Registration for the 1st World Outgames Reaches 1,750 on November 2004!
World Registration Day for the 1st  World Outgames Montréal 2006 held on 13 November 2004 was a great success. Of the 65 participating cities in 30 countries, Germany led the pack with its enthusiastic and successful contribution. “WIR MÖCHTEN UNSEREN DEUTSCHE FREUNDE SEHR DANKEN.”

REGISTRATION: A FEW NUMBERS

With almost 1,800 registrations as of 30 November, including 140 for the International Conference and almost 50 for cultural activities (just one month after the opening of registration), the 2006 Outgames promises to be an unprecedented international event, based on the geographic breakdown of registrants to date.

So far, 56% of registrants come from North America (with the American west seeing rapidly increasing participation), 31% from Europe (with breakthroughs in Eastern Europe), 9% from Oceania (with a strong showing from New Zealand), 2% in Africa (bravo Nigeria), 1% in Asia (first registrations received from India) and 1 % in Latin America (Brazil).

There are currently participants registered in every sport and the most popular so far are:

The gender breakdown shows that women represent almost 30% of registrants to date. Participants’ age categories break down as follows:

GLISA: Seven New Members!
As GLISA welcomes seven more members, it moves from a powerful idea to a significant presence on the world stage.

Join us in welcoming Team Toronto, Stonewall Golfers, Les Galopins/Frontrunners Montreal, Bentstix, Cutting Edges, Toronto Front Runners, and our third international federation member, IGLFHF (International Gay and Lesbian Field Hockey Federation). Nine months from its launch as a corporate entity, GLISA features 30 member organization, a web site, a global sport calendar, an international board of directors, professional management, a 1st  World Outgames, and a compelling vision of the future of LGBT sport.

Get all the details here >>

An Award-Winning Weekend!
The 2004 CANAM AWARD was awarded to Éric Pineault, Sport Coordinator for Montréal 2006. The award recognises the exceptional contribution Mr. Pineault has made to the development of Volleyball within the North American LGBT community. The prize was awarded in Toronto during the CAN/AM Volleyball Championship Tournament 2004, which was held on 27 and 28 November. Our organisation would like to congratulate Éric, whose expertise, enthusiasm and good humour never fail to make us proud! And, to make a great weekend even better, his team, G-Unit, was the tournament winner in the Open Recreational A Division!

Supporters of the Outgames Programme
The 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 invites you to become actively involved in promoting the international LGBT sport and cultural movement by becoming a Supporter of the Outgames.

You can assist us in building upon our rapidly-growing international network of sport teams and associations, cultural groups and organisations that are working for the advancement of LGBT rights around the world. Help us spread the word and stimulate participation in the sport, culture and International Conference programmes! As a Supporter of the Outgames, you will be playing an integral role in a new chapter in the global LGBT movement.

Get all the details here >>

Cheerleading Added to the Outgames Programme
After the incredible success of Cheerleading competitions at the most recent EuroGames, the 1st World Outgames has added this popular and crowd-pleasing activity to the cultural programme.

Cheerleaders will join Marching Bands and Colour Guard groups in a series of exhibition events that will take place throughout the eight days of the Outgames. A cheerleading competition will be organised at the Olympic Park, promising to be one of the colourful highlights of the cultural programme.

Get all the details here >>

Invitation to the Christmas Concert by the Extravaganza Vocal Ensemble
The Extravaganza Vocal Ensemble is preparing its distinctive Christmas Concert and invites you to come and sing along with their 75 choral singers. On this year’s menu are traditional favourites, disco, gospel and many wonderful surprises. Your encouragement of this event will allow the choral singers to take part in Various Voices in Paris in May 2005 and to register participants for the 1st  World Outgames Montréal 2006.

Sunday, le 12 December 2004 à 16:00

Église Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus
1401 Ontario East, corner Plessis
Admission $15 at the door.

4 New Media Partners Confirm Breakthrough on European Market
The four new media partners are FemmeFatale MADgazine in Spain, OutUK.com in the United Kingdom, PortugalGay.PT in Portugal and GayCalgary.com in Canada.

FEMME FATALE MADgazine
FemmeFatale MADgazine is a Spanish magazine aimed primarily at lesbian women. Already well-known in Spain, FemmeFatale MADgazine has been publishing for several years now and will also be available online soon. Montréal 2006’s agreement with the magazine is valued at $60,000.

