Articles
Echo Magazine, March 12, 2004
Echo Magazine, January 13, 2005
Sporting chance
Phoenix offers opportunities aplenty
for gay athletics
By Matthew Heil
Imagine
this: a world where gay men and lesbians are out in sports. Not only are
they willing and able to point out their partners in the stands, they
can wipe the field with their competitors, straight or gay. Coaches don't
just look for the best defensive tackles for their football teams, or
the gruffest goalies. They're happy to have gay players. Most amazing
of all, being gay doesn't mean you have to run away from sports, to hide
behind your hoarded copies of Martha Stuart Living. You can tell your
gay friends you're a rugby player without getting teased.
Even to me, it seems almost like an impossibility.
We all know the world at large still sees gay men as incapable of throwing
a ball, much less contributing to a sports team, professional or otherwise.
And though lesbians may at least be expected to show up in the sports
arena, their high-scoring records are best made through a closet door.
Fortunately for GLBT sports fans and players alike,
more professional sports players are coming out ("Come Out and Play,"
p. 48), even if it's after they retire. And while the sporting world may
not welcome gays and lesbians with open arms, the queer athletes have
taken back the court, by starting numerous GLBT-focused sports clubs.
Not only have the Gay Games developed enough of a support network to flourish,
many other sports have developed gay counterparts. Fans of the ball and
bat have the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, overseeing
51 softball leagues across the country, including groups in Phoenix and
Tucson. NAGAAA even holds its own gay World Series, a tourist draw that's
as known for its well-attended nighttime soirees as the games that come
before. Swimmers can compete with fellow aquatic types from around the
globe at International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics meets. Members of the
International Gay Bowling Organization can throw a strike with flair,
and those with a knack for keeping their feet in the stirrups have the
International Gay Rodeo Association to test their skills.
But Phoenix sports fans don't have to go far to
find camaraderie with other gays and lesbians. The Valley offers a wide
array of GLBT sports teams and organizations. Following are a few of the
groups people can choose from:
The Phoenix Sunfish
This swimmer's organization has made quite a "splash" since
it started a year ago, as a opportunity for team members to workout in
a gay-friendly environment. Coached by Marty Sarussi, and captained by
Ron Houston and Gregg Smith, the group has grown from a few participants
a week to almost 40 members, with three weekly practices. Monday and Thursday
practices are held 7pm-8pm at the downtown YMCA pool and Saturday's practice
is held 4:30pm-6pm at the Student Recreation Complex at Arizona State
University.
Sunfish practices are run in a way that accommodates
a variety of skill levels and experience. Faster swimmers are grouped
together in pool lanes, given more difficult times to beat, while newer
swimmers can practice together, and share encouragement. As Houston notes,
though members do join the Arizona Masters swimming organization, and
can compete in International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics swim meets (the
Sunfish went to three last year, in Denver, Fort Lauderdale, and Long
Beach, CA), the real challenge happens within each individual. Improving
personal times, and reaching a new level of fitness are primary goals
for all participants.
Smith was himself a former swimmer, in high school
and college, who thought participating in the Sunfish would be a great
opportunity to get exercise in a "really, really friendly environment."
"I love swimming, I always have," he
added, saying he tries to make it to every practice the group has, to
welcome new members and get his laps in.
Houston has seen substantial personal benefit
from his workouts with the Sunfish. Not only has his general health improved,
he has also found a group of fellow swimmers to share the experience with.
"It's been great. I've been exercising, I've
met a lot of people, and I feel a lot better than I did a year ago,"
he said, noting that the group is really a "healthy" social
venue. Sometimes group members get away from the pool to go hiking, or
share a trip to the movies on a rainy afternoon. Most of the team members
also catch a meal together after practice.
The group attracts a variety of men, of all ages
and fitness levels, as well as some women. Organizers are hoping to expand
the group's reach in coming months. According to Smith, the Sunfish's
ranks have mostly grown through word of mouth. Friends who swim refer
friends who used to swim to the group, and slowly, new members join. As
the Sunfish organization has expanded, members have taken up the slack,
working to get the group nonprofit status, and to develop a system of
bylaws. For the most part, paperwork and administration are secondary
concerns to slicing through the water for an hour, flexing muscles, and
soaking in the spa afterwards. And that suits Smith and the other Phoenix
Sunfish members just fine.
"Really, right now, we're just an organization
that gets together and swims," Smith adds, with a laugh.
For more information: www.phxsunfish.org