OFFICIAL SPORTS

Amsterdam Gay Games Sub-committee Report

It was another one of those years that Team Sydney faces…..a year in which the Gay Games are to held. This time in Amsterdam, The Netherlands - the first Gay Games outside of the North American continent. More than a year ahead of the scheduled event a sub-committee was formed to organise the Team Sydney contingent.

At first we thought the contingent would be around the 100 mark - costs were increased to Amsterdam and accommodation was super expensive! How wrong we were - much to our delight. Team Sydney had set a record with over 180 participants attending and we were joined by another 170 members from the various city teams around Australia, making a presence of 350.

We tendered for Travel agency business and selected Beyond the Blue once again. As our preferred agents they provided discounted packages to our members.  As it turned out, a few travel agents associated with AGLTA offered discounts as well, which our members took advantage of and enjoyed themselves.

Uniforms were always going to be the biggest nightmare.  Thanks to Ken Holmes of Aussie Boys who produced a smart marching outfit for the Opening Ceremony. We certainly turned heads - a striking camouflage top with beige shorts and the "Shark" style hat…..great for trading! It eventuated that we would abe rranging for a national outfit with one difference - the singlets would be a different colour for each city. So we organised, ordered, sorted, dyed, despatched 350 uniforms in all. Thanks to Peter Srdic for his amazing offer to transport the uniforms nationally - at no cost.

The outfit cost $50 to each member - thanks to a heavy subsidy from Black Stallion Energy Drinks - they provided canned drinks for sale as well as $5000 in cash. Almost every participant received the subsidy - Black Stallion were marvellous - every participant thanks you!

We also decided to branch into merchandise…A logo was designed (thanks to Fred Ramey for the final artwork). We used the Katrina the Kangaroo logo on letterhead and mostly on more than 200 t-shirts. The t-shirts sold well and this helped defray our admin costs. The shirts were a big swap item - so many people wanted them! Federation delegate Richard Hogan produced a badge with the logo and sold them to raise funds for his trip to Amsterdam.  New Team Sydney caps were ordered - black ones and very smart! We also produced a fresh supply of Team Sydney t-shirts.

At the Farewell Party we distributed the uniforms to our members plus celebrated our participation in the Games. The Banana Bar was full of sports people buying merchandise and 2002 t-shirts to wear at the Closing ceremony. You could feel the positiveness of those venturing to Amsterdam - the air was full of excitement. They wouldn't be disappointed!

The city of Amsterdam displayed a hospitality unrivalled around the globe….flags adorned every possible pole and shop window, the transport system had games logos and signs specially for participants. And I wonder how many of those Gay Games postcards were souvenired and sent around the world to those not able to attend the festivities.

It is not the practise to maintain a medal tally - but according to my best sources Team Sydney members came home with about 80 medals. We were particularly strong in swimming, track and field and bowling. Congratulations to every medal winner but even bigger congratulations to those achieving their personal best in their chosen sport. It was a difficult competition - we all now know what the challenge will be in 2002! So a little tip - start training soon.

When we returned home (and that was a long time after the actual Games for some) we enjoyed a Welcome Home party at the Stonewall Bar. Local State MP Clover Moore praised the team and congratulated us on our achievements. It was a late night for some!

A gigantic thank you to all those involved on the committee - Dave Randall, Geoffrey Radford, Alan Huntington, Richard Hogan (those parties were a hit!), Jim Box, Liz McNeil, Dan Brown, Andy Lamb, Board members and all the others who played a role in making this the best ever Gay Games.

I hope you all have fond memories of the Amsterdam Games - it was worth all the sweat.

 Wayne Morgan
Chairperson - Amsterdam Games Committee

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