In their latest round of press releases, both Outgames and Gay Games are claiming that they have garnered the support of the international swimming community and, once again, athletes from around the world are left trying to decide which event they should support as the 2006 events approach. The Outgames in Montreal is being promoted heavily by the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA) and is scheduled for July 29 through Aug. 5 in 2006. The Gay Games take place in Chicago July 15-22, 2006 and is supported by the Federation of Gay Games.

According to a release from Montreal issued on Oct. 22, “Since the beginning of Early Registration for the first World Outgames Montreal 2006, swimmers from around the world have been registering in record numbers. Among the 600 registrations for the Outgames already received, swimmers represent almost 20 percent. A glance at the geographic origins of these registrants is quite interesting: 38 percent come from North America, 36 percent from Europe and 18 percent come from Australia.”

Montreal touted that some 200 swimmers who attended the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) Championships in Florida earlier this month also signed up for its Club Montreal 2006 newsletter.

Meanwhile IGLA, in a news release of their own, has stated they will remain loyal to the Federation of Gay Games in 2006. At the annual meeting of its membership at the world championship in Florida, the general membership ratified the IGLA board’s statement of continued support of all IGLA teams, especially those in Chicago and Montreal, but not to depart from IGLA’s longstanding mission “to ensure excellence in aquatics” at Gay Games competitions and annual IGLA Championships.

During discussion of the motion, team representatives cited numerous reasons to support the FGG and Gay Games in Chicago, including IGLA’s historical tie to the Gay Games – IGLA’s beginnings tracing back to a meeting of swimming team leaders at Gay Games II.

As other organizations remain undecided over which event they will align themselves with, at least one is searching for a way to reunify the divided games. At a meeting of the GLBT sports community in Berlin on Oct. 6, the city’s gay and lesbian sports clubs and groups agreed that the split in the international gay and lesbian sports scene into the Federation of Gay Games and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) was seen as a problem, and a joint resolution was passed to contact both organizations and bring the two back together.

Games Berlin had intended to place a bid to host the 2010 edition of the Gay Games, but with the recent split, that bid was put on hold until it can be determined which organization will weather the 2006 storm best. Games Berlin has suspended their process to assemble a bid, and is waiting to see if an agreement can be negotiated between the two organizations.