International Gay Rights Conference Scheduled To Kick Off Outgames

MONTREAL, CANADA - Mark Tewksbury can be forgiven if he becomes a little frazzled by the time this summer's First World Outgames end.
Not only is he co-president of the huge sporting and cultural event for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, he plans to swim in two events and will possibly run a half-marathon on the games' final day.
As a former Canadian Olympic swimmer, a 1992 gold medallist and an openly gay athlete, Tewksbury is putting his talent on the line along with the estimated 16,000 participants expected in Montreal for the event, which will run from July 30 to Aug. 5.
"I've seen firsthand that sports and culture can be used for social change," he said yesterday in an interview. "Homophobia is still an issue in sports."
Prior to the Outgames, Montreal will play host to an international conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) human rights, the first time such a conference has been twinned with a sporting event.
About 2,000 delegates from 80 countries will convene at the Palais des congres July 26-29 to discuss five main conference themes: Essential Rights, Global Issues, the Diverse LGBT Community, Participation in Society and Creating Social Change.
"There will be representatives of rich countries and poor countries," said Laurent McCutcheon, president of Fondation Emergence, an advocacy group for gays.
"The status of gays in other countries is very different from here," McCutcheon said. "There are 75 countries where homosexuality is forbidden.
"We have the obligation to help other countries. Thousands of people will leave Montreal with medals and memories and a reminder that Montreal is a headquarters for LGBT rights."
Besides the sporting events and the human rights conference, the Outgames are expected to create a huge financial windfall for the Montreal region.
"We are expecting 250,000 visitors to the area during the games and have set aside 16,000 rooms each night, 4,000 in university dormitories and 12,000 in hotels," said Charles Lapointe, president of Tourism Montreal.
The 11 days of conferences and sporting events are expected to bring $170 million to the Montreal region in rooms, meals and other spending, Lapointe said.
Tewksbury said more than 11,000 athletes have signed up.
"Many of the 35 sports (categories) are filling quickly," he said. "Badminton, basketball, dancesport, soccer, squash, tennis and volleyball are almost full.
"We urge people to register now to not be disappointed," Tewksbury added.
"Remember, you don't have to be gay to compete. There's no gay test."
from The Gazette