The 1st

World Outgames The World Outgames were a sporting and cultural event hosted by the gay community. The Outgames were open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There were no qualifying standards, although competitions were arranged a ...

took place in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from July 26, 2006, to August 5, 2006. The international conference was held from July 26 to the 29. The sporting events were held from July 29 to August 5.

History

The event evolved out of a dispute concerning spending for the 2006 Gay Games (formally called

Gay Games VII The 2006 Gay Games (Gay Games VII), colloquially called the Chicago Gaymes, was part of a family of international sports and cultural festivals called Gay Games, sanctioned by the Federation of Gay Games and organized by the gay, lesbian, bis ...

), which Montréal had been awarded. However, the

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

sanctioners (

Federation of Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was star ...

) and Montréal 2006 quarrelled over the budget and scale of the Games and the amount of control each party would exercise; subsequently, the FGG parted company with Montréal, awarding the games to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It was the second major multi-sport sporting event that Montréal had hosted since the Montréal Olympics in 1976. It used facilities from the Olympics and those from the

2005 World Aquatic Championships The 2005 World Aquatics Championships (french: Championnats du monde de natation 2005) or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005. They took place in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's I ...

, the previous major multi-sport event in Montréal. The Outgames Montréal 2006 were larger than the 2006 Gay Games in number of events and amount spent but not in the number of participants. Unlike the Gay Games, the 1st World Outgames also included non-sport events, such as a Country-Western Dance competition (as well as exhibitions) and a Choral Festival that also had a competitive component. The event was held concurrently with

Divers/Cité Divers/Cité was an LGBT multidisciplinary arts and music festival taking place each year in the heart of Montreal, since 1993. A week-long avant-garde event in the heart of downtown Montreal and in Montreal's Gay Village area held usually on the e ...

, the city's primary

LGBT pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

festival. The increased number of LGBT tourists in town for the Outgames had been expected to be a financial boon for Divers/Cité, but ironically that festival's attendance and revenues actually ''declined'' from previous years."Divers/Cite attendance plummets by 20%: Outgames 'weren't good for us financially'". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', August 9, 2006. According to Divers/Cité director Suzanne Girard, "even if there were more people than usual, there were 10,000 more things to do." Later in the year, as a result of the financial impacts of the Outgames, Divers/Cité dropped its pride programming and repositioned itself as an arts and music festival, leading to the creation of the new

Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal, also called Montreal Pride, is an annual LGBT pride festival in Montreal, Quebec. The event was founded in 2007 at the initiative of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ communities after the city's prior Pride festival, Divers/Cité, reposit ...

to take over as the city's pride festival."Gay pride parade is alive, well and marching". ''

'', June 28, 2007. A Quebec government audit revealed a CAD 5.3 million deficit for the 2006 Outgames on a CAD 15 million total budget on November 13, 2006. On December 7, 2006, Outgames Montréal 2006 filed for bankruptcy protection. Of the deficit, CAD 3.1 million was in loans from the governments of Montréal and Quebec, while the other CAD 2.2 million was due to private companies and individuals.

Organizing committee

Mark Tewksbury Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of ''How It's Made'', ...

, co-president * Marielle Dupéré, co-president * Paul Uline, Secretary *

François Goulet François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, Director * Marie-Josée Malo, Director * Johanne Roy, Director * Pierre Côté, Director

International Conference on LGBT Human Rights

The Outgames Montréal 2006 included an ''International Conference on LGBT Human Rights'' immediately prior to the games themselves, from July 26 to July 29. With attendance of some 2,000 participants, it was the largest conference on LGBT rights ever held. The four-day conference consisted of five plenary sessions on the United States and Canada, Africa and the Arab World, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe, in addition to the opening and closing sessions. Keynote speakers included

Gérald Tremblay Gérald Tremblay (born September 20, 1942) is a former Canadian politician and businessman who served as mayor of Montreal from 2002 until his resignation in 2012. He also served as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. Before b ...

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to th ...

