New York, NY -
The Board of Directors of Team New York decided at a board meeting on June 7, 2004 to publicly reaffirm its long-standing commitment to the Gay Games, and to the founding principles and vision of the international LGBT sports movement, which began with Dr. Tom Waddell and is carried on today by the Federation of Gay Games organization.
Catharina Tjiook, Female Vice-President of Team New York and participant at Gay Games IV and V stated: "Team New York has been a major supporter of the Gay Games from the very beginning. Our mission has always been involved with helping New York-area athletes, artists and their organizations and supporters participate in the quadrennial Gay Games, and we do not expect to shrink from that mission in the foreseeable future. However, we realize that various press releases distributed by both the organizers of Rendez-Vous Montreal 2006 event and the related GLISA organization over the past few months have given the impression, directly or indirectly, that Team New York is in some way explicitly endorsing these two organizations, and this is not the intention of the board of Team New York. We wish to restate our position that we continue to be closely associated with the Gay Games, and hope to see many of our local athletes and artists attending Gay Games VII in 2006, many of whom may be returning for their second, third or fourth Gay Games experience."
Shep Wahnon, Male Vice-President and participant at Gay Games III, V and VI stated: "We strive to present relevant, up-to-date information about upcoming events through our web site, e-mail messages and quarterly newsletter. We cannot always control how other organizations choose to present information about Team New York, its mission or its position on LGBT sports issues, and thus it is important that we go on record to prevent possible misunderstandings or misrepresentations of our position."
In further support of this view, Ray Stetson, Team New York board member and participant at Gay Games I, II and IV said: "We feel strongly committed to the vision of Dr. Tom Waddell, and the ongoing success of the international LGBT sports movement, as organized and promoted by the Federation of Gay Games, and celebrated every four years at the Gay Games. We wish the organizers of Rendez-Vous 2006 in Montreal good luck, and have included a link to their web site, and another one to GLISA, on the Team New York web site, as part of our attempt to be a resource of LGBT sports information to the athletes and artists in the New York area. We will continue to provide information about various local, national or international LGBT sports events, but our main focus and founding mission continues to be with the Gay Games."
Representatives from the Chicago Gay Games are planning to visit New York in the fall of this year, to provide updates on registration, sports venues, housing and other and information about Gay Games VII, which will be held Chicago, IL on July 15-22 2006. Team New York will hold a "town hall" type meeting, open to the public, to allow anyone that is interested in Gay Games VII to hear all of the latest developments. Team New York will announce the date and time of this meeting to its membership via e-mail, and post the information on its web site at www.teamnewyork.org as soon as it is has been confirmed.
Catharina Tjiook, Female Vice-President of Team New York and participant at Gay Games IV and V stated: "Team New York has been a major supporter of the Gay Games from the very beginning. Our mission has always been involved with helping New York-area athletes, artists and their organizations and supporters participate in the quadrennial Gay Games, and we do not expect to shrink from that mission in the foreseeable future. However, we realize that various press releases distributed by both the organizers of Rendez-Vous Montreal 2006 event and the related GLISA organization over the past few months have given the impression, directly or indirectly, that Team New York is in some way explicitly endorsing these two organizations, and this is not the intention of the board of Team New York. We wish to restate our position that we continue to be closely associated with the Gay Games, and hope to see many of our local athletes and artists attending Gay Games VII in 2006, many of whom may be returning for their second, third or fourth Gay Games experience."
Shep Wahnon, Male Vice-President and participant at Gay Games III, V and VI stated: "We strive to present relevant, up-to-date information about upcoming events through our web site, e-mail messages and quarterly newsletter. We cannot always control how other organizations choose to present information about Team New York, its mission or its position on LGBT sports issues, and thus it is important that we go on record to prevent possible misunderstandings or misrepresentations of our position."
In further support of this view, Ray Stetson, Team New York board member and participant at Gay Games I, II and IV said: "We feel strongly committed to the vision of Dr. Tom Waddell, and the ongoing success of the international LGBT sports movement, as organized and promoted by the Federation of Gay Games, and celebrated every four years at the Gay Games. We wish the organizers of Rendez-Vous 2006 in Montreal good luck, and have included a link to their web site, and another one to GLISA, on the Team New York web site, as part of our attempt to be a resource of LGBT sports information to the athletes and artists in the New York area. We will continue to provide information about various local, national or international LGBT sports events, but our main focus and founding mission continues to be with the Gay Games."
Representatives from the Chicago Gay Games are planning to visit New York in the fall of this year, to provide updates on registration, sports venues, housing and other and information about Gay Games VII, which will be held Chicago, IL on July 15-22 2006. Team New York will hold a "town hall" type meeting, open to the public, to allow anyone that is interested in Gay Games VII to hear all of the latest developments. Team New York will announce the date and time of this meeting to its membership via e-mail, and post the information on its web site at www.teamnewyork.org as soon as it is has been confirmed.
