OCTOBER 1998
wetSCREAM is distributed via email and is
also available in HTML format (with **pictures**, that get bigger just by
clicking). See www.interlog.com/~beadie/news
What the technology-aware DSC swimmer does to stay in touch in the (late) 90's:
- if you have an email address, ask to be added to the distribution list for our monthly newsletter. Also available if you have a web browser. Otherwise, pick up a printed copy at our Jimmie Simpson swim practice - due to staff cutbacks, newsletter is NO LONGER available via snail mail
- if you have Bell Canada call answer, ask to be added to the "voice mail" distribution list - urgent / important messages are sent this way (eg. swim practice cancelled due to pool closing, party at Matti's house, etc)
- use a touch tone phone to access our audio message at 416-925-9872 x2064 for updated swim times and general hot gossip.
Contributors to the Oct 1998 issue - Bill Eadie, Jason White. Deadline for contributions (electronic format if possible) - last Tuesday of each month - Oct 27, Nov 24, Dec 29).
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE OF wetSCREAM lite:
- "news" (such as it is...) NB. date for DSC's annual meeting CHANGED TO Oct Sunday Oct 25
- report from monthly DSC executive meeting
- farewell from Jason White
- 1998 Gay Games swim results - by age group ?
- Jason's perspective on Gay Games V
- GaySports Guide - new magazine for gay and lesbian athletes
- more photos from the Gay Games & Cultural Festival in Amsterdam 1998
- website for 2002 Sydney Gay Games
- increasing the numbers of women in IGLA
- date for annual OZ event (Australian Gaymes), as well as date for 2002 Games (note spelling - shouldn't be confusing, eh?)
- GG 2002 lobbying to change the date
* oops! No swim on Sept 3, since this day fell "between" permits.
Bill's mistake here, so my apologies to Matti, Daniel and everyone else
who showed up to swim on that day. Opportunity here for a competent secretary
for next year's executive - apply now! (Actually, good thing that Daniel
urged Matti Eckler pool staff to call - they had misplaced our permit applications
for Sept and also for the rest of the year. Current/former executive members
can appreciate that getting pool times/permits can be frustrating and time
consuming.)
* the date for DSC's annual general meeting has CHANGED - Sunday Oct 25
@ 3pm at Jimmie Simpson, immediately before swim practice. EVERYONE is asked
to attend; help give the club direction for the upcoming year. If you're
interested in being on the executive - cochair, treasurer, secretary, membership,
registrar, meet participation - then speak to an existing executive (Kevin,
Ron, Bill, Frank, Mike). It would be great to have some women participating
on DSC's executive again.
* see www.interlog.com/~beadie/news/9810.htm for more DSC pics from Amsterdam.
Thanks to Jason White for emailing in these contributions.
items of interest from DSC's monthly executive meeting held Sept 15:
* This year's swim meet was profitable. Since DSC has a considerable financial
surplus already, the organizing committee was asked for their recommendations
how to spend this surplus. Consensus decision of swim meet committee members
who attended Aug 30 meeting: $100 donation to Team Toronto to help cover
their deficit, $50 donation to North York Masters in thanks for loan of
stop watches for our previous 2 meets, and up to $1000 to purchase starting
blocks for Jimmie Simpson Pool. The remaining swim meet profit is to be
kept as advance or "seed" money for a future swim meet. These
recommendations were approved by DSC executive.
* Next DSC executive meeting is Oct 4 @ 3pm; these meetings are open to
all to observe.
TO ALL THE GUYS I LOVED BEFORE (Downtown Swim
Club member Jason White has "moved on")
I was asked if I could write a little farewell letter to all the Queens
on the Toronto team. You may have heard that I am currently living in Boston
with my Hubby, Al (from A2QUA). Also, I am back at school studying physical
therapy. It has been an experience to have swam with all of you. Some experiences
are more memorable than others, but it was certainly fun.
For you who havenít had the chance to bump into (PITY), I was a member
for the team for over a year. But I have moved on to better and BIGGER things
(if that is possible for me). Being a member of the DSC was wonderfully
fulfilling. Not only do you get to meet others, improve cardio, and travel
- you also gain friendship, companionship and have lots of SEX with others
who share the same interest as you.
