10/10: October 2010
EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Be visible! - EGLSF & FARE Action week FARE Action week The traditional activities of the FARE Action week have been successfully carried out in 2010 as well, with an additional focus of EGLSF and its members on the topic of homophobia in football/soccer. A special grant has been set up to encourage our member clubs to take a more active approach in their local environment and bring the topic into focus.
Contents BE VISIBLE! - EGLSF & FARE ACTION WEEK EGLSF INFO NEWS SECTION SPORTS EVENTS COMING UP...
The EGLSF’s focus of the 11th edition of the FARE Action week has been Challenging homophobia in football. In Football, the denial and invisibility of homosexuality are serious expressions of homophobia, this includes the silence of fans, players, coaches, clubs, and associations. When the opposing team or the referee is called “gay” most people aren’t aware that this is abusive. Homophobia and sexism are often understood as being part of the culture of football. EGLSF believes that central to the work of all sports organisations should be the desire to create an atmosphere of acceptance of gay men and lesbians and a mandate for this should come from the highest levels. To counteract the silence surrounding homophobia and to combat the discrimination around sexual orienta-
“There’s plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply.” Marilyn vos Savant, author and lecturer
tion in football, all football authorities have, first of all, to acknowledge the existence of lesbians and gay men.
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
While we keep waiting for a top player to ‘come out’, there is still a lot of work that can be done. We should be working to transform established structures of male bonding into a new form of solidarity; creating a new atmosphere, both on the pitch and on the terraces, in which diverse lifestyle choices are embraced and all individuals can participate without fear of persecution or ridicule. During the FARE Week of Action: October 14-26, 2010, EGLSF produced a special poster, focusing on the topic of homophobia in football. The poster can downloaded as a PDF file at www.eglsf.info, and hard copies can be sent by regular mail upon request. EGLSF also encouraged organizations and individuals to take actions, however small, to signal that homophobia is unacceptable and make lesbians and gay men feel part of the European football community. As a part of the activities, EGLSF also set up a Football for Equality fund, a grants programme allowing member organisation to apply for funding up to €1,000 for projects working to tackle homophobia in football. A more detailed report on the outcome of the grants programme will be available in one of the next issues of the EGLSF Newsletter. We also invite members who did not apply for funding to send us a report if you did an activity to challenge homophobia during the FARE Action Week, so we can include it in our newsletter.
EGLSF Info EuroGames 2011 Registration to Open We are happy to report that the registration for the 13th EuroGames, which are to take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands between July 20-24, 2011 will open in the beginning of November. For more information about the event, and to register, please visit the website www.eurogames2011.eu!
EGLSF Board meeting Between October 28 and 31, EGLSF board members met in the Hague, the Netherlands, for the last board meeting in 2010. The meeting covered several important topics, including EuroGames (Rotterdam
2011, Budapest 2012 and beyond), Annual General Assembly Frankfurt 2011, Finances and Funding, Communications, Membership issues, International organisations and events, Advocacy, Strategic plan and the future of EGLSF. As the Annual conference of ILGAEurope took place in the Hague at the same time, EGLSF also had EGLSF board representatives participating at the conference and workshops. A workshops entitled ‘Between pride and prejudice building alliances and synergies,’ focusing on LGBT sport. The EGLSF board will have a Skype meeting end of November and will meet next between January 7-9 in Warsaw, Poland.
EGLSF Membership payment reminder We would like to remind you that in order for those of your members, who wish to participate in EuroGames Rotterdam to get the reduction for registration, your club’s EGLSF membership has to be paid for 2010 and 2011.
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
Please note that if your club has not paid the EGLSF membership fee for 2010, and you do not renew your membership and make a payment by November 7, your members will not be able to take advantage of the reduced registration fee.
Football For Equality Fund As part of its continued co-operation with Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), EGLSF was able to launch a new grant fund during October 2010, the Football For Equality Fund. Through this fund, EGLSF has been able to make a number of small grants for activities which tackle homophobia in football during the FARE Weeks of Action. These took place between 14 and 26 October 2010. EGLSF is pleased to have been able to fund the following initiatives: Poland: A table football tournament for young people delivered by the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH); Spain: Anti-discrimination action and education at targeted football matches, Colega Jaen; Ireland: An anti-discrimination football tournament, Insaka-Glentoran AFC; Slovenia: an awareness raising campaign at the students’ fair about racism & homophobia, Out In Slovenia; Germany: a football kit carrying messages of inclusion in 11 languages, Seitenwechsel. Anti-homophobia activities targeting university students, AFK; UK: A birthday football tournament including 14 LGBT and mainstream teams, London Titans.
