Already 4,800 Registered!
The wave of recent promotional activities for the 1st World Outgames in the United States, France and in Belgium has brought in many new registrations. We now have more than 600 registered from the United States, almost 300 from France and 80 from Belgium!

Montréal 2006 had a few other pleasant surprises in store as well: Team Adelaide and Team New York have each decided to host registration activities in the coming weeks and months for the Outgames. In Belgium, two major LGBT sport organisations, Brussels Gay Sport (BGS) and Active Company, have chosen the Outgames and plan to send a large Belgian delegation to Montréal in 2006.

In France, AcroBAD, the Paris badminton club, has registered for the Outgames as have many swimmers from Paris Aquatique.

Numerous European choruses from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have also registered for the 1st World Outgames Choral Festival.

Winners in the USA Registration Week OutEast-OutWest Contest

Our thanks go out to all USA Registration Week coordinators who devoted their time, energy and enthusiasm toward making USA Registration Week such a success.

Two registration coordinators, one from Missouri for the eastern region and one from California for the western region, have each won round trip airfare to the Outgames courtesy Air Canada. Congratulations! Many thanks to all our USA coordinators and to Air Canada.

Don't wait, register now >>

From 16 to 27 June 2005, European residents will get 10% off the Regular Registration Fee for sport, culture and the International Conference programme of the 1st World Outgames. There's never been a better time to plan your best trip for 2006!

Complete information here >>

Synchronised swimming

The committees in charge of synchronised swimming and the Pink Flamingo aquatic show were thrilled to learn that Ms. Julie Sauvé, elite coach for synchronised swimming, has generously offered to lend her expertise to assist in the organization of these two events. Ms. Sauvé has been a trainer for the national synchronised swimming team for 28 years and it was under her guidance that Sylvie Fréchette became a world champion and an Olympic medal winner. An outstanding figure on the Québec amateur sport, Ms. Sauvé brings a wealth of skill, experience and creative talent to the Outgames team.

Rowing
The organising committee for rowing is pleased to be able to count on the vast experience of Ms. Guylaine Bernier of Rowing Canada. Ms. Bernier, who is also an international official for FISA, will act as president of the organising committee for this sport. She will have the support of a solid team to assist her: Mr. Richard Cabana from the Lachine club and the Association québécoise d’aviron (Québec Rowing Association), Mr. Karol Sauvé, national coach and Olympic Basin Events Coordinator, as well as Mr. Gregory Dalmasso and Mr. Philippe Colas from Club Odawagan, Ms. Micheline Landry, Mr. Marco Veilleux and Mr. Michel Germain, who have all been actively involved in numerous rowing events. The organising committee is looking forward to welcoming rowers and crews from around the world, and is hard at work to ensure top-quality, unforgettable competitions at the Olympic Basin, site of rowing competitions during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal. Many rowing teams have already registered, including the Melbourne Argonauts Queer Rowing Club from Australia.

News from San Francisco and London
A new LGBT group, EquipeSF2006, has formed in San Francisco to support and promote LGBT sports in the Bay Area and to create a network for those interested in participating in the Outgames in 2006. They are spreading the word about the Outgames in the Bay Area. Look for them during the San Francisco Pride on 25 and 26 June and stop by to say hello!

Attention all softball leagues and teams! We are happy to announce that 5 softball teams (70 athletes) from Raiders from London, 12 teams from Canada and several softball leagues and teams from the US are gearing up for the Outgames! Have you registered your team yet?

On 24 May 2005, Montréal 2006 was pleased to announce that Mr. Guy Latraverse of SOGESTALT TELEVISION, one of the most sought-after entertainment and television producers in Québec and in Canada, will produce the Outgames’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Over the last 15 years, Mr. Latraverse has been the creative mastermind behind some of the most exciting and innovative international entertainment productions in Canada, including the FrancoFolies de Montréal, shows for the Fêtes Nationales, Québec’s annual national holiday celebrations, and, of course, Diane Dufresne’s spectacular Magie Rose show at the Olympic Stadium. The Opening Ceremonies promise to be spectacularly unforgettable with performances by Québec diva DIANE DUFRESNE, not to mention the artistic magic of the internationally acclaimed CIRQUE DU SOLEIL.

Other internationally renowned artists from the United States, Canada and Europe will round out the programme, which will take place before 55.000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium. Radio-Canada will broadcast the ceremonies, both in Canada and internationally. All Outgames participants will be part of the opening procession, making their entrance into the Stadium in the footsteps of Olympic athletes 30 years before.

Choruses
From 3 to 8 May, representatives of the 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 were in Paris for this year’s Various Voices 2005 European gay and lesbian choral festival. We would like to thank the Various Voices organisers and participating choruses for the warm welcome they gave us during the festival. The VIP cocktail hosted by the Canadian Embassy and the Délégation générale du Québec in France at the Espace culturel canadien was also a great success, with more than 600 guests in attendance.