The Downtown Swim Club was the first Gay Organization that I have joined,
and it will not be my last. But like the saying goes "You will always
remember your FIRST". It has been quite an experience for me and for
others that have had the chance to meet me.
I remember my first GAY SWIM MEET; I was a virgin then. Boy things have
certainly changed now. It was in Ann Arbor and it was a great meet. There
have been a few other meets that I have attended and really enjoyed. There
was a swim meet not too long ago (Quebec Provincials) where Frank, Yves,
Tim and I competed. All of us stayed in the same hotel room and shared beds.
(Now the only problem with that was we all wanted to SLEEP with Tim.) Overall,
this meet was a blast, although the swimming kinda got in the way of our
partying. There was also the Ottawa meet; some great times swam that weekend
- as for the partying aspects - Frank, Rob, and Nick know all about that
one. At every swim meet that I have attended I have enjoyed myself and enjoyed
spending time with other DSC swimmers.
Now in Boston, I am still swimming, though not with a team, and will continue
to complete in as many meets as possible. For those who have joined DSC
for exercise only and are not into competition, I still encourage you to
attend a few meets. Whether you swim only a few events or maybe even none,
the meets in general are fab, a great way to meet other people. If you do
not go for the competition, then at least go for the PARTIES. Washington,
D.C. is having a meet in October which I hope to attend; I look forward
to seeing a few familiar faces there from Toronto.
If any one happens to be in the Boston area, feel free to contact me; I
could put a few of you up, especially Tim. My address is listed below for
those who wish to keep in touch. It has been a pleasure swimming with you
all and hope I will have the chance again some other time. The fast lane
may actually finish a work out, now that I am gone. No slacking off Frank;
keep up the good workouts Matti. Wishing all the best to everyone at DSC!
[ I would like to send a little note to Albert: wishing you a speedy recovery.
Feel free to call anytime and say hello. The A2QUA boys wish you the best,
also. Hope to see you swimming in the near future. ]
Jason White, 71 Andover St., Peabody, MA, 01960
Phone = 978-532-1346; e-mail = jswhite@2die4.com
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 04:30:08 +0100
Subject: GAYSP0RT Gay Games Results
Dave De Bruin has drawn the list's attention to the GG V results on the
Internet. One of the positive aspects of this swimming meet was that results
were posted quickly at the pool and were listed in the FINA Masters format
(5-year age groups). While there were many lessons to be learned from the
recent competition, the results at the pool were a substantial improvement
over New York.
What many of the swimmers do not understand is why the results posted at
the Friendship Village and on the Internet were simply listed according
to time. All the age groups were mixed up. It is our hope that the final
GGV results will be made available in some fashion according to the FINA
Masters age groups. As an example, printed results for the 1994 Gay Games
swimming meet were made available for US$10 -- as we know, New York also
ran a deficit after its Games. Some of us were still sending results out
almost two years after the 1994 Games and I hope the Amsterdam volunteers
will show similar initiative.
The Internet results for Gay Games IV are still available at the following
address:
http://qrd.tcp.com/qrd/www/events/ggiv/index.html
However, there was considerable discussion among some athletes regarding
those results as well. Swimming lists only the top three in each event and
fails to identify the British and Swiss records that were set. (The British
and Swiss records were not verified before the results were posted to the
Net.) Still, the complete swimming results (and all available results from
previous Gay Games) are currently being maintained by IGLA's Top Ten Records
Chair, Rick Windes.
At some point we hope that the Federation of Gay Games will maintain its
own records. For now, anyone with inquiries about past Games swimming results
can direct them to IGLA at:
http://www.kwic.net/igla.html
Charlie Carson <Cacarsonjr@aol.com>
IGLA Delegate to the Federation of Gay Games
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 04:44:49 +0100
Subject: GAYSP0RT RE Gay Games Results
Charlie Carson on Gaysport.Org mailinglist wrote:
>...All the age groups were mixed up. It is our hope that the final
> GGV results will be made available in some fashion according to
> the FINA Masters age groups.
I regret that too. At the friendship village we only received the lists
sorted on time. With the electronic lists sorted on agegroup something went
wrong and they got lost. They have to be recreated from the lists sorted
on time and that is a hell of a job. We can also scan those results, but
that is also a hell of job. So for the time being we have created the list
with the first 3 of each agegroup. That already cost us two days of work.
