As the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement and home to the Gay Games, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ sporting event, New York City has deep-rooted pride and a gay sports tradition that spans decades.
The Gay Games is a 10-day LGBTQ+ sports and cultural competition event held every four years in a unique host city, similar to the Olympics. The three pillars of the event’s mission are participation, inclusion, and individual best.
No formal athletic qualification is required and anyone can register for the various events regardless of self-identification, but athletes can compete for medals in each category.
Sporting groups include athletics, swimming, bowling, open water, cycling, dance and court sports. Typically held at various supporting venues within the host city, the Games feature opening and closing ceremonies plus a Festival Village.
The first Gay Games took place in San Francisco in August 1982 and were started by Dr. Tom Waddell, a gay-identified decathlete who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Gay Games in New York City, which was also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a confrontation between gay rights activists and police on June 28, 1969.
Charlie Carson is a former board member of the Federation of Gay Games and co-founder of Team New York Aquatics (TNYA), an inclusive masters NYC swimming team established after the first Gay Games in 1990.
“I saw that swim teams were already being formed in California for the first Gay Games in San Francisco in 1982, running relay races,” Carson told NBC New York during a TNYA practice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice pool.
Carson was one of the founding leaders of TNYA, which provided a safe place for gay athletes to train in preparation for the 1994 Gay Games held in the borough.
“At the 1994 Games, we had about 1,200 swimmers participate in the swimming events alone. At the first Gay Games, we had about 120,” Carson said.
According to co-chair and president Christina Saxena, TNYA started with about 20 members and has since grown more than 15-fold, to just under 350 active members.
New York City is home to about 40 LGBTQ+ sports leagues run by the National Gay Sports Network, including boxing, volleyball, tennis, CrossFit, cheerleading and dodgeball.
Kimberly Hadley, sports co-chair for the Gay Games Federation, said witnessing change and development of the LGBTQ+ community at a grassroots level was one of the most important aspects of choosing a location for the Gay Games.
According to 2023 data from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association, there are 64 UN member states where same-sex sexual activity is a criminal offense.
Previously, the competition has been held internationally in major cities such as Amsterdam, Sydney, Cologne and Paris. Last year’s competition took place in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, two cities considered to be Hadley’s most exciting and meaningful competitions to date.
“When we talk about where we’re going, we’re not talking about politics, it’s about giving people the opportunity to participate in events, light a fire in their hearts and empower them to go home and do whatever they need to do to continue to exercise,” Hadley told News 4.
The bidding process to select the next host city for the 13th Gay Games in 2030 has begun, with 10 cities on five continents being considered, including Denver, Vancouver, Taipei and Cape Town.
Representatives from these locations are scheduled to give presentations at the Federation of Gay Gaming’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., in late October.
