for rowing in Barcelona and Copenhagen. Like Croatia and Denmark, these generous hosts went out of their way to welcome GLRF with wonderful apartment accommodations, dinner at a delightful, bustling, and very local Swiss restaurant, delicious cappuccinos and a quick turn of Zurich at night. Watch out for these Swiss GLRF members - they are ueber competitive and so very very nice. back to the news
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GLRF issues report on rowing options for Eurogames 2008
05 Aug 2007 - Los Angeles; GLRF submits Barcelona rowing visit report to the European GLRF rowing community. A comprehensive, multi-page report was emailed to all members of the GLRF European rowing community for their review and comment. The report looks at the options and current realities of hosting a rowing regatta in the Barcelona area. Review the report.
The report serves as the debut for the newly relaunched GLRF Regatta Advisory Group, now focused as a community input forum to help regatta organizing committees better plan regattas of all sizes to meet the needs and desires of the gay and lesbian rowing community. back to the news
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GLRF membership crosses 600 count threshold
02 Jul 2007 - Mitcham; An English junior rower’s registration pushed the GLRF membership over the 600 mark today. The UK GLRF membership continues to grow with over 50 members now registered from England.
The lucky rower was surprised and pleased to hear that he had won a free shirt and looked forward to tricking it out for wear at his boathouse. back to the news
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GLRF launches 2007 regatta season with booth at San Diego Crew Classic
01 Apr 2007 - San Diego; GLRF launched its 2007 regatta booth promotion season by hosting a booth at the 2007 San Diego Crew Classic. The event draws upwards of 3500 competitors and draws a spectator crowd of 15,000. This year, GLRF will host its largest booth ever, as it showcases rowing information, GLRF gear, promotes regattas, and sells subscriptions to Rowing News.
The 2007 season looks to be very successful with booths planned for 8 regattas on two continents. back to the news
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GLRF visits Barcelona and Madrid for Eurogames 2008 preview
06 Mar 2007 - Barcelona - Madrid; GLRF Executive Director Brian Todd traveled to Barcelona on 27 Feb to preview the rowing facilities and options available to rowers and for a regatta planned for the Eurogames 2008. The trip coincided with the upcoming annual general assembly of the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) scheduled to convene 02 - 04 Mar in Madrid. EGSLF sponsors the Eurogames events and is comprised of individual and regional multi-sport organizations.
GLRF toured Barcelona, took both the bus and train to the proposed rowing facility in Castelldelfels, and met with the sports director of the Eurogames 2008 organizing committee as well as the director of the rowing basin. We visited the boathouse at the basin as well as the Royal Maritime Yacht Club in the old harbor of Barcelona where we were able to speak at length with the rowing division director. A report on the rowing facilities and options will be presented to the GLRF European rowing community later in the year.
GLRF then traveled to Madrid to attend the annual meeting of EGLSF. Our presence at the EGLSF annual general assembly helps to highlight the community connectivity effect that GLRF can bring to rowers who row in their own clubs but desire to belong to a gay and lesbian city multi-sports team. GLRF can provide the local connected community without creating a need to form a separate club. During the weekend, we met with some of executive committee members of Panteres Grogues, the sponsor sports club for Eurogames 2008 , as well as members of the organizing committee of Eurogames 2008, and briefed them on our findings and observations. back to the news
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GLRF opts out of Federation of Gay Games
31 Dec 2006 - Los Angeles; After four years of service as an organizational director of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), the GLRF Board of Directors voted to resign it’s organizational membership affiliation with the FGG. The Board felt that GLRF resources and time could be better spent on the promotion of rowing in the gay and lesbian community, and the focused support for gay-friendly and gay-sponsored regattas. Read the letter. back to the news
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Yahoo group ‘glrowers’ vanishes
22 Nov 2006 - Sunnyvale; GLRF member Lewis K. of the Pittsburgh Crewheads, and creator of the first online gay rowers list-serve, reported that Yahoo had deleted his email as well as the Yahoo group, ‘glrowers.’ He indicated that the action came as a complete surprise and he was not give any explanation or advance notice.
Lewis was responsible for establishing the first online list-serve for gay and lesbian rowers in 1996. It was the main resource for many rowers hoping to row in Amsterdam at the Gay Games in 1998.
In 2001, Lewis converted the list-serve to the Yahoo groups format to more simply administer the growing list of rowers. After the launch of GLRF in 2003, the glrowers Yahoo group acted as an adjunct to GLRF, providing an additional discussion area for website visitors to quickly read and post rowing information.