So I hope we can present the lists sorted on agegroup later on.
> Swimming lists only the top three in each event and fails to
> identify the British and Swiss records that were set.(The
> British and Swiss records were not verified before the results
> were posted to the Net.)
If you know any any records that were set, please let me know. As far as
I know we only received and official registration of a record from the Berlin
team and from Peter Prijdekker. I will see if we can add those results to
the web-site.
Kind regards
Dave de Bruin <bruindav@iquip.nl>
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 04:34:13 +0100
Subject: GAYSPORT Great site
A brand new magazine for gay and lesbian athletes is blossoming in North America. I picked up a copy of GaySports Guide at the Gay Softball World Series in Atlanta and just loved it. The magazine also has a nice web site too. This is just the kind of service our community needs. Check it out
www.gaysportsguide.com
Sincerely,
Scott Amos, Chicago <UZGUY@aol.com>
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 04:30:19 +0100
Subject: GAYSPORT Gay Sports Potpourri
Gay Games photos and article, plus information on other gay sporting events
in North American (including AIDS Rides and Gay Softball World Series) can
be found on GaySports Guide's web site at www.gaysportsguide.com. Info on
tournaments for bowling, basketball, volleyball, softball, hockey, tennis,
running, swimming and more
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist"
<editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 04:43:59 +0100
Subject: GAYSPORT New Gay Games Amsterdam Photo Gallery
My gallery for personal photos from the Gay Games & Cultural Festival
in Amsterdam 1998:
http://members.tripod.com/~gaygame/
Soon to be added: photos of the Canal Parade. Send me your comments.
Sincerely,
Louis Wendruck, P.O. Box 69A04, West Hollywood, CA 90069
My Email: gayboylaca@writeme.com
My Homepage: GayBoyLACA's Home Page http://members.tripod.com/~gblaca/
Gay Games V, by Jason White
My experience at the Games was somewhat like that of the rest of the team
members, but then again it is nice to hear what different people observed
and experienced. For the opening ceremonies, the athletes were scheduled
to be at the arena by 6:00 pm, although the ceremonies did not start until
8:00 pm. This time gave people a chance to introduce themselves to athletes
from different sports and from different countries; it also gave everyone
a chance to gather names and numbers for the long week ahead. I, on the
other hand was busy finding someone to paint me before I walked into the
stadium.
I had to make sure that everyone
knew that I was Canadian, so I painted Canadian flags all over my
body . We marched to the stadium by country and then city. The journey to
the stadium seemed to be a long one and people cheered and sang along the
way. As we got closer to the stairs you could see thousands of people in
the stadium screaming for Me (or just possibly, for athletes from their
country). Flags from every country were being waved. From the stadium field,
we saw Karen and Katie in the stands waving and shaking a CANADIAN flag.
As we approached the exit, a swarm of paparazzi camera men came all around
me and photographed me from every angle; now that was the highlight of the
night!
The opening ceremonies included some great performances, like "Itís
Raining Men", where sailors came out of the woodwork, danced a little
routine and stripped to their underwear. The Mayor of Amsterdam gave a little
speech, also a representative from the Federation of Gay Games (FOGG) which
is the governing body of the Gay Games. You could really feel the energy
of the crowd at the opening.
The closing ceremonies were much the same as the opening, except I was wearing
a little less and was more into a "Dutch Gay Canadian" theme.
I walked into the Stadium wearing a small flag donated by Hugo, a pair of
clogs decorated with Canadian flags drawn with lipstick, my medals of course,
and some rainbow coloured tulips. Again the camera men swarmed me.
Each day, I started at 6:30 am and traveled to the pool in Amersfoort, which
was quite a distance from Amsterdam. (But hey, the parties were in Amsterdam.)
The first day of competition was chaos and confusion for some of the swimmers.
I missed my first event due to the lack of communication from the coordinators
and the "chicken room" people. But I got to swim my event in a
different heat. That did not make much of a difference because I entered
NO TIME for all of my events. THAT SUCKED! The Downtowners won several medals
on day 1: Joe Wearing, DSC - Gold; Karen Hoyland, DSC - Gold; and Jason
White, Atlanta - Gold. (In the results, I was listed as being with Atlanta
and Mississauga, not DSC; that mistake has hopefully been corrected by the
time you read this.)
