With the continuing growth of gay flag football teams and leagues across the country, a new Gay National Football League (GNFL) has been organized to coordinate tournaments, games and the annual Gay Flag Football Super Bowl. As of June 16, regional commissioners from San Diego, Chicago and Los Angeles will comprise the newly formed GNFL.

Ivan Solis, the founder of the San Diego Flag Football League and member of the Bourbon Street Hurricanes, will serve on the inaugural board. Joining him will be Garrett Taliaferro, from Chicago’s Metropolitan Sports Association, and Jim Buzinski of the Los Angeles Motion team and co-founder of Outsports.com. The three will lead the board, which plans on expanding the GNFL to include major cities such as Washington, DC, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Birmingham, Michigan and New York. The goal of the newly formed board will be to gain national exposure, to compete and to assist in overall organizational efforts in the smaller gay athletic markets.

Atlanta will serve as host to this year’s Gay Super Bowl IV, and 10 cities are expected to participate in the league’s national championship.

The local San Diego Flag Football league recently completed their first year of league play. The Dave & Busters Broncos won the division outright, beating out three other teams over the course of regular season play. Organizers expect the league to draw additional teams and sponsors and play at higher quality fields.

To continue the excitement and fun of the league, Solis announced an “open scrimmage” for July 17 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. at San Diego City College, located on Park Boulevard just south of I-5. The entire community, regardless of play level and experience, is invited to attend. On Sunday, July 18, San Diego will hold a closing party for its inaugural season at Bourbon Street from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., hosted by Ophelia. The party will include a barbecue, clowns, jugglers and bar specials. Prizes will also be raffled off. Proceeds for the closing party will help cover the cost of San Diego’s attendance at the 2004 Super Bowl in Atlanta. Also be sure to watch for the San Diego Flag Football League float in the 2004 Pride Parade.