Quest Magazine Volume 17 Issue 2
Quest Sports Feature

LGBT SPORTS IN SE WISCONSIN
By Paul Masterson

If there’s one thing that can be said about LGBT life in southeast Wisconsin, there are lots of gay jocks.

After the Stonewall riots LGBT athletic groups were among the first expressions of community awareness and unity. Southeast Wisconsin exemplified that pioneering spirit. Local gay sports and fitness organizations range from the obligatory bowling teams (many Wisconsinites regardless of sexual orientation had a bowling ball in their high school gym bag), and extend into the more obscure disciplines like hockey and rugby. In the middle are America’s national pastime, baseball (in the form of softball) as well as volleyball, tennis and running.

Some groups are highly organized and competitive. Many are members of international or national associations. Others are local, casual and just for the shear lark of it. City businesses and national corporations, both LGBT and non-LGBT, support or sponsor teams.

They also don’t expect an exceptional skill level. Softball has competitive and recreational divisions with most teams consisting of a mix of both level players. Other teams and clubs presume a lack of fine-honed ability since sports like hockey and rugby are relatively uncommon. Learning and developing competence is all part of the experience – and the fun.

Social involvement goes beyond diamonds, courts, rinks and pitches. Directly and indirectly, LGBT athletics serve as an important hub joining the diverse groups within our community. It also serves as a bridge to the community at large, transcending politics and stereotypes. Besides it’s sports are a healthy alternative to sedimentary or otherwise unhealthy lifestyles.

As the Milwaukee Softball World Series’ NAGAAFest motto declared, it’s all about “fun and friends first!”

Inclusion and community

That’s what LGBT sports are all about – inclusive, friendly competition, exercising and socializing on whatever level. That social connection through athleticism is the reason why many form teams and join them. Inclusion is the rule for most groups. With few exceptions, teams and organizations are open to anyone regardless of gender, age or sexual orientation. In fact, Saturday Softball League’s (SSBL) more liberal rule for its gay-to-straight player ratio had to defer to the national organization’s more limiting one for the gay softball world series. Madison Gay Hockey Association received an award, in part, for its inclusiveness and community outreach.

Most teams and organizations go a step further. Many are involved in the community beyond the athletic field and bar camaraderie. Whether volunteering at PrideFest or fund raising for HIV/AIDS, team members are ultimately community members. They give hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of dollars to local LGBT causes. NAGAAAFest’s Talent Night at the Pabst Theatre raised over $14000 for three local charitable organizations.

FrontRunners/Walkers recently gave $500 to Cream City Foundation.

Milwaukee

Softball & Milwaukee SSBL

Established in 1977, Milwaukee Saturday Softball League (SSBL) was among the five founding cities of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, aka NAGAAA.

Milwaukee SSBL just hosted the 33rd Gay Softball World Series, dubbed NAGAAAFest, in late summer 2009. It brought 3500 gay athletes to the city for a week of softball.

The incredible success of NAGAAAFest set the bar for future gay softball world series. It also provides Milwaukee-SSBL with major wow-factor to promote the Dairyland Classic, a softball tournament held almost annually for over 30 years. Only in 2008 did Milwaukee not host a Dairyland Classic as SSBL prepared to welcome nearly 130 teams for NAGAAAFest.

This year the Dairyland Classic is back. SSBL expects more teams than ever before will come to Milwaukee. In fact, the league hopes more local teams will be sponsored by organizations such as the LGBT Community Center and PrideFest. Currently, Milwaukee Gay Arts Center’s Scream is the only SSBL team not sponsored by a bar.

Volleyball: GAMMA & MGVA

Formed in 1978, GAMMA, the Gay Athletic Milwaukee Men’s Association, became Gay Athletic Milwaukee Metro Association to be more inclusive. It began with touch football games on the lakefront and then formed a competitive volleyball team. The team traveled to tournaments in Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Columbus, Madison and Minneapolis.

Today GAMMA still maintains its volleyball tradition, playing weekly at Beulah Brinton Center in Bay View. In recent years GAMMA has played on the green at PrideFest and plans on having its own team within the recently formed Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association.

Speaking of which, the most recent additional to the Milwaukee gay sports scene is the Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association (MGVA). It formed in late 2009 under the direction of Eric Euting and friends. It began as a result of a Madison player moving to town and deciding to start a league. Expecting 30 or so players, the new MGVA was overwhelmed when over 120 people, including a squad from Kenosha’s Club Icon responded.

MGVA plays Sunday evenings at the Beulah Brinton Center in Bay View. Association teams have traveled to Madison to play and MGVA hosted Madison players on Super Bowl Sunday. As its inaugural season came to a close, Euting announced spring and summer seasons and a collaboration with GAMMA at PrideFest.

Bowling

It’s Milwaukee after all so it should come as no surprise that there are three LGBT bowling organizations in town.

HIT, the Holdiay Invitational Tournament began in 1978. It’s an annual bowling tournament held over Thanksgiving weekend. It’s the oldest Gay and Lesbian Bowling Tournament throughout North America, New Zealand and Australia.

Monday Night Irregulars, as the name implies, plays Monday nights at the West Allis AMF Lanes. The season begins Labor Day and extends through the winter until the annual banquet in

There’s also a Sunday league. Formed in the late 1970’s the 9 team strong Bestd Bowling League now bowls every other Sunday at Classic Lanes on West Layton.

WanderWomyn

Created in 2009, a local women’s outdoor group, WanderWomyn, now numbers nearly 140 members. Membership is free. They communicate through a Yahoo Group list serve. Activities include weekly summer beach volleyball, kickball, hiking, camping, sledding, skiing, kayaking, ball games, other non-athletic events and even trips overseas.  Meeting times and places are advertised through emails sent out by the individual activity sponsors.