On the second
day, Toronto swimmer Edward Perez had some bad luck, getting mixed up in
a false start. The "one false start" rule was in effect and poor
Edward was One UnHappy Camper. He still swam the event and the referee gave
him a verbal warning. OHHHH ! There was no time recorded for his swim. Sorry
Ed, better luck next time.
Every night, in the main square of Amsterdam there were live concerts: Bjorn
Again as well as some just real nasty singing (both Hugo and I agreed).
The club scene was much to talk about; it was mainly large crowds in small
alleyways. Venders sold drinks but did not accept cash, only some STUPID
coupons. Drinks were very expensive. There were parties and dances every
night, but unfortunately the team members had to wake up early for their
swimming events. Party People we were not.
Hugo and I had some late dinners at cafes and restaurants sampling the local
cuisine. The food quality varied depending on where we went, but everywhere
the scenery was nice, (and Iím not referring to the canals here).
The service in Amsterdam left a bit to be desired; it took 3 hours for one
meal (one hour per course). You could actually spend the night there if
you didnít call the waiter over for the bill. Now I know why Americans
are not liked, cause they bother the waiters and ask for everything, unlike
Canadians who sit there and wait and wait and wait, just to be served. They
Loved US!
Both Hugo and I met lots of great
people during our time in Amsterdam. People from Munich, San Francisco,
Montreal, Atlanta, NYC, Dallas and West Hollywood. Overall DSC did great
and everyone was pleased with their results, whether in medal standings
or not. The competition was harder for others than some people, but "personal
bests" were definitely swum by all Toronto swimmers: Karen Hoyland
(our only female, who actually kept her suit on at this meet), Hugo Cadena,
Joe Wearing, Jeff Rose, Edward Perez, Jan Maarten Alberws (who we did not
see much of), Jason White and of course our most beloved Katie, who attends
all our swim meets, always lends moral support and helps knead away unwanted
cramps. Thanks Kate!
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist"
<editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 04:51:59 +0100
> Wendi on Gaysport.Org mailinglist wrote:
> >The Australia Gaymes are at the same time as Mardi Gras...2000
> >The Gay Games VI are from 31 Aug. to 7 Sept. The dates are set
> >...it's a done deal...start saving :-)
For clarification: The Australian Gaymes to be held during Mardi Gras in
2000 is a national event held annually in different Australian cities in
which there is a gay and lesbian sporting body such as Team Melbourne, Team
Sydney etc.
Last year it was in Perth, this year in Melbourne, next year Brisbane and
in 2000, Sydney.
As the next hosts of the Gay Games, Sydney organisers will look to maximise
the experience they can gain from this event.
As for Gay Games VI you are absolutely right, the dates are as stated by
Wendi, with cultural events running from the Wednesday before the Opening
Ceremonies until the Wednesday after the Closing Ceremonies.
Regards
Cathy Verry <cverry@ozemail.com.au>
Co-President Team Sydney and
Board Member, Sydney 2000 Gay Games Ltd.
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 04:30:22 +0100
Hi. Regarding questions about the Australian Gaymes in Sydney in 2000. This
will be an important trial event for Gay Games VI and Cultural Festival
in September 2002.
Team Sydney hosts a sports festival as part of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi
Gras in February every year. In 2000 it is also Sydney's turn to host our
national gay and lesbina sports festival - the Australian Gaymes. This will
take place in February - the exact dates of each sport have not been published
but there will be about 31 sports (next year we are hosting 31 sports) and
more than 2000 participants - and at the end of the month there will be
the world famous Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and party.
Hope to see you all here then:)
Stuart Borrie, Sydney 2002, contact2002@gaygamesVI.org.au
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 04:47:39 +0100
Subject: GAYSPORT Zurich - Sydney et al
Hi Stuart Borrie, George duPre and subscribers to the list!!
Stuart, first of all, thanks for having a presence at the GGV in Amsterdam.
I think it helps tremendously when GG organizers can demonstrate some continuity
from one event to another.
And thanks, too, for subscribing to the list, though I have a feeling you
are going to get more questions that you may have desired!
So here's mine: Can you fill in your adoring public on how the dates for
GGVI came to be chosen? Talking among the New York athletes, I've already
heard that the first week of September conflicts with university schedules
in the United States as well as in many European and Asian countries. I'm
also told that Sydney is coolish that time of year and that the many athletes
who will be visiting for possibly the only time in their lives won't be
able to furnish Sydney's famed beaches with their scantily-clad bods.