OUTUK.COM
OutUK was formed in 1999 and launched in July 2000 to provide the UK gay community with a lively mix of news, information and entertainment. With a passion to encourage quality writing, their aim is to provide stimulating coverage of the issues that affect gay men in the UK and Europe, together with entertainment and advice from a uniquely gay perspective. They also have a commitment to support major events which further acceptance of gay men in the wider community. OutUK was a major sponsor of the Bingham Cup 2004, the International Gay Rugby championships in 2003, and were sponsors of the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival at the National Film Theatre in 2002, and the International Gay & Lesbian Soccer World Cup in 2001.

OutUK attracts between 5,000 and 7,000 unique visitors a day and more than 2.5 million page views every month. Montréal 2006’s agreement with OutUK is valued at $120,000.

PORTUGALGAY.PT
PortugalGay.pt is the foremost and most-visited LGBT website in Portugal, receiving 110,000 visitors per month. With three domains (PortugalGay.pt, PortugalGay.com and PortugalPride.org), almost 20,000 pages available in several different languages, and even mobile versions of some pages, PortugalGay is Portugal’s most popular LGBT website. Montréal 2006’s agreement with PortugalGay is valued at $60,000.

GAYCALGARY.COM
A monthly magazine that publishes 10,000 copies per issue, GayCalgary.com also operates a website where the magazine content and much more is available online. GayCalgary.com has also developed a unique way to reach its public: it broadcasts programming on TV sets in the majority of gay bars across Calgary. These programs include free advertising of events for non-profit groups, as well as advertising for the host bar, with lots of eye-candy to get customers' attention! Ads also appear on the GayCalgary.com internet terminals in participating bars. Their website receives 1,000 visitors per day. Montréal 2006’s agreement with GayCalgary.com is valued at $30,000.

The total value of Montréal 2006’s media partnerships is now at $3.6 million CAD.

A New Member of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee of “The Right to be Different” International Conference is honoured to welcome a distinguished new member: Mr. Philippe Liotard.

Mr. Philippe Liotard is currently a lecturer in Lyon, France at the Centre de Recherches et d’Innovation sur le sport of the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon1. Mr. Liotard has a long and active university career and is well known and respected in Europe and in North America for his expertise in the realm of discrimination in sport, particularly with regard to issues that affect the LGBT community.

He is an author or co-author of numerous publications, including, most recently :

• Dictionnaire du corps, edited by Bernard Andrieu, Paris, Editions du CNRS, to be published in 2005, in which he wrote five articles (“Body-building”, “Eunuques”, “Modification”, “Travestissement”, “Unisexe”).
• Le sport et ses valeurs, a collection of works edited by Michael Attali Paris, La Dispute, 2004, in which he wrote the chapter “L’Éthique sportive, une morale de la soumission”.

Other published articles include :

• “Le corps à l’épreuve des sociologies. Note critique de Loïc Wacquant, Corps et âme, Carnets ethnographiques d’un apprenti boxeur" , in Corps et Culture, n°6, June 2004.
• “Bijoux intimes: l’objet dans la chair ou l'esthétique du sexe comme contre-pouvoir”, in Monique Manoha, Corps et objets, Nîmes, Porte-objet & Maison de la presse, June 2004.
• “Identité corporelle des adolescents et violences sexists”, in Les Cahiers Réséda, 2004.
• “Violences sexistes, homophobie et imaginaires de la sexualité”, in colloquium proceedings “Les violences sexistes à l’école: Comment éduquer au respect mutuel ?”, Montpellier, IUFM, 2004.

Another to be published shortly:

• "Le sexe et les genres: éducation et subversion”, in Les Cahiers de l’IRSA (Institut de recherche en Sociologie et Anthropologie), Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier 3, 2005.

This is Just In: Agreement Signed With GLAF

Montréal 2006 and the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation (GLAF) have signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on the founding of “The Right to Be Different” International Conference. GLAF will be in charge of preparing the programme on subjects related to discrimination in sport and will have a representative on the International Scientific Committee. A more detailed press release will be issued in the coming days.

The Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation is a 100% volunteer staffed non-profit organisation based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the first non-profit organisation to focus on the acceptance and visibility of LGBT athletes in the professional, amateur, and recreational athletics communities. The Foundation is a politically neutral organisation free from party affiliation or bias.

The Minister of Justice of Canada, Mr. Irwin Cotler, has just confirmed a financial contribution of $45,000 from his ministry.