Yahoo gave no explanation for its actions. There is speculation that an individual or an organization had filed a complaint. That usually is all it takes to get a group removed.
GLRF is currently working on some new features that will provide the same functionality of the glrowers Yahoo group, including multiple levels of notification for posts to the various Global Rower country pages.
A huge thank you to Lewis for his many years of support to the gay and lesbian rowing community! back to the news
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Worldwide membership zips past 500 members
08 Jul 2006 - Chicago; It was just another registration for the system, and for the GLRF member entering his information, the process wasn’t any different than for other rowers. But in a click of a button, Doug S. from Chicago took GLRF over the 500 member mark and into what external organizations acknowledge to be significant mass.
As the membership continues to expand, the relative percentage of US membership in GLRF has dropped to less than 65%, and both Canada and the United Kingdom are each close to accounting for a 10% portion of the total GLRF membership. Additionally, women’s membership has grown steadily, now approaching 150 members. At the current rate of growth, GLRF could easily surpass 600 members before the end of 2006.
GLRF website traffic continues to climb, with average daily hits now listed at 32,800 and average daily page views at 1100. back to the news
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Summer Storm to be a benefit premiere for St. Louis organizations
19 Mar 2006 - St. Louis; Team Saint Louis and Growing American Youth will be the joint beneficiaries for a special advance screening of the award-winning movie Summer Storm. The event, presented by here!Films, will be held at the Landmark Tivoli theatre in St. Louis on 05 April, at 7:30 pm. GLRF, through its e-commerce system, will coordinate both the online and on site ticket sales. The event will also support several local St. Louis organizations who will act as “ticket sellers” to their membership. Local restaurant and uber hip bar, 609/U Lounge, will host a post-screening reception with free drinks for all ticket holders. back to the news
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here!TV and GLRF form marketing partnership for Summer Storm
09 Mar 2006 - Los Angeles; here!Films, an independent film and production company, has joined forces with GLRF to promote the United States theatrical release of the German rowing film Summer Storm. The movie will open in select cities nationwide on 17 March and continue through June 2006, when it will appear on the here! television network.
GLRF will work with here!Films to promote the film among straight and gay rowing clubs, and among gay sports clubs and organizations.
The movie focuses on two best friends at a rowing camp who begin to face their inner longings, one for men, and one for women. The film helps to break down many of the common stereotypes that continue to exist in the sports world, and it speaks to everyone about the difficulty of finding yourself growing up. Read the press release. back to the news
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GLRF travels to Budapest to promote rowing among gay sports groups
05 Mar 2006 - Budapest; The first weekend of March is the occasion for the annual general assembly of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF). Member sport teams and clubs from all over Europe gather to select the next year’s board of directors, discuss programs and issues, conduct the business of the organization, and to select the host cities for future Eurogames events. Rowing will be one of the featured sports at Eurogames 2008 in Barcelona.
GLRF attended the meeting as a guest in order to develop greater organizational awareness within the European gay and lesbian sport community. Delegates were provided with a GLRF presentation folder that provided demographics, services, and link information as well as samples of the GLRF Global Rower program.
It is surprising to find how conservative and closeted the European rowing community can be in some countries [one example in particular is Spain!] Rowers from the Czech Republic, Danmark, and Bulgaria will hopefully register soon with GLRF, and links to GLRF will appear on various sports websites. back to the news
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GLRF in Chicago for annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games
18 Nov 2005 - Chicago; The annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) was held 12 Nov – 18 Nov 2005 in Chicago. GLRF is an organizational director on the board of the FGG and participated in the meeting as a voting delegate. It was a non-stop marathon of general, committee, and sub-committee meetings.
The first two days of the meeting were devoted to the site selection process for the 2010 Gay Games. Three cities submitted bids to host the event: Paris, Köln, and Johannesburg. One winner was selected with only one ballot: Köln. See related story.
The remaining five days of the meeting focused on the general business of the FGG. The Chicago Games Inc. presented an update report on the progress of the planning and organization for the 2006 Chicago Gay Games. Currently, 4100 athletes and cultural participants have registered and more are anticipated in the coming months. New marketing campaigns were unveiled that will target key cities and leverage the use of the partners program. What about rowing? No changes or updates were provided since the visit to Chicago by members of the GLRF Regatta Advisory Group on 25 August 2005. See related news.