There is some history here; you may know that GGIV was originally scheduled
to take place the week after Gay Pride here instead of the week before,
and the GGIV organizers wisely listened to the growing chorus of athlete
voices in favor of ending the Games with the pride march and festivities
instead of beginning them with same.
Background: I'm a triathlete and cyclist from New York. New York fielded
a team of 11 cyclists at GGV and something like 23 triathletes, though I
don't think we ever had all the triguys together in one place at one time.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Love,
Bob Nelson <rjn2@columbia.edu>
From: "Gaysport.Org Mailinglist" <editors@gaysport.org>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 04:30:21 +0100
Subject: GAYSPORT Sydney 2002
Dear subscribers, This list has provided some interesting reading over the
last month or two.
Sydney 2002 would just like to let you know that we are subscribers to this
list and we appreciate the comments and thoughts on your experiences at
Gay Games V and suggestions for Gay Games VI and Cultural Festival.
We will update our website - www.gaygamesVI.org.au - by mid October, and
by May 1999 the Sports Portfolio will have much more detailed plans in place.
Over the next three months we will evaluate the huge amount of information
we gathered in Amsterdam and to review the reports from the Federation,
to be tabelled at the AGM in Seattle in November.
Sydney 2002 had 48 official observers in Amsterdam - 28 of those were sports
observers. I personally visited 17 sports and our Director in charge of
Venues and Infrastructure looked at all but three sports venues. We gathered
information on all aspects of the Games - sports, cultural program, transport,
accomodation, security, marketing, finance, sponsorship etc etc.
Our state government - the governement of New South Wales - sent representatives
from the Department of Health and the Roads and Transport Authority to look
at transport and medical/health aspects of the Games. There were also two
counsellors from the city of South Sydney as well as Sydney's Deputy Lord
Mayor, Councellor Henry Tsang, who spoke on behalf of Sydney at the closing
ceremony.
We look forward to the years ahead, and of course to seeing you all in Sydney
in 2002!
Stuart Borrie, Director, Sports
Sydney 2002 Gay Games VI Ltd <contact2002@gaygamesVI.org.au>
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 13:30:40 -0300
To: IGLA@list.purple.com
From: Tara Robertson <tara_robertson@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: New Women Development mailing list
Hi, during the breakout sessions at the IGLA meeting in Amersfoort during
Gay Games a group of about 10 swimmers were interested in continued dialogue
about increasing the numbers of women in IGLA and issues around how to do
that. Right now we are just emailing as a list (ie. reply all deal) and
it's a bit of a mess, also it's difficult for me (there are about 20 people,
and it's growing) to keep changing people's email addresses and then sending
out the updated list. It would be very handy to have a women's development
list like the IGLA list, we also hope to have a link off the IGLA page and
then people could subscribe to the women's development list themselves.
I appreciate your assistance.
Yours in chlorine! tara
From: JOHNPELLER@aol.com
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 14:47:32 EDT
To: igla@list.purple.com, Swim@list.purple.com, waterpolo@purple.com
Subject: New IGLA Women's Development E-mail list
Hi, the IGLA board is please to announce that we have created a new e-mail
list devoted to woman's development issues. It's called igla-women. I want
to thank Tara Robertson for the work she did after the IGLA general meeting
at the Games to put together an informal list. Thanks to Jeff Abramson,
our e-mail list manager, the list is now automated.
The list creates a place for women swimmers to communicate about woman's
swimming issues and IGLA issues. In the past, there has been no organized
forum for this discussion. We hope that it will be used to share strategies
for recruiting and retaining woman swimmers on teams, encouraging woman
to participate in more meets and activities, and for other purposes.
To subscribe: It's called igla-women. You can subscribe by going to <http://list.purple.com>
and following along to the list of lists, or else send mail to majordomo@list.purple.com
with body
subscribe igla-women
end
To post to the list, you must first be subscribed (or else your mail will
be bounced back to you with a terse, automated note). The post address is
igla-women@list.purple.com.
Please forward this message to all the women swimmers you know! Please sign
up and chat away.
Thanks, John Peller, IGLA Secretary, johnpeller@aol.com