International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association explained

The International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Association (known as IGLA) is the international governing body for predominantly LGBT+ aquatics clubs, representing the sports of swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo, and open water swimming.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} Member clubs are from 16 countries, with the majority of clubs in the United States and Canada.^[6] Past presidents of the association have included Scott Kohanowski (of Team New York Aquatics) and Gareth Johnson (of Out to Swim London).^[7]

IGLA is one of the key organizations involved in the licensing of the Gay Games, which are held every four years.^{[8] [9] [10]} In years in which the Gay Games are not held, IGLA holds an international competition open to its member clubs. The organization is a part of the larger movement of a niche travel industry, LGBTQ sports tourism.^[11]

History

IGLA began as the West Coast Gay Swim League in 1987 with teams from Berkeley, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and West Hollywood.^[12] Members of these teams had participated in Gay Games II and wanted to continue competing annually. After the first West Coast Gay Swim League Championship, hosted in March 1987^{[13] [14]} by the Different Strokes Swim Team in San Diego, the Seattle team hosted the Northwest Gay & Lesbian Sports Festival. At this festival, it was decided that the League would be renamed the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association in hopes to grow beyond the US and Canada.^{[15] [16] [17]} By Gay Games III, IGLA was officially a part of the Games organizing.^[18]

Championships

The host cities for the championships have been:^[19]

• 1987: IGLA I (Then known as the West Coast Gay Swim League Championship), San Diego, California^[20]
• 1988: IGLA II, San Diego, California^{[21] [22]}
• 1989: IGLA III, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 1990: Held in conjunction with Gay Games III, Vancouver, British Columbia
• 1991: IGLA IV, Los Angeles, California
• 1992: IGLA V, Seattle, Washington
• 1993: IGLA VI, Chicago, Illinois
  • 1994: Held in conjunction with Gay Games IV, New York, New York
• 1995: IGLA VII, Montreal, Québec
• 1996: IGLA VIII, Washington, D.C.
• 1997: IGLA IX, San Diego, California
  • 1998: Held in conjunction with Gay Games V, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 1999: IGLA X, Atlanta, Georgia
• 2000: IGLA XI, Paris, France
• 2001: IGLA XII, Toronto, Ontario
  • 2002: Held in conjunction with Gay Games VI, Sydney, Australia
• 2003: IGLA XIII, San Francisco, California
• 2004: IGLA XIV, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• 2005: IGLA XV, Atlanta, Georgia
  • 2006: Held in conjunction with Gay Games VII, Chicago, Illinois
• 2007: IGLA XVI, Paris, France
• 2008: IGLA XVII, Washington, D.C.
• 2009: IGLA XVIII, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2010: Held in conjunction with Gay Games VIII, Cologne, Germany
• 2011: IGLA XIX, Honolulu, Hawaii
• 2012: IGLA XX, Reykjavík, Iceland
• 2013: IGLA XXI, Seattle, Washington
  • 2014: Held in conjunction with Gay Games IX, Cleveland, Ohio
• 2015: IGLA XXII, Stockholm, Sweden^{[2] [3]}
• 2016: Edmonton, Alberta^[23]
• 2017: IGLA 30th Anniversary - Miami^[24]
  • 2018: Held in conjunction with Gay Games X, Paris, France
• 2019: IGLA XXXI, New York City^[25]
• 2020: IGLA XXXII, Melbourne, Australia^[26]
• 2021: IGLA XXXIII, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States - Cancelled due to Covid-19
• 2022: IGLA XXXIV, Palm Springs, California
• 2023: IGLA XXXV, London, United Kingdom
• 2024: IGLA XXVI, Buenos Aires, Argentina^[27]
• 2025: IGLA XXVII, Washington, D.C.^[28]

