International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics

On the weekend of October 6th and 7th, or the Columbus Day Long Weekend for those of you living in places or working for companies that treat this as a real holiday, the Washington Wetskins hosted their annual water polo tournament.

Eight teams from Atlanta, DC, Florida, New York and San Francisco battled it out in the pool during the day, drank and danced their way through the night for two very exhausting days.

As this was the last polo tournament DC would be hosting before IGLA 2008, the weekend was the perfect opportunity to identify potential issues and plan for them accordingly. The schedule was run according to the timing they intend to use for IGLA, and ran without incident.

The games themselves were fiercely fought, with some nail biting finishes such as TNYA A losing to San Francisco in a sudden death shoot out after the score was tied at full time and the usual shoot out also yielded a draw. (TNYA A was to get their revenge in the bronze medal match when the two teams encountered other once again.) Other games were less closely matched reflecting the diversity of talent and experience that IGLA and its associated teams manage to attract. DC hopes to run two divisions of water polo at IGLA in 2008 if they receive enough registrations which should lead to a more rewarding tournament for all involved.

The final standings at the end of the weekend were:

1^st – Florida

2^nd – Atlanta A

3^rd – TNYA A

I’d include more reports on the social aspect of the weekend but will instead live by the motto that what goes on tour, stays on tour and simply say that a lot of fun was had and many players got to know each other a little better.

Congratulations to the Washington Wetskins on yet another successful tournament… and we look forward with anticipation to the water polo competition at IGLA 2008.

—–submitted by Shane Ewen, IGLA co-chair——–

Fifteen water polo teams converged on Paris during IGLA 2007. In recent years the water polo competition of IGLA has been dominated by North America but, in a promising development for the upcoming events in Copenhagen and Cologne, the European location saw six teams from Europe throw themselves into the fray.

While some of the preliminary games highlighted the diversity of skill and experience that this competition manages to attract, others were nail-bitingly close (such as Toronto Triggerfish A giving up top position in their pool in the last second of their last preliminary game). In the small and relatively tight-knit community of water polo, many of these teams had played each other many times before and banter of friendly rivalry was evident around the water polo complex.

Showing once again how physical water polo can be, even when friendly, the preliminary rounds generated their fair share of bruises and scratches. A special mention for Ona Wang from Team New York Aquatics who manages to sustain an injury at every tournament, but outdid herself in Paris by dislocating her shoulder to provide a bit of drama for the spectators. [Sidenote: She is now back in the pool and almost completely recovered... and the time off has done nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for water polo.]

The grand final was an eagerly anticipated showdown between WeHo (West Hollywood) and QUAC (Queer Utah Aquatics Club). WeHo had taken the water polo gold medal at every IGLA since the last time it was in Paris (2000) but could not hold onto their title against the polished machine that QUAC has become in recent years. QUAC dominated the final against a hard fighting WeHo and took the gold (14 to 8). The medalists were rounded out by Atlanta Rainbow Trout who defeated Team New York Aquatics (5 to 3) to take the bronze medal.

Water Polo has always been male dominated, and unfortunately there were not enough women to have a separate women’s division but it was great to see one women’s team from Out to Swim London prepared to take on, and holding their own, in the open division. A well-supported exhibition women’s match was also part of the schedule in Paris.

With IGLA returning to North America in 2008, we hope that all the European teams can make it across the pond to once again allow the water polo tournament to be truly international (and maybe we can even entice some of our Southern Hemisphere friends back to IGLA). It is also looking promising that IGLA 2008 will include a Women’s Division in the water polo competition. So we bid a fond farewell to Paris and thank them for such a great tournament and turn our eyes to Washington DC in 2008.

The competitive field at the synchronized swimming portion of the IGLA championships continues to grow. At the 2007 IGLA Championships in Paris, 49 swimmers from 10 clubs competed, marking a 100% jump in participating clubs from the 2006 Gay Games.

Synchro also continues to be the most gender-balanced sport in the IGLA aquatics family, with 63% female and 37% male participants at the Paris championships. This is especially significant given that on a global level, both in the amateur and masters levels, male synchronized swimmers are hugely under-represented.

