Chicago Games, Inc. (CGI), the organizing committee for Gay Games VII in 2006, is on or ahead of schedule according to the international Federation of Gay Games (FGG) representatives who attended their first official site visit from July 11-13, 2004, two years before the seventh quadrennial event opens in July of 2006.
'We are very encouraged by the open discussions we had with the Chicago Games board members, volunteers and staff,' said Roberto Mantaci, Co-President of the Federation, upon return from Chicago to his home in Paris. 'During site visits, the Federation's delegation is charged to look objectively at a whole range of issues and report back to our full board, which is made up of representatives of athletic, cultural, national and city organizations from around the world.'
'When you look at the total picture, particularly the status of the registration system, Chicago's efforts are in fine shape,' Mantaci said. 'They have the enthusiasm, facilities, talent and fiscal discipline to organize a great Gay Games, and they are showing what a community-based organization can accomplish when everyone is focused on one goal.'
Registration for Gay Games VII opened on July 1, 2004, not only the earliest ever before a Gay Games but using the most advanced technology as well. During the design phase, more than two dozen FGG representatives from seven countries on five continents assisted the CGI project leaders either as experts in their own sports or as experts in data collecting and database design. The result was an event-specific Gay Games registration system built in an unparalleled short amount of time.
Athletes and artists are signing up for Gay Games VII. Almost 150 people from Australia, Canada, several countries in Europe and the U.S. registered and paid in just the first 10 days, with more than half of those having attended the 2002 Gay Games VI in Sydney. Federation Co-President Kathleen Webster said this indicates both loyalty to the international LGBT sports and cultural movement represented by the Gay Games and recognition that Chicago is doing an excellent job.
Holding the site visit during the same month as the Gay Games two years hence gave visitors experience with the weather and a look at the new Millennium Park project that has transformed downtown Chicago and is getting rave reviews.
Federation officials meeting formally with Chicago representatives on the site visit included Webster (Philadelphia), Mantaci (Paris), Karl-Heinz Schmitz (Cologne), Teresa Galetti (Philadelphia), Roger Brigham (San Francisco), and Charlie Carson (New York). Chicago Games Inc. representatives were: board co-chairs Sue Connolly and Dennis Sneyers; board co-vice chairs Kevin Boyer and Tracy Baim; sports co-chairs Sam Coady and Suzi Arnold; treasurer Kurt Dahl; legal counsel Gary Medler; and consultants Elizabeth Valenti and Brenda Schumacher.
During the three days prior to the site visit, the Federation's Strategic Planning Committee also met in Chicago. In addition to the FGG's site visit team, members of the strategic planning group included Gene Dermody (San Francisco), Charles King (San Francisco), Emy Ritt (Paris), Manuel Picaud (Paris), Paul Oostenbrug (Chicago), and Paul Savard (Toronto).
See www.gaygameschicago.org .