The FGG continues to pursue corporate sponsorships, submit grant applications, and develop fundraising events to raise monies for various general and specific funds. A contract to develop sponsorship materials with pr firm Maloney & Fox was completed.
The pr firm of Witeck-Combs Communications was retained for the media and publicity requirements surrounding the 2010 Gay Games site selection and the 2006 Chicago Gay Games event.
An initiative to revamp the organizational structure of the FGG was approved by a majority of the directors. The outside consulting firm of StrategicSolutions Consulting outlined various options and approaches to a new organizational structure. The new design calls for a smaller board of directors, and a larger, general assembly. A steering committee will now begin the process of drafting a plan to implement the new organizational plan and hopes to formally submit the plan to the board for final approval and adoption at the 2006 annual meeting.
Several organizational directors and two independent directors were reelected to the board. No new organizational directors submitted applications for membership. One new position was created for the Executive Committee: Senior Vice President – Female, which expands the current executive committee to 8 members.
The board approved a bid to host the 2006 annual meeting in Lyon, France on 27 Nov – 01 Dec 2006.
There were two big rowing events for the week. The first was a GLRF-organized, community focused rowing social, Drinks With Rowers. The idea was to promote rowing in the Chicago gay and lesbian community, and to provide a chance for all local rowing clubs and organizations to network and promote their programs and regattas for the 2006 season. The event was a big success and we were honored to have an official representative from USRowing attend! Thanks Kelly!
The second big event was an early morning, lakeside meeting with a representative from the Crystal Lake Rowing Club on Friday, 18 November 2005. The objective was to explore the idea of hosting the 2006 Gay Games rowing regatta on Crystal Lake. You couldn’t ask for a better location and set of facilities. Wow. See a review of the location in the GLRF Regatta Advisory Group findings and recommendations to Chicago Games Inc. back to the news
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Craftsbury Sculling Center discontinues partnership with GLRF
13 Oct 2005 – Craftsbury Common; The Craftsbury Sculling Center announced today that it had decided not to continue its partnership with the Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation for the 2006 season. The GLRF board deeply regrets this decision given the promising and productive cooperation that had been developed in 2005. The Craftsbury Gay and Lesbian Pride Sculling Weekend had yielded 15 GLRF members, or three-fourths of all participants during the 3-day weekend of 24 – 26 Jun 2005. In addition, GLRF had actively promoted the Craftsbury partnership at the San Diego Crew Classic, the Stonewall Regatta, in promotional materials, at two gay film festivals, and at the Royal Canadian Henley. Craftsbury, for its part, had created a separate web page on their website, labeled “GLRF Partnership.” In light of these enthusiastic cross-promotional activities, the news of the partnership termination came as quite a surprise. However, GLRF is staying in contact with Craftsbury management and will keep the door open for any possible future joint endeavors.
In view of members’ significant interest for sculling camps, GLRF will continue to pursue the development of new gay and lesbian sculling clinics as well as the formation of new partnerships. back to the news
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GLRF participates as official delegate to GLISA 1st delegate congress
02 Sep 2005 - Montreal; The Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA) held its first delegate congress this week. The three day meeting brought together delegates from 4 international sports federations and a multitude of sports teams from four continents. As license holder to the World Outgames, the association received an update report from the Montreal Comite Organizateur des 1iere Outgames Mondiaux. At the close of the congress, GLISA announced the formation of a partnership with the City of Copenhagen to deliver the 2nd World Outgames in 2009.
The meeting approved the associations’ bylaws and elected the first board of directors. A strategic plan was approved that targeted the formation of continental associations to represent city teams and sports clubs. A business model was created to support a paid staff and provide vital services to gay and lesbian sports organizations.
During the week and over the following weekend, delegates attended Le Rendezvous d’Or. The four day event included a fundraising gala at Montreal’s hilltop Chateau Mont Royal and a sports festival in the gay village.
GLRF representatives met with Montreal World Outgames organizers to discuss special registration programs for rowers and to review plans for the 1st World Outgames Regatta. back to the news
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The GLRF Regatta Advisory Group takes a look at rowing and regattas in Chicago
25 Aug 2005 – Chicago; Members of the GLRF Regatta Advisory Group visited the City of Chicago for an up close and personal look at the unique challenges to rowing and hosting regattas in the Windy City. For crews, there cannot be a more scenic place to row. The Chicago River offers a spectacular view of the city’s wonderful architectural skyline. Hosting a rowing regatta presents a unique set of challenges: commercial barge traffic, amplified wave activity from vertical walls, narrow waterways, and limited launch and recovery areas. The advisory group spent the entire day with the Sports Director for the Chicago Gay Games, visiting potential sites, discussing the needs of rowers and rowing, and outlining what could work given the planned boat categories and events.