Performances ranged from all-male solos, duets, trios and teams to mixed pair duets, male/female teams and all-female routines. While not a central concern at the meet, it’s also interesting to note that sexual orientation ranged from gay/lesbian to bi-sexual and straight. IGLA teams and championships are leading the way in blending sexual orientation and gender in an aquatic sport that, on the amateur international level, still discriminates against male synchronized swimmers.

Congratulations to all of the synchro competitors. You are certainly making a splash in the world of gay and lesbian aquatics, and in the synchro competitive field worldwide.

Pink Flamingo™….Sunday, May 27, 2007….Paris, France
It should be no surprise that past Pink Flamingo powerhouse Paris Aquatique would set a magnificent stage for this year’s competition. With astroturf, colorful curtains, and superior sound system, they framed this years participants beautifully. The opening number, by water polo hosts, Aquahomo, was an over the top, ultra pink fashion show runway storm and definite crowd pleaser. Ketelbinkie Rotterdam went all out with numerous musical snippets and multiple outrageous costume changes for a riot of color and a third place finish. The Long Beach Grunions wowed the crowd with sharp choreography and creative uses for pink tutus to finish in second. Dark horse San Franciso Tsunami took top honors with impressive water work in their take on Pink Martini’s “Sympathique.”

May 24-27……Paris, France

Swimming saw 608 participants, representing 65 different teams, from 19 different countries. Athletes ranged in age from 18 to 78 and over the course of four days multiple IGLA Championship swimming records were set.

Individually, there were a 16 swimmers who walked away with a clean sweep of five gold medals. For the women they were Debbie Cavanaugh of Team Florida, Flore Tirraz of Paris Aquatique, Andrea Thresh of the Long Beach Grunions and Christina West of the District of Columbia Aquatic Club. On the men’s side, Cav Cavanaugh of Team Florida, Robert Davie of the Long Beach Grunions, Alex Davis of Out to Swim London, Michael Dively from Team Florida, Paulo Figueiredo of West Hollywood Aquatics, John Grzeszczak of Team Florida, Brian Jacobson of Minnesota Ice, Gene Kennedy of Boston LANES, John Kiley of Team New York Aquatics, Andre Nussbaumer of Gay Sport Zurich, Craig Pickering of KY Liquid and Peter Westeel of Aulnay-Sous-Bois S.N..

This year’s team competition crowned new victors in the Large, Medium and Small team categories. In Large Team, Team Florida and District of Columbia Aquatics were neck and neck over the four day competition, but Team Florida pulled out the win on the last day, ending DCAC’s four year winning streak. Paris Aquatique came in third in Large Team rankings. In the Medium Team category, the Long Beach Grunions were victorious, followed by West Hollywood Aquatics and Team New York Aquatics. In the small team race, the Atlanta Rainbow Trout came out on top, with A’Contre Courant Montreal in second and Minnesota Ice in third.

The 2007 winners of the Rick Meier-Windes Memorial award for recognition of excellence in distance swimming saw ties in both the women’s and men’s categories. For the women Michelle Girard, of Paris Aquatique and Barbra McGregor of Team Florida were recognized for excellence in distance swimming. For the men it was Craig Pickering of Kentucky KY Liquid, and Andre Nussbaumer of Gay Sport Zurich.

Athletes from around the world came to France for the 16th annual International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics’ championships. From May 24th through 27th, athletes competed in Diving, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming and Water Polo at both Georges Vallerey and Georges Hermant Pools, in Paris. IGLA Championships are recognized as the World Championships for LGBT aquatics. During the course of the competition, two dynasties were overturned as IGLA crowed new team champions in both swimming and water polo.

Paris Aquatique and Aquahomo hosted this year’s event, and the IGLA Championships were held in conjunction with a larger sport festival, the Tournoi International de Paris 2007, which hosted a total of fifteen other sports, such as Rugby, Basketball, and Soccer. Paris Aquatique had previously hosted the IGLA Championships in 2000, as well as hosting the aquatics portion of TIP for the past three years.

wetnotes- a publication of international gay and lesbian aquatics.  www.igla.org