Irshad Manji Irshad Manji (born 1968) is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of ''The Trouble with Islam Today'' (2004) and ''Allah, Liberty and Love'' (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a PB ...

Mariela Castro Mariela Castro Espín (born 27 July 1962) is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana, as well as the National Commission for Comprehensive Attention to Transsexual People, and an activist for LGBT rights in Cuba. Ca ...

Georgina Beyer Georgina Beyer (born November 1957) is a New Zealand politician and former Labour Party Member of Parliament. In 1995 she was elected mayor of Carterton, making her the world's first openly transgender mayor. In 2005 she became the world's fi ...

Waheed Alli Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He is the co-creator of the television series '' Survivor'' and has held executive positions at several television production companies including the ...

Martin Cauchon Martin Cauchon, (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He is married to Dorine Perron and together, they have three children : ...

Li Yinhe Li Yinhe (; née Li Sanfan; born February 4, 1952) is a Chinese sociologist, sexologist, and activist for LGBT rights in China. Her main academic interests have been sexual norms in contemporary China, homosexuality, diverse sexual behaviors ...

and

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

Louise Arbour Louise Bernice Arbour (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former C ...

, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered an especially well-received speech at the opening dinner, which gave particular encouragement to the conference's goal of recognition at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. There were also more than a hundred workshops on more specific themes, as well as programmes of workshops on sport, business, and international affairs. The conference concluded with the issuance of the Declaration of Montréal on LGBT Human Rights, a declaration that will be submitted to the

Opening Ceremonies

Opening Ceremonies for the 1st Outgames Montréal 2006 were held at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, July 29, 2006. The performance was broadcast by

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, Canada's national French-language public broadcaster. After the parade of nations, the Declaration of Montréal was read by Mark Tewksbury and Martina Navratilova.

, Mayor of Montréal,

Line Beauchamp Line Beauchamp (born February 24, 1963) is a Canadian politician. She served as the Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Sauvé riding, and for Bourassa-Sauvé at the Quebec National Assembly from November 30, 1998 to May 14, 201 ...

, Quebec Minister of Culture, and

Michael Fortier Michael M. Fortier, (born January 10, 1962) is a Canadian financier, lawyer and former politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2006 to 2008, and Minister of Internati ...

, federal Minister of Public Works, represented the three levels of government; Fortier was loudly booed, reflecting anger among the LGBT community regarding the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

government's stances on gay rights, including the announcement of a motion to reopen debate on the ''

Civil Marriage Act The ''Civil Marriage Act'' is a federal statute legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada. At the time it became law, same-sex marriage had already been legalized by court decisions in all Canadian jurisdictions except Alberta, Prince Edward ...

'' and

same-sex marriage in Canada Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, th ...

MontrealOpeningCeremony 2006 World Outgames

After the athletes' and officials' oath were taken by Charles Boyer and Diane Bandy respectively, Mayor Tremblay officially declared the Outgames open. Using the theme of "the circle", the concept of the show integrated music, song, dance, choruses, mass choreography and performances by the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

. Artists who performed at the opening ceremonies included: *

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...

* Sylvie Desgroseilliers *

Diane Dufresne Diane Dufresne, (born 30 September 1944) is a French Canadian singer and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs. Dufresne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She lived in Paris from 1965 to 1967 where s ...

Venues

Over 50 venues in Montréal hosted events for the 1st World Outgames. Three main areas gathered most of the activities, the largest being the Claude Robillard Sports Complex, in addition to the Montréal Olympic Park and the Jean Drapeau Park. The Outgames used most of the venues built for the Montréal Summer Olympics of 1976. Other venues included the ''Golf Metropolitain Anjou'' for

golfing Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...

, the ''Parc du Domaine Vert à Mirabel'' for

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, the

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

neighbourhood for the

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 400 m to 10,000 m. Overview Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time ...

