First, let me say how wonderful it is to be here at a conference that is essentially about the power of sports to bring people together. It is hard for me to imagine this type of conference being held in the United States. There still seems to be little interest in discussing the topic of gays and lesbians in sports in the US.

the leading sports agent ... could negotiate a better contract for a client convicted of murder than for a client who was an out homosexual!

Quite frankly, sports remains one of the last places of acceptable homophobia. Just recently, the leading professional sports agent in the United States was interviewed on national television and admitted that he could negotiate a better contract for a client convicted of murder than for a client who was an out homosexual! So you can see, we still have a lot of bridges to build in sports in the United States if we are going to increase tolerance and decrease discrimination in that area.

Regardless of where we each come from, we are all witnesses, in one way or another to the importance of sports to individuals, and to society in general. Whether we are talking about professional sports, international amateur competition, or even the "weekend athlete".

For those of you that are not familiar with the Gay Games, they are a multi-sports event held every four years, and they are based on the principals of participation, inclusion and the pursuit of one's personal best. At their most basic level, the Gay Games are open to everyone, regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation or ability. At the last Gay Games, held in Amsterdam in 1998, we had more than 15,000 participants, from 78 countries. 42% of our participants were women, and 50% of all Europeans participating were women. The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body of the Gay Games movement. We have almost 50 members, made up of individuals and organizations from four continents.

Those of us involved in the organization of the Gay Games talk a lot about the power of the Gay Games "to change the world". As you might imagine, we have had numerous internal debates about this concept, but in essence, we are saying that the Gay Games gives us a chance to effect change in the world through sports.

We all know we are living in a time when international mainstream sports are in serious crisis. Whether it is doping and bribery scandals, hooliganism and violence, or dealing with the growing commercialism in professional and amateur sports... the world of sports is in trouble.

But those of us involved in sports, also know the power and possibility of sports both on the individual level, when we watch a dedicated athlete reach deep down inside to find that something extra, and on the team level, witnessing a group of people working together for the greater good. By extension, sports can, and often does have, an intense community building effect.

The Gay Games is the largest gay and lesbian international event in the world. They have occurred in 3 different countries, are on their way to their third continent, and have reached out to thousands of people across the globe. The Games have often become an organizational catalyst in communities and cities where it has historically been too dangerous or difficult for the gay and lesbian community to organize in order to fight for gay and lesbian emancipation. The Games have often been the first time that these people have organized as gays and lesbians.and it is sports that gives them the organizing motivation.

So, how do we build bridges and effect change differently than any other event, by staying committed to our founding principals of inclusion, participation and the pursuit of one's personal best, and by doing so in as visible a way as possible.

The idea of inclusion and diversity, regardless of our individual differences and abilities, is a well-developed concept in the Gay Games world that has engendered respect from the straight world. By challenging ourselves in our pursuit of our own personal bests, we challenge the world's view of us as a community. When so much of discrimination and intolerance is based on ignorance, the Gay Games educates by showing that gays and lesbians are more alike than we are different from heterosexuals.

We operate under the true Olympic ideal of education through sport. We break down stereotypes and we do it across all barriers. But the change I am talking about is not only about making sports more tolerant and accepting of homosexuals, but also working toward the emancipation of gays and lesbians in society at large by using sports as a bridge to effect change.

From a visibility standpoint, we can point to incredible strides over the last few years, especially in Europe. Although Gay Games IV in New York in 1994 did get a lot of local mainstream news coverage, Gay Games V in Amsterdam had both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies televised on Dutch national television. Over 1,000 journalists from around the world were accredited, helping to spread the word about the Gay Games. Thanks to the growing visibility of the Gay Games, both the straight world and the gay and lesbian community can witness and celebrate the richness and diversity of our community.

Another practical example of the type of change possible through the Gay Games, and one of the things the Federation of Gay Games is most proud of, was the work we did in convincing the United States government to waive its discriminatory immigration policy banning entry to the United States to anyone with HIV. Not only did Gay Games participants and spectators receive a waiver against this ban, the Federation was given the opportunity to provide gay and lesbian sensitivity training to customs and immigration officials at major ports of entry into the country.

And from a sports standpoint, we realized early on that in order to run world class sporting events in over 30 sports and to give our participants the types of tournaments they have come to expect, both in mainstream sports and in their regular leagues at home, Gay Games organizers must seek guidance from mainstream sports and governing bodies. There is no need to reinvent the wheel! By learning to work with local mainstream sporting bodies in the organization and officiating of the Gay Games, we have had opportunities in many instances to work together for the first time toward a common goal. Mainstream sporting bodies stop seeing us as gay and lesbian runners, wrestlers or swimmers, and start seeing us as JUST runners, wrestlers and swimmers. They see people volunteering for four years to prepare for an influx of 15,000 people from around the world for one week of competition they see visitors committed to their sports, dedicated to doing their personal bests and grateful for the help and input of everyone organizing the event.

And sometimes something else happens. Not only do we learn from these experienced mainstream sporting organizations, they also learn from us. They learn about community, about celebration, about inclusion, and they even learn that a same sex ballroom dancing competition in Amsterdam can be as mesmerizing and as high quality as any other ballroom dance competition.

As the Gay Games movement continues to grow and is introduced to even more people around the world, we will remain committed to organizing our sports event based on our founding principles of inclusion, participation for all and the pursuit of one's personal best. Because in the end, we continue to witness the power of the Games, through sports, to contributes to the fight for gay and lesbian emancipation and integration.

Roz Quarto