External links

• • IGLA Water Polo

Notes and References

1. News: 4 June 2012 . Gareth . Johnson . From puffins to people . Gaystarnews.com . dead . 23 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130526010926/http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/puffins-people-why-iceland-rocks040612 . 26 May 2013 .
2. http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/sport/eurogames-stockholm-to-host-2015-international-lesbian-and-gay-world-aquatic-championships-14206.html Gay News Network, "Eurogames Stockholm to host 2015 International Lesbian and Gay World Aquatic Championships, by Cec Busby, 20 June 2014
3. http://www.curvemag.com/Lifestyle/Make-Your-Next-Stop-Stockholm/ Curve, "Make your next stop Stockholm", by Lisa Tedesco, 16 July 2014
4. Davidson, Judy. "Sporting homonationalisms: Sexual exceptionalism, queer privilege, and the 21st century international lesbian and gay sport movement." Sociology of Sport Journal 30.1 (2013): 57-82.
5. Jakubowska, Honorata. "From Keeping Silent to Coming Out-the Status of Sexual Minorities in Sports." Kultura i Spoleczenstwo 58.1 (2014): 155-167.
6. Web site: IGLA Teams « International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics . www.igla.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120727114827/http://www.igla.org/members/igla-teams/ . 2012-07-27.
7. Web site: IGLA Board . International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics . 2013-08-13 . 2014-06-29.
8. Hargreaves, Jennifer, and Eric Anderson, eds. Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality. Routledge, 2014.
9. Skúladóttir, Auður Olga. "Íþróttaviðburðir og ferðamennska í Vestmannaeyjum." (2011).
10. Pogam, Yves Le, et al. "Homophobie et structuration des jeux sportifs homosexuels." Corps et culture 6/7 (2004).
11. Pitts, Brenda G. "Sports tourism and niche markets: Identification and analysis of the growing lesbian and gay sports tourism industry." Journal of Vacation Marketing 5.1 (1999): 31-50.
12. Web site: History . 2024-01-31 . SF Tsunami . en.
13. Web site: October 2002 . Happy 20th Anniversary, WH2O! . Jan 31, 2024 . Team Unify . WH2O.
14. Book: Bay Area Reporter, Volume 17, Number 13, 26 March 1987 . 1987-03-26 . Benro Enterprises, Inc. . GLBT Historical Society . English.
15. Web site: Are Gay Sports Clubs Really a Thing? . 2024-01-31 . Humans . en.
16. Symons, Caroline. "Challenging homophobia and heterosexism in sport." Sport and Gender Identities: 140.
17. Web site: Chicago Riptide - Chicago's Gay & Lesbian Water Polo Team . www.chicagoriptide.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080905190344/http://www.chicagoriptide.com/history.htm . 2008-09-05.
18. Symons, Caroline. "Challenging homophobia and heterosexism in sport." Sport and gender identities: Masculinities, femininities and sexualities (2007): 140-159.
19. Web site: IGLA Championships . International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics . 2014-06-29.
20. Web site: Sports: Pooling Around: Water Polo Makes a Big Splash - Windy City Times News. 5 May 2004.
21. Web site: District of Columbia Aquatics Club . www.swimdcac.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141106001815/http://www.swimdcac.org/history.php . 2014-11-06.
22. Web site: January 2012 . 25 Years of IGLA Championships . Jan 31, 2024 . INTERNATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN AQUATICS.
23. Web site: 2016 IGLA Championships will be in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada « IGLA – International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics . www.igla.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141105223630/http://www.igla.org/2014/08/2016-igla-championships/ . 2014-11-05.
24. Web site: IGLA 2017 Championship Wraps on a High Note « IGLA: International LGBTQ+ Aquatics . www.igla.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180518063026/http://www.igla.org/2017/06/igla-2017-championship-wraps-on-a-high-note/ . 2018-05-18.
25. Web site: 2019 International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships in New York City. 13 September 2016.
26. Web site: IGLA 2020 Announced: MELBOURNE! « IGLA: International LGBTQ+ Aquatics . www.igla.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180913115437/http://www.igla.org/2018/08/igla-2020-announced-melbourne/ . 2018-09-13.
27. Web site: IGLA 2024 - Buenos Aires . 2024-01-31 . IGLA 2024 - Buenos Aires . en-US.
28. Web site: Sports . 2024-01-31 . WorldPride Washington, DC 2025 . en-US.