Cleveland to Bid on 2014 Gay Games

The Cleveland Synergy Foundation is holding a press conference in Cleveland, Ohio to discuss it’s plan to bid on hosting Gay Games IX in 2014.

According to the official website (still under construction):

Cleveland Synergy Foundation is a public benefit corporation that shall be organized and operated to measurably enhance the economy, image and quality of life in the greater Cleveland GLBT and Straight community by attracting and creating significant cultural, athletic and benevolent events and festivals.

It has been rumored that Miami and Boston will also bid on hosting the games.  The next gay games will be held in Cologne, Germany in 2010.

Gay Wrestler to Participate in Tournament

When Ross Capdeville started wrestling in 2005, it wasn’t to emulate Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle or any other pro wrestling superhero. And it definitely was not for the homoerotic element of two men rolling around on a mat.

It was, in reality, because so many of his soccer games were getting rained out in the winter.

Capdeville has since been a Gay Games bronze medal winner and one of the best competitors on the Golden Gate Wrestling Club. He is, in fact, one of the most talented grapplers in Wrestling WithOut Borders ( WWB ) , which is composed of organizations and individuals dedicated to the promotion of safe and challenging freestyle wrestling, primarily for the LGBT community. In addition to Capdeville’s San Francisco-based club, Wrestling Without Borders features seven other worldwide clubs, such as the Chicago Cyclones, Philadelphia Spartans, San Diego Bulldogs and Harbour City Wrestling Club in Sydney.

“I have a background in karate and kickboxing. That was always a good workout, and I just thought wrestling would be similar, another good workout,” said Capdeville, a systems engineer for a marketing company in San Francisco.

“I really had no competitive goals when I started; I just entered local tournaments about six months after starting, and got hooked.”

Read the rest at windycitymediagroup.com.

2010 Gay Games Will Test For Steroids & Other Drugs

The 2010 Cologne Gay Games VIII will be testing for anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in all sporting events for the first time in Gay Games history. The Cologne Gay Games plans to base it’s testing on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This expanded testing to all sports follows the 2006 Chicago Gay Games that just tested athletes in bodybuilding, powerlifting and wrestling.

With this more stringent drug test policy comes issues with those athletes who are HIV+ who take supplements and steroids as part of a treatment program. The 2006 Chicago Gay Games allowed those who were on various treatment programs to participate in powerlifting as “Guest Lifters”. This classification allowed “Guest Lifters” to compete in powerlifting in order for them to achieve personal bests but were not awarded any medals.

The 2010 Cologne Gay Games hope to redefine the WADA standards to allow for those athletes who have medical concerns. The Bay Area Reporter LINK reports that, “FGG (Federation of Gay Games) and Games Cologne representatives are formulating a policy that would create a medical commission of experts in the fields of sports medicine, drug testing, and medical care, who would oversee an essentially two-tiered approach in which competitors could apply for a streamlined waiver for medications critical to their well-being.

Hopefully once the Federation of Gay Games comes out with it’s testing standards it will allow the games to be inclusive of all athletes even those who suffer from HIV and are on supplements.

Read more about the 2010 gaymes here.