EGLSF Co-President invited to Skopje EGLSF was invited to speak at a conference held on October 14-15 in Skopje, FYR Macedonia, “Promoting intercultural dialogue: How to overcome ethnic discrimination and racism in the Balkan region.” The conference was
hosted by the Macedonian Centre for Culture and Development and supported by the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) and the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC). Louise Englefield, EGLSF Co-President, spoke at the conference about tackling homophobia to an audience of representatives from national FAs and other Governing Bodies of Sport in the Balkans, which was a fascinating experience. It was very clear at the two-day event that many people weren’t comfortable with a speaker on LGBT rights. At the same time, warm welcome was received from others and several important discussions with delegates from Serbia, Croatia, Poland and, of course, our hosts from Macedonia, were held. The event took place in the week following the riots at Belgrade Pride and the day after Serbian football fans had disrupted a match in Genoa with acts of racism. The international press were reporting that the same football fans groups, which were involved in the violence in Genoa, were also involved in the rioting in Belgrade. The message to the conference from Mrs Englefield was that the consequence of both racism and homophobia is violence. Ultimately, we cannot tackle prejudice and intolerance in isolation, but need to work together to overcome all forms of discrimination.
Squash survey results Graham Rhind from Rainbow Squash Amsterdam reports on the squash tournament survey and its results: “Since the Gay Games in Amsterdam in 1998 I’ve had the opportunity to attend may squash tournaments, and I’d noticed that tournaments held over 1-, 2- or more than 2 days tend to attract a different audience, with a hard core of players going to many different tournaments regardless of length. At Rainbow Squash
Amsterdam we have one of the few remaining 2-day tournaments in the tournament calendar, and, wondering how best to cater for the different needs and desires of these players, I created an online questionnaire which was answered by 133 players from all over the world. Those respondents were the most engaged players – 75% had attended a tournament in 2009 or 2010. They are mostly influenced to take part in tournaments on the basis of the place and dates it is being held, who else will be attending, and the cost. The respondents were almost evenly split in their preference for tournaments held over 1- or 2-days, with a smaller number (especially those furthest from the main tournament venues) only willing to travel to tournaments held over longer than 2-days. Each group gave similar reasons for preferring a tournament over that given length of time – it gives them more time to socialise (within squash or in the social scene of the city itself) and more time for sightseeing. Time off work was often an issue for those preferring 1-day tournaments; with cost effectiveness being more important to those travelling for longer tournaments. An aging population is also a factor in our sport – those preferring single day tournaments often feel that they would not be fit enough to manage multiple-day tournaments. We investigated how much actual sport people wanted to take part in at the tournaments. The general preference was for 6 matches in total at 1-day tournaments and 11 at 2-day tournaments, with a few masochists willing to play for as long as it took to gain the prize! We also investigated how much people were willing to pay for tournaments, and their online presence at gay squash social networking sites. These results have been passed on to tournament organisers. Hopefully they will
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
help increase attendance and satisfaction levels at tournaments in the coming period.” For full report, please see www.rainbowsquash.com/ TournamentsQuestionnaire09-2010.pdf
Update on One quadrennial global LGBTIQ event initiative The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and GLISA International (GLISA) have engaged in a process of collaboration to create a single quadrennial event in 2018, based on the three components: sports, culture and human rights. The exact nature of the 2018 event is to be designed by a joint working group composed of five members from FGG and GLISA with the Co-Presidents from each organisation, under the auspices and approval of both organisations’ boards and general assembly. FGG and GLISA have invited advocates and leaders in sport, culture and human rights to serve on this committee. Applications were open to all members of the worldwide community. The members will be elected by the Federation of Gay Games General Assembly or the GLISA International Board of Directors, depending on where each candidate submits their application. For more information, please visit www.gaygames.com and www.glisa.org.
Sponsorship by JET2.COM PEGLSF is pleased to announce that through its sponsorship of UK member club Pride Sports, JET2.COM has supported EGLSF Co-President, Louise Englefield to attend a number of engagements this year. Louise told us “Support from JET2.COM has been fantastic for me as I am based
in Manchester and two of the company’s UK hubs are Manchester and Leeds/ Bradford. I am hugely grateful to JET2. COM, particularly during a period of recession when NGOs like EGLSF can be particularly hard hit!” For more information and to book flights, please visit www.jet2.com.
News Section
News submitted by our members National Charter against homophobia in France 25 October 2010 In France, after the meetings with the national Ministry of Sport, chaired by the Secretary of Sport Mrs Rama Yade, the participating parties agreed on a national charter against homophobia in sports. On October 23, the French Rugby League was the first national federation to officially sign the charter: The national sports federations and associations, the leagues, clubs, associations, public institutions or other bodies that sign the present charter are committed to: 1. Explicitly recognize and homophobia as a form of discrimination contrary to the universal principles of the protection of human rights. 2. Repudiate and take appropriate sanctions against any homophobic
attitude, whether manifested in discriminatory behavior or by verbal or physical abuse or abusive language on the grounds of real or supposed sexual orientation. 3. Promote diversity in sport and disseminate messages of tolerance, respect and dignity, while systematically including sexual orientation and the fight against homophobia. 4. Provide assistance and support to athletes, coaches and other people involved in sport who may be harassed, insulted or ostracized because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. 5. Develop educational courses on the fight against all forms of discrimination, including homophobia, aimed at all those involved in sport: educators and coaches must prevent or stop any form of discrimination, and must be trained to do so. 6. Identify acts of homophobia and report them regularly to the Ministry of Sports (national unit for the prevention of violence and discrimination in sport) in order to monitor the evolution of behavior in sport and to adjust actions to be undertaken. Other national sports federations have already announced their intent to sign the charter: Basketball, amateur Football, Judo, Karate, Rugby Union, Tennis and Wrestling.