The group submitted a number of recommendations on the duration (2 days max), timing (of regatta week or weekend), lanes (min. of 4 lanes preferred), length (not less than 1,000 meters), buoys (yes please!), held starts (much preferred), launch/recovery location (adjacent to finish vs. start), practice days (1 day min), regatta structure and organization, age categories, rowing rules and sanctioning, medaling, boat rental, boat storage and security, and refund policies.
Several sites were identified as potential locations for the regatta and are being evaluated. An additional rowing event was also discussed to help showcase rowing in Chicago. back to the news
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Three cities submit bids to host 2010 Gay Games, without rowing
15 Mar 2005 - San Francisco; Three cities submitted bids to the Federation of Gay Games for the opportunity to host the 2010 Gay Games: Cologne, Paris, and Johannesburg. None of the bids listed rowing as one of the featured sports. Each bid follows a standard request-for-proposal protocol that provides certain standards and requirements. The bids require both a sports and cultural programme. The sports programme consists of 22 mandated, core sports, and up to 8 additional sports that bidders can select from a qualified list of sports. Rowing is not one of the core sports. It is one of the listed additional sports.
The Cologne bid is perplexing because the city has a FISA Class A rowing stadium that hosted the World Masters in 1998. The GLRF FGG delegate visited the Fuehlinger See rowing facility during the November 2004 annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games. It is a top-notch facility with large return lanes and side lagoons for warm up and practice. To add insult to injury, several of the sports events in the bid will be held at the Fuehlinger See facility: Road Races, Triathlon, Inline-Skating, and Golf. The Cologne Bid included all 22 core sports and 8 selected additional sports: Beach Volleyball, Billiards, Chess, Climbing, Dancing, Handball, Inline Skating, and Table Tennis.
The Paris bid would seem to be a startling surprise given France’s strong rowing federation and the number of rowing clubs around Paris. Unfortunately, the practical realities of rowing regattas for the Paris environs are limited. There are only so many regattas allotted to various rowing clubs and only one regatta is permitted on the Seine each year. The new Olympic rowing facility just outside of Paris, which is currently under construction, will still not be available in 2010. The Paris bid included 21 out of the 22 core sports and only 6 of the available 8 spots for additional sports: Dancing, Handball, Rugby, Sailing, Synchronized Swimming, and Table Tennis.
The Johannesburg bid is a huge disappointment because the rowing facilities, although a fair distance from the Johannesburg City Centre, are tremendous, located on a large lake with plenty of space for practice and long rows. Given the historically repressive culture in South Africa, it is understandable that there is not an immediate, visible gay/lesbian rowing community to support a regatta. However, regatta organization and execution has almost nothing to do with sexual orientation and almost everything to do with effective planning and support. The Johannesburg bid included all 22 core sports and only 3 of the available 8 spots for additional sports: Beach Volleyball, Field Hockey, and Rugby.
Given the GLRF active involvement in the Federation of Gay Games since 2000, and the lack of significant other organizational sports representatives for many of the core and additional sports (Badminton, Basketball, Cycling, Golf, Ice Hockey, Physique, Powerlifting, Softball, Squash, Track and Field, Triathlon, Volleyball, Dancing, handball, Rugby, Sailing, Inline Skating, and Table Tennis), it seems odd and perhaps furtive that rowing was not an automatic choice for an additional sport in each of the bids. If there does indeed exist an invisible hand of influence, it remains invisible. Both the Paris and Johannesburg bids have open spots for adding additional sports, and the hosts of the Chicago Gay Games have subsequently added several more sports to the initial 30 sport limit. So the current bids do not preclude an eventual rowing presence at the 2010 Gay Games. The decision to select the 2010 host will take place at the 2005 annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games in Chicago.