Currently, the Outgames’ Choral Festival has about 500 registrants from countries around the world, and with choruses from Australia, Germany, France, Switzerland, England and the Netherlands already registered, the festival will be a rare treat for participants and visitors alike. As well, Montréal 2006 will be paying a visit to our American neighbours during the 2005 GALA Choruses Annual Conference, which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri from 1 to 4 September 2005.

Country Western Dance and Square Dance
In addition, representatives of the 1st World Outgames will be on hand for two key IAGLCWDC (The International Association of Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs) conventions: the 12th Annual IAGLCWDC Convention, which will be held from 30 June to 4 July 2005 in Dallas, Texas, and the IAGLCWDC Semiannual Convention, which will be held from 21 to 23 October 2005 in San Francisco. Outgames representatives will also be attending the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs (IAGSDC) annual convention. Registrations for the cultural programme continue to grow, with dancers now registered from the United States, Morocco, New Zealand, Germany, Pakistan and Canada.

What's New?
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the largest LGBT civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, has become a partner in the Outgames’ International Conference on LGBT rights, and will be represented on the International Scientific Committee by Mr. Sean Cahill, Director of the Policy Institute for the NGLTF.

In Belgium, la Fédération Arc-en-ciel and Homoparentalité have also decided to take part in the International Conference.

As well, Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has agreed in principle to make one of the keynote speeches during the Conference.

More and more!
GLISA has accepted ten new members, and now has a total of almost 70 member clubs and organisations. GLISA is pleased to welcome:

• Team Scotland (Lesbian +Gay Badminton) (United Kingdom)
• SC Berliner Regenbogen Forellen (nage) (Germany)
• Roza Futebal Club/Atoba (Movimento de Emancipacao Homosexual) Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• Equipe de Voleibol Masculino- Outgames 2006, de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
• Grupo dignidade Curitiba (Brazil)
• AcroBad, badminton Paris (France)
• Confederacion Mexicana de Athletas LGBT (Mexicoe)
• Team Vancouver (Canada)
• Making Waves Swim Club, Edmonton (Canada)
• Melbourne Argonauts Rowing Club (Australia)

Media Partners
Montréal 2006 has signed a promotional agreement with Columbia FunMaps, which produces and distributes maps of more than 50 cities worldwide, highlighting the best that American, Canadian, and European cities have to offer LGBT travelers.

Rendez-Vous d'Or
The Organising Committee for the 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 will be presenting its third fundraising event, the Rendez-Vous, Gold Edition, to benefit the development of LGBT sports. Activties will be held over the Labour Day weekend from 1 to 4 Septembre 2005. Rendez-Vous Gold Edition activities will be organized in collaboration with Fondation Émergence, the Chambre de commerce gaie du Québec (Québec Gay Chamber of Commerce), Équipe Montréal (Montréals’s gay and lesbian sports teams association), la Société de développement commercial du Village (Village Commercial Development Association) and the Borough of Ville-Marie.

The goal of the annual Rendez-Vous activities is to promote and support Équipe Montréal and other LGBT sports teams. Funds raised will go to the Outgames bursary program to assist participants from both Canada and abroad attend the 1st World Outgames, and to help athletes from disadvantaged countries to take part in the Outgames.

This year’s Gold Edition activities will kick off with la Nuit d’Or, a gourmet cocktail dînatoire on Thursday, 1 September, followed by a celebration of lesbian women during the Femmes en tête evening on Friday, 2 September. Then, the Village comes alive for the “Rendez-Vous in the Village” on Saturday and Sunday, 3 and 4 September, when Sainte-Catherine Street will be closed to automobile traffic to make way for sport and cultural demonstrations and activities in the streets in a festive preview of the Outgames next summer. Village bars and restaurants will be creating special outdoor terraces just for the occasion.

Montréal 2005: The Largest Aquatic Sports Competition This Year !
Montréal 2005 is the largest gathering of Montréal's sporting youth since the 1976 Summer Olympics. The event brings together more that 2,000 athletes from 160 countries in the disciplines of swimming, along with 1,000 team officilas, 300 competition officials and more than 1,200 media representatives. The XI World Championships of the Fédération internationale de natation (FINA) will be presented on five competition site of Montréal's Sainte-Hélène and Notre-Dame islands from 16 to 31 July 2005.

More information here >>

Launch of Website in Portuguese!
On the occasion of São Paulo Pride, the 1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 is pleased to unveil a Portuguese information section of our website. Portuguese-speaking visitors should bear in mind, however, that responses to email inquiries and online registration for the Outgames are available only in the two official languages of Canada: French and English.

Discover the portuguese website here >>