Team Rehoboth Wants You!
Can you imagine walking into a stadium filled with thousands and thousands of fans, walking among 12,000 gay athletes holding light sticks—and suddenly see them all light up to make a giant rainbow?
Can you imagine the pride? The fun? The exhilaration?
If so, Team Rehoboth wants you!
Four years from now, the Gay Games will be in Cleveland Ohio and Team Rehoboth will be there, marching into the stadium with a contingent of gay athletes from Rehoboth Beach or from anywhere else in the country as long as you love and identify with Rehoboth.
And the sports you are eligible to compete in range from individual (cycling, marathons, tennis, body-building, track and field, billiards—even figure skating and ballroom dance!) to team efforts like golf, doubles tennis, bowling, darts, volleyball, and so much more.
But Team Rehoboth is expanding right now, calling for new members and organizing local events and fundraising in preparation for developing a huge presence for Cleveland 2014.
Bill McManus, cycler, bowler and delegate to the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is the leader of Team Rehoboth and he’s got big plans.
Like the contingent who went to Chicago in 2006 (including lots of Rehoboth’s lady golfers) to the slightly smaller contingent which just returned from the 2010 game in Cologne, Germany, the 2014 Team Rehoboth intends to win medals (7 in Cologne, including a gold by tennis player and Team Rehoboth founder Rich Williams!), have a blast, and represent our community.
“Joining Team Rehoboth is free,” says Bill “and we want everyone to start thinking about making the trip with us in whatever sport they enjoy. There are no qualifying trials, everyone is welcome and we want to build a diverse and awesome team.”
To that end, Team Rehoboth is raising money for uniforms, banners and more. As a participating community in the Federation, Team Rehoboth gets two delegates to the FGG and golfer and team member Bonnie Quesenberry has just been elected by the team as its second delegate. This means that Bill and Bonnie will be going to annual organizing meetings between now and the Cleveland games.
Team Rehoboth has plans to sponsor sporting events here in the area, help raise money for other local organizations like CAMP Rehoboth, and assist with other local events like runs, golf tournaments, etc.
Team Rehoboth encourages as much participation in as many sports as possible and hopes for a huge presence in Cleveland in 2014, and around town before then.
So how do you get involved? Just ask! In addition to athletes, Team Rehoboth is looking for folks interested in helping with communication, web design, fundraising and organizing.
Check out Team Rehoboth by going to teamrehobothbeach.org, or look for the team on Facebook.