Editor’s note: All rowers are encouraged to register with GLRF so that the world sports bodies can better understand the size and scope of the worldwide gay and lesbian rowing community. Registration is free and takes but a few minutes. All rowers are invited to engage in a discussion on the future of rowing at the Gay Games and the exploration of an independent, worldwide gay and lesbian regatta, to be held quadrennially. See the ALL OARS message board under Rowing at the Gay Games. Finally, ROW in 2006, in Chicago and/or Montreal. Let’s show the world the true size of a gay and lesbian regatta. back to the news
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GLRF announces new ROWING PARTNER program
18 Jan 2005 – Los Angeles; GLRF is excited to announce the establishment of the ROWING PARTNER program. Developed to enhance the visibility of both organizations, program participants will share a higher level of visibility within the GLRF website and throughout all event promotions. Similarly, GLRF will be prominently featured within their organization’s promotional materials and activities. Find more information here. back to the news
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GLRF launches HitTheWater!2005 training campaign
14 Jan 2005 – Los Angeles; GLRF launched the 2005 global marketing campaign, HitTheWater!2005. It is designed to assist crews and rowers with the intense training regimens necessary to prepare for the 2006 regattas in Chicago and Montreal. By creating focal points for crews to train, rowers can develop stronger, more experienced boats and refine their skills in a variety of settings. The global campaign will seek to create camps and clinics in North America, Europe, and Australia, with a shared emphasis on sweep and scull rowing. back to the news
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GLRF attends 2004 annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games
14 Nov 2004 - Cologne; The 2004 Annual Meeting of the Federation of Gay Games was in a word, unremarkable. No major decisions were made. No significant departures or arrivals of new organizational directors were observed. The Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance was readmitted after a 10 year absence. The International Figure Skating Union was readmitted after a 2 year absence. The London-based city organization, Out For Sport was admitted. Three more positions were created on the Executive Committee, which acts as the core action group throughout the year. The newly created positions had an inadvertent effect on the organizational director delegates. As soon as you are elected to the Executive Committee, you lose your status as an organizational director and become an individual director. So as soon as the meeting ended, about six organizational director positions were vacant, and left to be filled by other members of each organization. In a volunteer organization, giving up two working representatives to an outside group is difficult.
The Chicago Gay Games organizers gave their progress report and kicked off their partner program. It looks like everything is on track. No word or update on the progress of organizing the Chicago Gay Games Regatta .. yet.
The big controversy leading up to the annual meeting was the “Town Hall” meeting organized to discuss the possibility of a reconciliation between the Federation of Gay Games and the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association, and the ongoing division that the two simultaneous 2006 multi-sport events have created. The meeting invitations would permit non delegate participation. Some imagined a room full of 200 or more. Instead, it was just the same room full of delegates and about 15 additional visitors, debating the two sides of the issue and expressing their feelings about the division and the two organizations.
Finally, Maloney & Fox and Kyle Ozier gave an outstanding presentation on nonprofit structural organization and fundraising. The 2005 Annual Meeting will be held in Chicago.
The highlight of the week was a visit to the FISA Class A rowing stadium just outside of Cologne, Fuehlinger See, and a 12km row along the Rhine River in a 3-man touring boat with Hans and friend. Truly wonderful. back to the news
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GLRF hosts booth at 40th Head of the Charles Regatta
23 Oct 2004 – Boston; The Head of the Charles Regatta is an international rowing event that some consider to be the largest in the world. Certainly crews from all over the world converge to vie for the coveted “Head of the Charles” designation. GLRF captured some eyeballs at the event by hosting a booth in the grand Expo Tent, adjacent to the finish line. The booth, near the center of the tent, was within easy view of the winners platform where the US Olympic Mens and Womens eight rowing teams signed autographs and overheard announcements about the ongoing raffle at the Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation booth. Visitors from South Africa, Holland, Australia, and the UK stopped by to say hello and check out the live GLRF website on display via 3 laptops.
GLRF had displays on the Chicago Gay Games and the Montreal World Outgames. Coaches and athletes had a chance to read and learn about the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Homophobia in Sports project, and local rowers picked up information on the Boston Bay Blades. Both the GLRF Thermal shirts and the GLRF Summer50 Henley shirts were available for purchase as well as the new rainbow socks. back to the news
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GLRF becomes inaugural member of new sports association
10 Sep 2004 – Vancouver; The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation became one of the inaugural members of the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA) when the GLRF application for membership was approved by the GLISA board. GLRF was admitted as an International Sports Federation. Membership in GLISA is comprised of three categories: International Sports Federations, Continental Sports Association, and Host Cities.
The GLRF Board of Directors decided to submit an application for membership as an International Sports Federation because it saw an opportunity to shape the direction and future of this new sports organization. Additionally, membership is appropriate because part of the mission of GLRF is to promote international sports competition. Since GLISA licenses the new World Outgames, which features an international rowing regatta, it follows that membership in GLISA would be goof for gay and lesbian rowing.
