Despite significantly fewer participants than either of the past two Gay Games, the recently-completely Gay Games 9 in Cleveland was the best of the past three, said a co-president of the Federation of Gay Games ( FGG ).
Kurt Dahl, the FGG male co-president and a Chicago-area resident, ranked the Cleveland event, which culminated its eight-day run on Aug. 10, ahead of the Games held in Chicago ( in 2006 ) and Cologne, Germany ( 2010 )—in that order.
Dahl, who hesitated for about 10 seconds before offering his ranking of the past three Games, said Cleveland had the biggest impact of the three locally.
Dahl said the daily mainstream media coverage in Cleveland was much more expansive than in 2006 or 2010—in both print and electronic media.
Gay Games 9 "was the news for the day," in Cleveland, he said. "There was an impact on the city of Chicago and with the [local mainstream] media, but not like it was in Cleveland. And that's what we wanted—to make an impact."
Dahl also praised the venues in Cleveland in comparison to Chicago and Cologne, mostly because university facilities were used, such as Cleveland State and the University of Akron.
It appears that a new model for the Games was delivered in Cleveland, which attracted only about 5,000 participants ( various estimates have it between 5,000-6,000 )—as opposed to close to 12,000 in Chicago and 10,000 in Cologne. Cleveland certainly does not have the 'star appeal' as a destination city that Chicago or Cologne carry, or Paris for the 2018 Games, so some potential participants opted out of these Games for that reason. But the locals seemed to embrace the Games more, Dahl said. Both of the other two finalists to have hosted the 2014 Games, Boston and Washington D.C., likely would have drawn participant totals on par with Chicago and Cologne.
"The participant level [for Cleveland] was short of what we were expecting, but it wasn't totally unexpected. Some people, especially if they have never been to Cleveland had a [wrong] perception of the city and the Northeast Ohio region. That was unfortunate," Dahl said. "But for those who came to Cleveland, I'm sure they're telling everyone, 'You should have come; you missed a great time.'"
Another major factor impacting participation in Cleveland is the abundance of other prominent sport-specific gay sports tournaments, as well as multi-sport festivals, such as the annual Sin City Shootout in Las Vegas, which will hold its eighth-annual event in January and is expecting more than 7,500 participants for its 18 sports.
Flag football calls its annual national championship the Gay Bowl—and the city of Philadelphia will play host to Gay Bowl XIV in early October, with 40 teams expected to play—28 men and 12 women. For flag football in Cleveland, there were only three teams.
Participation also lagged in Cleveland for ice hockey, in which the Chicago Gay Hockey Association ( CGHA ) captured gold—but the CGHA was one of only two teams in its division.
"The Federation is definitely looking at how," to incorporate sport-specific championships into the Games, or space them apart enough so participants can attend both, Dahl said. However, a factor that needs to be addressed, Dahl said, is that sport-specific events limit who can participate, perhaps a local league champion only, which clashes with the FGG motto of 'participation, inclusion and personal best.'
Dahl confirmed that smaller markets, such as Cleveland as opposed to Chicago, and the potential for a prominent impact locally that the Games will have, will definitely affect decisions for locations of the 2022 Games and beyond.
"I think we really need to look at the model of being [held in] a smaller city and have a big impact," he said.
Dahl said representatives of several worldwide cities approached him in Cleveland, stating their initial interest in hosting the 2022 Games. He did not name those cities, but said that representatives about 10 cities have chimed in already that they are potentially interested in hosting in 2022.
An announcement for the host of the 2022 Gay Games is still years away.
Dahl said no city would be excluded from bidding on the 2022 Games, including a U.S. city. Dahl noted that the Games have not been in the Southern Hemisphere since the 2002 Games in Sydney, Australia. Plus, the Games have never been held in South America. "That doesn't mean that's where we'd want to go, regardless of what the bid is," he said.
Dahl said the "possibility exists" that the 2022 event is a mixed Gay Games-World OutGames venture, despite the failed attempt to merge the two multi-sport events for 2018.
Dahl confirmed that FGG and the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association ( GLISA ), which runs the quadrennial World OutGames, have resumed talks to merge the events into one. There were meetings between FGG and GLISA personnel in Cleveland.
In fact, after the Cleveland Games, a survey was sent to all associated members of FGG and GLISA, seeking input on what a merged, multi-sport event would look like, include, etc. The survey will eventually be open for all LGBT sports participants.
Dahl said he is "very hopefully" the 2022 event will be a merged Gay Games-World OutGames event, "but there is a lot of work that needs to be done."
"We've heard it from constituents that they want one event. We on the Federation side want [one event]. GLISA also wants it. But it's got to work well for everybody, especially the participants and whoever that host city it," Dahl said.
Dahl, 53, said merging the Gay Games and the World OutGames is "one of my goals—to get that done," he said.
The 2018 Games in Paris likely will draw participant totals much closer to Chicago and Cologne than Cleveland. Tennis will, no doubt, draw worldwide participants in 2018 simply because of the venue. Tennis at the 2018 Games will be held at Le Stade Roland Garros ( "Roland Garros Stadium" ), the same venue that annually hosts the French Open, a Grand Slam championship tournament played annually in May or June.
The Paris 2018 delegation, and all French participants, "got treated like rock stars" in Cleveland, Dahl said. "The buzz is there, already, for Paris in 2018."
Registration for Paris 2018 will open in 2016.
Dahl, who is married to Jeff Clark, was re-elected for two more years ( into 2016 ) as FGG male co-president, it was announced in Cleveland. He was first appointed as co-president in 2009. Dahl did not participate in any sport in Cleveland, but is planning to swim in Paris. Joanie Evans of London is the female co-president.
"I'm excited," about being re-elected, Dahl said. "The Gay Games has been my passion ever since I joined the Chicago [organizing] team in 2001. I enjoy what I'm doing, and there certainly are some things that I want to get done."
This personal to-do list includes expanding the number of women associated with the Games, both as FGG board members and also as Gay Games participants.
Dahl said a final financial report on Cleveland has not been submitted yet, "but I believe [the local organizing committee] is going to be fine [financially]. They either will be at the break-even point, where they expected [to be], or they will show some small profit," Dahl said. "They were very tight. As they saw the registration numbers were not coming in as expected, they adjusted their expenses accordingly, consolidating venues if need be, and just doing whatever need be in order to manage the expenses."
Any funds that fall into the profit category will be split between FGG and a local LGBT endowment in Cleveland to honor GG9, though specific details have not been announced.
"The overall event [in Cleveland] was terrific," Dahl said. "The city of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio overall were great, so welcoming, so electric. It was amazing, so great. Northeast Ohio was so open, so welcoming. People were literally thanking us for coming to the area, just being there. That was amazing."
