With the location of the 2006 Games still in question, Montréal 2006 — the organizing committee for the next international gay competition — is making a last-ditch effort to plead their case to the media and gain support. The crisis surrounding the Games was first reported in early October when negotiations between Montréal 2006 and the Federation of Gay Games stalled. In 2001, at a meeting of the Federation of the Gay Games (FGG) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Montréal was chosen as the site for the 2006 games over Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles. However, there is no signed contract between the two organizations, which don’t see eye to eye on the future of the Games.

The FGG, concerned about the financial viability of the Games and past failures — including the last four Games going bankrupt — is seeking more financial control over the Games, and wants Montréal to limit the scope of the Games to a manageable 12,000 athletes.

Montréal 2006 however, insists that the FGG cannot have financial control over the Games, saying in an open letter to supporters from co-presidents Lucie Duguay and Mark Tewksbury, “If you were on a board of directors which was held legally accountable for the decisions of a corporation, would it be reasonable that you be expected to give final authority to an outside body to make those financial decisions on your behalf? If the FGG truly wanted only reasonable rights of supervision of our plans we might not find ourselves in an impasse with the negotiations. What the FGG has requested is final approval rights. This after Montréal 2006 has agreed to pay close to a million dollars CA ($655,000 US) in licensing fees for the right to deliver their event.”

Additionally, Montréal 2006 has set a goal of having over 20,000 participants in the Games and their breakeven point is somewhere around 16,000 athletes, much higher than the FGG’s limit of 12,000.

This week, Équipe Montréal, the organization that represents more than 1,000 athletes in the Montréal area sent out a news release to media groups around the globe to show support for the 2006 Games in Montréal.

In the weeks since news of the Games’ troubles broke, Équipe Montréal has been busy contacting sports teams from around the globe, informing them about the difficulties in negotiations between Montréal 2006 and the Federation of Gay Games, and the possibility that the Games could take place in Montréal without the sanction of the FGG. Daniel Vaudrin, president of Équipe Montréal, thanked all the teams that have pledged their support to Montréal 2006.

“Équipe Montréal hopes that an agreement between both parties is still possible. The Games must take place in Montréal as planned. In the interim, we have decided to conduct a snapshot survey of 675 gay and lesbian sports teams from all over the world,” said Vaudrin. “The results speak for themselves.”

In the poll, conducted by e-mail, of the 140 teams that responded, 91 percent said that they would still attend the sporting event in 2006.

The 140 teams that responded (21 percent of those contacted) expressed their intention to register a total of 9,000 participants for Montréal 2006. Based on these results, Équipe Montréal is predicting that Montréal 2006 could easily exceed its objective of 16,000 registrations — with or without the sanction of the FGG.

“It seems obvious to us,” Vaudrin said in a news release, “that the Montréal Games, with or without the approval of the FGG, are destined to have a high level of participation. The goal of 16,000 participants proposed by Montréal 2006 to successfully balance the budget of the Games is actually quite conservative.”

The FGG has set a Nov. 7 deadline for Montréal 2006 to sign a contract for the Games. If no contract is signed by that day the FGG will look into the possibility of moving the Games.