, as well as various parks across the city for sports such as

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. The Choral Festival took place at Salle Pierre Mercure from Tuesday, August 1, 2006, through Thursday, August 3, 2006. The main social and entertainment location for non-sporting events during the Outgames Montréal 2006 was located at the west side of

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35 Sporting events contested including

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

Aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). It ...

Billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

Dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

regatta *

Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

* Physique *Outsplash

Participating teams

* English Bay Triathlon Club * Team Vancouver * Team Frankfurt a. M. * Tangra, Bulgaria * Melbourne Spikers Volleyball, Australia * Team Colorado * Melbourne Argonauts Queer Rowing Club, Australia * Equipe San Francisco, California, United States * London Spikers Volleyball Club, London, UK

Results

15 Participating Ensembles in the Choral Festival

* Ensemble Vocal Ganymède (Men's Choir from Montreal, Canada) / Director: Yvan Sabourin / Pianist: Dominic Lupien * Mélo'Men (Men's Choir from Paris, France) / Director: John Dawkins / Pianist: Michel Simard * Colla Voce (Men's Choir from San Francisco, U.S.A.) / Director: Steve Ng / Pianist: Doug McGrath * Ensemble Vocal Extravaganza (Mixed Choir from Montreal, Canada) / Director: François Monette / Pianist: Daphnée Boisvert * Mélo'Singers (Men's Choir from Paris, France) / Director: John Dawkins / Pianist: Michel Simard * Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir (Mixed Choir from Sydney, Australia) / Director: Sarah Penicka / Pianist: Gareth Chan * Manchester Lesbian & Gay Chorus (Mixed Choir from Manchester, U.K.) / Director: Jeff Borradaile * Choeur Gai de Montréal (Men's Choir from Montreal, Canada) / Director: François Monette * Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Men's Chorus (GAPA) (Men's Choir from San Francisco, U.S.A.) / Director: Randall Kikukawa / Pianist: Desmond Tan * Combined Gay & Lesbian Choir of Australasia (Mixed Choir from Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand) / Director: Jonathon Welch * Mexico Folklorigay* (Dance Company from Mexico) * Rainbow Symphony Orchestra* (Orchestra from Paris, France) / Director: John Dawkins / Soloist: Sonia Sasseville, contralto * Women's International Choir** / Director: Andrée Dagenais / Pianist: Nathalie Bellerive * Men's International Choir** / Director: John Dawkins / Pianist: Michel Simard * Mixed International Choir** / Director: Jeff Buhrman / Pianist: Michel Simard / Violinist: Don Dimmitt *Closing night concert only (non-competitive) **Consisting of singers from the 10 participating choruses, closing night concert only (non-competitive)

Members of the Jury

* Ms. Patricia Abbott, executive director, Association of Canadian Choral Conductors * Mr. Martin Dagenais, Choral Director * Mr. Jean-Sébastion Vallée, Choral Director

Choral Festival Results

Registration information and all subsequent printed materials for the Choral Festival indicated that Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals would be awarded to the top ensembles in three categories: Large Chorus, Medium Chorus, and Small Chorus (determined by the number of singers). However, at the Medal Presentations on Thursday, August 3, the following achievements were announced: * 1st Place Gold Medalists: Mélo'Men (a Medium Chorus) * 2nd Place Silver Medalists: Ensemble Vocal Ganymède (a Large Chorus) * 3rd Place Bronze Medalists: Mélo'Singers (a Large Chorus) * Honorable Mention (no medals): Colla Voce (a Small Chorus) Under the award decisions as published, Ensemble Vocal Ganymède should have been awarded the gold medal for Large Chorus; Mélo'Singers the silver medal for Large Chorus; and Colla Voce the gold medal for Small Chorus. The participating groups were not apprised of the change in rules in advance (or at any time), and when asked for an explanation after the ceremony, the organizers said the cost of so many medals would have been too prohibitive.

References

External links

1st World Outgames - Montréal 2006

Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006
o
OutSports.com

Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA)

(QueerSport.org) September 16, 2004
Asia Pacific Outgames Melbourne 2008 - Play With Your Neighbours!
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Outgames

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