FARE Action Week 2010 29 October 2010 This season’s FARE Action Week against Racism and Discrimination in European has been the 11th Action Week to take place, and was held between October 14 and 26 2010 in 42 countries accross the continent. Following the Call for Action which closed mid-September FARE received more than 200 applications for small grants from grassroots groups from all corners of Europe. FARE provided financial support
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EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
for more than 130 actions and initiatives and many more groups are receiving free campaign material including t-shirts, antiracism captain’s armbands, stickers, flags and posters. This year the official poster carried the slogan ‘Football for Equality’, which is also the title of a European Union-funded project launched by FARE partners. The aim is to highlight the need to challenge not only racism but also homophobia on all levels of football. The back of the poster features a photo report about the successful 10th FARE Action Week last season, as well as an update on FARE’s restructuring process. Michel Platini, President of UEFA, offered his support for the initiative, “Respect for Diversity is one of UEFA’s key principles,” he said. “There is no place for any form of racism or discrimination at UEFA or in European football. UEFA is firmly determined to combat this scourge in any form. I call on everyone to conduct themselves both on and off the pitch in a spirit of fair play and respect towards referees, opponents and fans.” The Executive Director of FARE, Piara Powar, commented, “This year’s Action Weeks come against the backdrop of an increased level of rhetoric from both mainstream politicians and the far- right, challenging the value of diversity and a victimisation of groups such as the Roma. Against this background it is no wonder that football continues to be the setting for high profile incidents of racism and homophobia. By bringing together all of the European football family united in one cause we hope the FARE activities during October can be something of a counterbalance to hatred and intolerance.” To address the issue of homophobia even more thourouhly, FARE partner the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) have produced a special poster and have administered special action grants for LBGT groups.
The final count of countries taking part has hit 42 with over 1500 events and initiatives by community groups, fans, clubs, FAs, NGO’s, ethnic minority and youth groups across the continent. Due to the sheer volume of activities, this means that the events continued also beyond the formal dates of the FARE Action week.. http://www.farenet.org
Sports Events Coming up... Events submitted by our members
do not miss out on the annual Sinterklaas gay volleyball tournament in Amsterdam! Annually about 400 men and women compete in our tournament on A, B and C levels. It will be an unforgettable weekend of sports, fun, pleasure, and partying. After the sports rounds, a celebrationdinner will be served and then it is time to party! This years party will again be organized in the absolute city-centre of Amsterdam within walking distance from the Amsterdam gay area. A hosted housing service is available for teams or players who want to keep costs at a minimum. http://www.netzo-amsterdam.nl/ sinterklaastoernooi/sinterklaastoernooi. htm sinterklaas@netzo-amsterdam.nl
Running
5K Red Run London, United Kingdom 21 Nov – 21 Nov 2010 www.5k-red-run.org.uk mark.butcher@positiveeast.org.uk
Multisports
XMAS-Tournament Volleyball
Sinterklaas-tournament
Frankfurt, Germany 3 Dec – 5 Dec 2010
Amsterdam, the Netherlands 19 Nov – 21 Nov 2010
We gladly invite you to the 20th anniversary of the NETZO-Amsterdam Sinterklaas-tournament. We hope you will join us in the volleyball tournament and celebrate with us at the SUPERparty. Our tournament has always been a big hit, so
XMAS F R A N K F U R T
EGLSF Newsletter: News & Information from European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation
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10/10: October 2010
For the 11th time the Frankfurt associations Artemis and FVV are inviting you to participate in the traditional XMASTournament. Enjoy this big come-together in winter time for sports competitions, Frankfurts most exciting LGBT-Party and a walk through the romantic Christmas market in the old town. All we want for XMAS is YOU!! www.fvv.org fvv-presse@fvv.org
EGLSF Newsletter If you would like to have your events listed in our Newsletter, or would like to share the news from your club, please visit www.EGLSF.info and submit your content. Member clubs are welcome to submit reports of their events and club’s descriptions as well. Content should be submitted by 20th of the month to be included in the next edition. All submissions are subject to approval and may be edited for length or content. To subscribe, go to www.eglsf.info.
Fotos: Page 1: Insaka Ireland AFC/SARI & DIH Page 2: Andrej Pisl Others: Public, non-copyrighted
Contact Us European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) c/o NCS Meeuwenlaan 41 NL-1021 HS Amsterdam The Netherlands eglsf@eglsf.info www.eglsf.info EGLSF Newsletter (ISSN: 1876-1763) is published by the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation. EGLSF is registered as a nonprofit sports organisation with the Chamber of Commerce in The Hague and enjoys participatory status with the Council of Europe.