Run, Jog or Walk

Milwaukee FrontRunners/Walkers, the city’s first walk-run LGBT community, celebrates its 14th anniversary this month. The group is loosely affiliated with International Front Runners. The first FrontRunners set out in February 1996 at 9am from the base of the lakeside Water Tower at North and Terrance Avenues. They’ve been going ever since. The FrontRunners include many GAMMA members as well.

10-15 people of all abilities, gender and age make the three mile (approximately 35 minute) jaunt along the lakefront or along the lake bluff - some run, some walk and some lead (or follow) their four-legged companions. The exercise ends with breakfast at a nearby restaurant. It’s an open community affair and anyone is welcome to join. There are no fees or dues. They recently donated $500 to Cream City Foundation.

The Courts: Milwaukee Metro Tennis Club

A long-running gay (and gay friendly) tennis league in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Matro Tennis Club begins play in mid-May. Games continue on Sundays during the summer from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM at Merril Park in Milwaukee (35th & Michigan Ave). All skill levels are welcome. League play takes place in several divisions.

Madison

Madison SSBL

Founded in 2005, Madison SSBL was originally Madison Gay Softball League. It quickly grew from a single team organized in 2002 and recently joined forces with Milwaukee SSBL sending two teams to NAGAAAFest. It maintains competitive and recreational open (co-ed), women’s and men’s teams.

Madison was awarded the 2009 Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) women’s softball World Series. Before ASANA’s formation, the women’s division was a part NAGAAA. Its first women’s division competition was played in Milwaukee in 1985.

Every September, Madison SSBL hosts the Felicia Melton-Smyth Memorial Softball Tournment to commerate her dedication to the community. All proceeds from the tournament are donated to the AIDS Network. SSBL-Madison was recognized as OutReach’s 2009 Organization of the Year.

Volleyball

The Madison Gay Volleyball League started in 2007 and has grown to be the second largest sports organization in Madison. With seasons going on through out the year (indoors in fall/winter/spring and sand courts in summer), the Madison Gay Volleyball League is quickly becoming one of the hottest sports in town. They recently hosted a very successful fundraiser for the AIDS Network’s ACT

Hockey

Madison is well known as a hockey town so it’s logical that a gay hockey league has sprung up there. In 2006 by Patrick Farabaugh started the Madison Gay Hockey Association (MGHA) to provide Madison’s LGBTQA community an opportunity to learn and play hockey. It now boasts seven teams and is the largest gay hockey organization in the US and second largest worldwide.

With team names like Back in Black, The Blue Bombers, Cardinal Sin, Dirty Laundry, the Flying Monkeys of Doom, The Puffy Clouds and The Short Bus, there’s obviously a special spirit on ice in Madison.

Besides weekly games, MGHA hosts other midwestern gay hockey teams, volunteers at Madison Pride and hosts an open skate fundraiser for the AIDS Network.

MGHA won the prestigious Outsports Best Gay Sports Group designation based in part on its community outreach and inclusiveness.

The first annual MGHA Classic LGBT Ice Hockey Tournament takes place April 30 - May 1, 2010. It shouldn’t be missed.

Bowling

Bowling Out Loud, Madison’s bowling league, is sanctioned by the USBC (United States Bowling Congress) and is a member of the IGBO (International Gay Bowling Organization.)  The league plays on Sunday’s at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes in Madison. League play begins in mid-September and ends with a banquet in mid-April.

There’s nothing like a scrum…

The Madison Minotours Rugby Club is Wisconsin’s first and only member of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB)

According to its website, “it was March 10, 2007 and the foot and a half of snow that fell earlier that weekend was starting to melt away. It was also the day that the Madison Minotaurs, with the help of a handful of members from the Minneapolis Mayhem and the Chicago Dragons, had their first Rugby 101. Minotaur history was born.”

The Madison Minotaurs Rugby Club is an all inclusive team dedicated to providing everyone, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or national origin, the opportunity to learn and play the great sport of rugby

But, the Minotaurs beginnings were shaky and, in 2008, the club was near collapse. They only managed their first victory in May 2009 over the visiting Nashville Grizzlies. That inspired renewed efforts to continue and with the support of Madison United Rugby and IGRAD the club persevered.

Find your Sport!

Most teams, clubs and organizations have a web presence in the form of a website or on a social networking site like Facebook . These have become ubiquitous and offer members and potential members the opportunity to find information, schedules, team standing and other pertinent information. Some groups only list a phone number, so call for information.
QUEST has listed contact information as found through either community web sites or other resources.

Contacts for Milwaukee
Milwaukee GAMMA, Inc.
www.milwaukeegamma.com

Holiday Invitation Tournament and
Monday Night Irregulars
414-933-3228
www.hitmilwaukee.org/

Bestd Bowling League 414-881-8071

Milwaukee SSBL
www.ssblmilwaukee.com/

Front Runners
www.ullrwolf.com/frontrunnersmke/welcome.html
Milwaukee, John 414-443-0379

Metro Milwaukee Tennis Club
moenell@sbcglobal.net
Milwaukee 414-616-3716

WanderWomyn debydoo2@yahoo.com

Contacts for Madison
Madison SSBL www.ssblmadison.com/index.htm & www.madwomen.ssblmadison.com/

The Madison Gay Volleyball League
director@madisongayvolleyball.com
Madison Gay Bowling
www.madisongaybowling.com/

Madison Gay Hockey
www.madisongayhockey.org/

Madison Gay Rugby
www.MinotaursRugby.org
playrugby@mac.com