One of the key features of this new sports association is the creation and maintenance of a quadrennial sports calendar. This concept is key to further developing gay and lesbian sports. The idea is to encourage sports competitions at every level: local, regional, national, and international, in a sequential manner. Athletes will now have a structured, scheduled set of competitions that will act to develop and improve their performance through regularly scheduled events. More information. back to the news
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Munich City Launch sets the stage for GLRF entry to European Continent
01 Aug 2004 – Muenchen; The GLRF banner was on display at the World Class Oberschleissheim Rowing Centre for the two days of the EuroGames 2004 Rowing Regatta, 20 – 31 Jul 2004. Some of the more notable observers were the Dutch National Rowing Team and Deutschland’s multiple World Champion single sculler and rowing celebrity, Marcel Hacker.
GLRF hosted an information kiosk at the rowing course, featuring information and brochures, the GLRF Summer50 Henley shirts, and the promotional information on the 2006 Montreal World Outgames Regatta and the 2006 Chicago Gay Games Regatta. GLRF also issued a press release announcing its debut on the European Continent.
At the conclusion of the regatta, rowers were invited to the GLRF Munich City Launch Social, held at the Seitensprung Bistro, in the heart of Munich’s gay and lesbian district. Over 45 sun burned, blistered rowers drank beer, at schnitzel and strudel, and enjoyed the warm Munich evening before heading out to the big EuroGames Orange Party Dance. back to the news
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GLRF hosts a booth at the UK National Rowing Champs
17 Jul 2004 – London and Nottingham; First, it was a GLRF social at London’s oldest and most prestigious club, the London Rowing Club. With perfect sunny weather, and crews from the nearby rowing clubs coming and going on the riverbank, it was a perfect setting for some beer and chat.
In Nottingham, the staff of the National Champs had all of the GLRF materials prepared and in order. A late night run to the English version of Walmart, known as ASDA, as well as Staples, helped enhance the booth’s look. Rowers from Spain, US, UK, and France stopped by to check out the compelling picture of a rowing course – Montreal’s Olympic Basin. The weather was sunny, windy, rainy, warm, and cool. See the related article.
Saturday evening brought the GLRF social to Nottingham with a reception at the @D2 pub. back to the news
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GLRF hosts booth at NY Gay Pride Festival
27 Jun 2004 – New York City; It’s the annual celebration of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, and New Yorkers love it. Everyone got into the act as straight and gay couples of every color, size, and combination strolled the length of Washington Street and checked out the booths.
Then suddenly the spectators came upon 5 sweep oars stretching to the sky. The winds got the best of the booth but the oars held firm as the Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation promoted rowing in New York City with the launch of a brand new gay and lesbian rowing club, the New York Pride Rowing Association.
The booth featured displays from the Montreal World Outgames, the Chicago Gay Games, and the new gay and lesbian rowing club. To entice the visitors, GLRF featured an erg, and one that is not well known in rowing circles, a WaterRower, so the stares were all the more intense. Many people eyed the GLRF Summer50 Henley shirts and asked how they could get one. That’s easy. Become a supporting member! back to the news
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GLRF hosts booth at LA Gay Pride Festival
21 Jun 2004 – Los Angeles; Sandwiched between the KY Ultra Lube display and the Men2Men booths, the Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation stood its ground with two sweep oars guarding the entrance an erg splayed in the entrance for all to try and test. Former rowers like Kevin were quickly doing 1:41 splits and hottie Jason, the tall blond surfer dude seemed to a natural even though he kept saying “Really Rose” as yours truly encouraged him to use more of his legs.
Some visitors came to reminisce about rowing in previous lives, and many came to ask how they could row. As usual, some said, “WOW! I didn’t know this organization existed.” Over 160 flyers were handed out for the Los Angeles Rowing Club, the UCLA Aquatic Center, and the Long Beach Rowing Association.
To Jim, the gay blind rower wanna be, we hope you will pursue the program! There are active adaptive rowing programs worldwide for those with all levels of disabilities. Wanna row? See the pics. back to the news
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GLRF hosts booth and social at Stonewall XI Regatta
06 Jun 2004 – Washington DC; GLRF hosted a booth at the Anacostia Community Boathouse, the new home for the Stonewall Regatta. Rowers didn’t seem to miss a beat as the regatta location had changed from Thompson’s to Anacostia in the past year. Over 300 participants flocked to the Anacostia River. The morning events had to be canceled due to small craft advisories but the afternoon events, including the fours and eights went off without any problems. The GLRF booth attracted rowers from Lake Carnegie Rowing Association, Potomac Boat Club, Alexandria Community Rowing, the Capital Rowing Club, and multiple Boston rowing organizations. Go Boston Bay Blades!
