wild@sun.uucp (Will Doherty) (02/15/86)
I got the following information from a member of the Board of Directors
of Gay Games II. For more information, try asking me (Will Doherty
sun!oscar!wild), or contact the Executive Director of Gay Games II:
Shawn Kelly
SFA&A, INC
526 Castro St
SF, CA 94114
415-861-8282
First, there seems to be quite a huge misunderstanding on Mr. Rizzo's
part in that we, the Gay Games organizers, issue invitations
to any groups. We do have representatives who travel around the
country, and one or two who have had an opportunity to go to foreign
countries, speak about the games. We do actively encourage everyone's
participation in every area of the Games and if a person is interested
in a specific sport, a registration packet is sent. Only after the
completed application is received, and processed, is that person
considered an entrant in that specific sport. We do not, as a matter
of policy, issue a direct invitation to any country, for there will
be no international "flavor" to the games. The Opening & Closing
Ceremonies' program was put together with that in mind and the
emphasis will be on the individuals themselves, not of any country.
The Games office has not yet received any such requests at all from
South Africa, or, for that matter have we received any interest
whatsoever. Therefore, the statements referring to this point are
inaccurate.
With the above clarification, I submit the following:
San Francisco Arts & Athletics (SFAA) is a non-profit public benefit
corporation. (ARTICLE II-A -- Article of Incorporation).
The specific charitable and educational purpose of the corporation is to
promote and develop the arts by means including, but not limited to,
conducting public cultural activities of a traditional nature such as
dance, athletics, theater, music, painting and graphic arts, within the
openly gay community. (ARTICLE II-B)
No substantial part of the activities of this corporation shall consist
of carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence
legislation, and the corporation shall not participate or interfere in
any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public
office.(ARTICLE IV-C)
The issue of apartheid in South Africa has raised questions from several
gay organizations about the policies of SFAA regarding participation and
representation in the project known as Gay Games II.
Heretofore, there has not been any controversy over participation or
representation of any individual. In it's December, 1985 meeting,
the Board of Directors addressed the matter of a request by the
International Gay Association asking SFAA to boycott individuals from
South Africa from participating in the Gay Games.
The position of the Board of Directors of SFAA is as follows:
A) We acknowledge and support the I.G.A. and any other organization, in
their effort to end apartheid in South Africa. We are unanimous in our
opinion that apartheid is detestable and that the Government of South
Africa is culpable.
B) SFAA addresses the problem of apartheid in South Africa in the same
way it addresses prejudice against any other group in the world, by
inviting individuals to participate in activities which promote a climate
of cooperation, friendship and understanding. Our major projects, Gay
Games II and Cultural Week are designed to be inclusive of all
individuals regardless of age, gender, race, religion or geopolitical
origin.
C) It is the policy of SFAA, with all its related projects, to create
opportunities to address a number of social ills which plague the gay
community (globally), as well as all communities at large. These
specifically are:
1. AGEISM. We include all ages and age-group activities in our events.
2. SEXISM. There are equal venues at all levels for women and men.
3. RACISM. We actively recruit persons of color to participate at all
levels of the organization and its events.
4. NATIONALISM. We do not accept representation on any geopolitical
basis. All participants represent themselves. Country of
origin is not a parameter for eligibility.
D) The Board of Directors unanimously voted the following statement as
summarizing our policy towards participation in any of our events:
"NO ONE IS EXCLUDED"
--END--rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) (02/18/86)
<followup to Will Doherty> Thanks for going to the trouble, Will. However, the policy statement isn't very enlightening. The issue con- cerns a series of real events as reported in the gay press (a recent GCN, I believe) and not a statement: the admission of an all-white South African contingent to the Games, despite an alleged earlier promise that it wouldn't occur, and the subsequent withdrawal of contingents/organizations from Scotland and another country (Canada? Netherlands?). My reaction is more mixed now due to mail & discussion (thanks for the mail, folks), but if the above account is true, whatever the Games staff says it does or would like to do, then I frankly can't escape a feeling of uncleanness being part of the games. Is it worth avoiding being unfair to particular gay South Africans whose lot isn't easy, at the cost of allowing apartheid to ultimate shape South African participa- tion in the games. It strikes me as somewhat sleazy.
on@hpda.UUCP (Owen Rowley) (02/21/86)
In article <1708@bbncca.ARPA> rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) writes: ><followup to Will Doherty> >However, the policy statement isn't very enlightening. The issue con- >cerns a series of real events as reported in the gay press (a recent GCN, >I believe) and not a statement: the admission of an all-white >South African contingent to the Games, despite an alleged earlier >promise that it wouldn't occur, and the subsequent withdrawal of >contingents/organizations from Scotland and another country (Canada? >Netherlands?). Hmmm.. I thought that the policy statement was clear that the games were not based on participation by "countrys or their teams" but by individuals from ANY country in the world. Lets not fall into the trap of accepting one reporters interpretation as Gospel. The Gay games have been dealt a crushing blow ;-) by the courts and I suspect that the olympic commitee would like nothing better than to see the Gay games go down ;-) in defeat by our own bickering. > >My reaction is more mixed now due to mail & discussion (thanks for the >mail, folks), but if the above account is true, whatever the Games staff >says it does or would like to do, then I frankly can't escape a feeling >of uncleanness being part of the games. Is it worth avoiding being >unfair to particular gay South Africans whose lot isn't easy, at the >cost of allowing apartheid to ultimate shape South African participa- >tion in the games. It strikes me as somewhat sleazy. I have a suggestion that may be able to defuse this controversy, and redirect the heat from the Gay Games Organisation to the individuals in question. Since the system of Apartheid is currently under close scrutiny by the whole world,why not require al South African registrants to make a clear statement of repudiation for Apatheid and the Race control policys of the Botha government before being accepted as participants. Those who will not do so should be barred from competing . Another idea woulbd be to tell the South Africans to come up with a black team member or stay home! The ANC or UDF flags could be used instead of the SA national banner. ther are lots of things that can be done besides being divisive. Lets take a lesson from the early American colonists who fought against the Empire... United we stand divided we fall..... LUX .. on Owen Rowley hplabs!hpda!on