That evening, rowers headed to the trendy South of Dupont area of DC to sip a cocktail or two and kick it at the GLRF City Launch Social held at the Iron Gate Inn. Then it was off to dinner and even more drinks. back to the news
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GLRF rents booth at San Diego Crew Classic Expo Tent
04 Apr 2004 – For many, it was a surprise. There were some giggles and a few whispers but most just wanted to know how long GLRF had been around and what we did. Joline of JL Clothing stopped by to say hi and find out about us. No wonder she’s a legend in rowing. What a nice lady. We ran out of GLRF brochures, had 20 people register, and watched some great races. Several of the Board members of the San Diego Crew Classic stopped by to give the booth a once over. The best part of the weekend was every time a rower stopped in and said “…wow, this is fantastic. This is so great.” It is, isn’t it? back to the news
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Chicago picked as new host for Gay Games VII – with rowing
01 Mar 2004 – Chicago; Following a three month process in which Los Angeles and Chicago both applied to be the new, alternate host for Gay Games VII, the Board of Directors of the Federation of Gay Games voted today to select Chicago as the new host for the Gay Games VII. Both cities included rowing as one of their additional sports in their submitted bids. As a voting member, GLRF cast one of the deciding votes based on what would be best for both the athletes attending Gay Games VII and the financial viability of the event.
Since rowing is one of the three additional sports and not a core sport, it is not a guaranteed sport that must be presented at a Gay Games. Chicago has indicated that the sport is very popular in the region but that the rowing community must help to identify potential sponsors, help reduce costs, and ensure there were sufficient rowers who signed up to participate. So rowing is still in flux. The proposed participant fee is $85. This is in addition to the proposed base registration fee schedule: $125 for 2004, $174 for 2005, and $195 for 2006. Want to chat about it? Find the Chicago Gay Games Forum on the ALL OARS message board.
The proposed dates of the event are 15 Jul – 22 Jul 2006. back to the news
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Rowing News publishes articles about GLRF
11 Feb 2004 – Lebanon; Independent Rowing News, the premier rowing magazine of North America, published an article in their Transmissions section about the GLRF Ready All Boats! 2004 Campaign that included a brief profile of GLRF and highlighted the 2004 Regattas at the EuroGames and in Montreal. Copies of the Winter 2004, Volume 11, Issue No. of Rowing News are now available for purchase at Barnes & Noble Bookstores and Borders Bookstores. Subscribe to Rowing News and support GLRF. back to the news
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GLRF Regatta Advisory Group presents first recommendations
09 Feb 2004 – Montreal; The GLRF Regatta Advisory Group, after two weeks of internal discussions, submitted their first recommendations on the Rendezvous Montreal 2006 Regatta to the Comite Organizateur Sports Director. The Group wanted to incorporate some of the lessons learned from the Amsterdam Gay Games. First on the list was a recommendation that the race length be 1,000 meters to allow for more frequent scheduling of races with heats in the morning and finals in the afternoon. Second on the list was a recommendation that the competition be limited to two or three days of races and perhaps one day of practice. Third on the list was the issue of equipment. Rendezvous Montréal 2006 indicated they would place a high priority on developing a network of clubs, schools, and boat manufacturers to provide competition quality boats for rental by visiting teams.
In terms of racing events, the Group recommended a full complement of events, from single scull to eights, male, female, and mixed. The Group also asked Montreal to consider adding several adaptive rowing events. Finally, the issue of transgender rowers was discussed. Montreal is proactively pursuing this issue and is awaiting guidance from the International Olympic Committee.
Finally, the Group recommended that the racing categories include collegiate, lightweight, and masters. More reports will follow. The Group meets quarterly and all inputs are encouraged. You can email the Regatta Advisory Group at regattaadvisory(a)glrf.info back to the news
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GLRF at the Annual Meeting of the Federation of Gay Games
18 Nov 2003 – Chicago; The 2003 annual meeting of the Federation of Gay Games was held in Chicago 10 Nov – 14 Nov 2003. It was an emotionally draining week as we went through what seemed like endless motions and procedures. The first day’s business was totally consumed with the debate about the Montreal License dispute.
In the end, it was a very say day for the Federation of Gay Games because the FGG attorney openly said that the Montreal presented License Agreement, version 13, had no fundamental problems and that the FGG could sign it and do just fine. That means the crucial FGG logo and name would be protected and the FGG would receive its vital quadrennial license fee of $650,000, its only source of income.
The GLRF motion to accept Montreal’s License 13 was never considered. The previous motion submitted by the FGG Executive Committee for License Agreement version 13.5 carried and of course, Montreal rejected it and here we are. That means the Federation now has no source of income until it signs a new license agreement with another, alternate city.
The Director Organization membership was a hot topic. Several organizations did not renew their memberships, two lost their voting status, and one organization resigned. Only one organization was admitted – Team DC. The official recommendation was not to admit Team DC. GLRF voted for their admission. Team Montreal resigned in protest after being excluded from participating in the Montreal debate.
On the financial side, a three-year budget was presented and approved, even with a forecasted deficit of $72,000 by year three. Director Organization fees were doubled, as were the new applicant fees. The fee for a Host City to apply jumped 28% based on the average of the previous host cities’ bid costs.
An Image of the Gay Games paper was approved that provided more specific guidance to a host city considering a bid for the Gay Games. GLRF abstained from the vote since the guidance was meant to better prepare the host city applicants but the guidelines were so restrictive as to be suffocating. The paper will be published on the FGG website in the coming weeks.
A new Strategic Plan structured as a set of guidelines for the various FGG committees was approved. GLRF voted against the plan because it simply reinforces an already existing bureaucratic structure and attempts to increase organization contribution through increased threats and restrictions. GLRF called for a radical restructuring of the FGG organization using a much small Board of Directors, a paid staff, and a Congress of Sports Delegates represented by their leaders at smaller meetings held once every two or three years.
The Board of Directors or the Federation of Gay Games approved a plan to pursue an alternate city to host Gay Games 7 in 2006 or 2007. The three cities involved in the original Gay Games 2006 bid will be given the opportunity to submit a revised bid. The selection process will take several months and a new host city will not be announced until early 2004. GLRF did not vote. back to the news
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Holly Metcalf joins GLRF Board
10 October 2003 - GLRF is proud to announce that US Olympic Gold Medalist Holly Metcalf has joined the Board of Directors of the Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation. Her presence with GLRF adds a wealth of rowing knowledge and an insight into the world of competitive rowing. As a top competitive rower from 1981 - 1987, Holly was a six-time national /Olympic team member, bringing home the Olympic gold in 1984, as well as three silver and one bronze World Championships medals between 1981 and 1987. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Row As One Institute.
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GLRF Social in San Diego
05 Apr 2003 – San Diego; GLRF hosted a small social at Hamburger Mary’s on a beautiful April Weekend in San Diego. We hooked up with over 20 gay and lesbian rowers and coaches. That’s a 10 fold increase from 2001. The word is beginning to spread. back to the news
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GLRF at Boston Gay and Lesbian Athletic Conference
29 Mar 2003 – Boston; GLRF Chair of Board Lis Morgan and Executive Director Brian Todd attended the first annual Gay and Lesbian Athletic Conference in Boston. The meeting’s focus was on homophobia in sports. back to the news
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GLRF incorporated in California
13 Nov 2002 – Los Angeles; Following several years of planning and discussion, GLRF finally took the plunge to become an incorporated, nonprofit entity within the State of California. This action allows GLRF to begin the process of attracting tax-free donations from US residents, and provides liability protection to the organization. back to the news
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GLRF admitted as Director to Federation of Gay Games
11 Jul 2002 – Vancouver; Following almost three years of work and two membership applications to the Federation of Gay Games, GLRF was admitted to the FGG as an Organizational Director. This milestone is important to the g/l rowing community because it adds an official voice for rowers and allows direct support to a Gay Games event through planning and coordination.
There are a total of 21 Organizational Directors, 12 of those are City Teams and 9 are Sports Organizations. Each Organizational Director is permitted to have two delegates and two votes. See related information. back to the news
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Lambda Rowing renamed Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation
30 May 2002 – Los Angeles; Lambda Rowing International was officially renamed Gay and Lesbian Rowing Federation. The name change was deemed necessary to better identify the purpose and function of the organization.
Although many names were suggested and considered, it was decided that a self-explanatory name would serve the best interests of the gay and lesbian rowing community. back to the news
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