Dive in With Lambda Divers

Lesbians and gays who enjoy the recreational and exciting activity of scuba diving are steadily becoming a part of one of the most successful LGBT scuba clubs in the world - Lambda Divers.

As a nonprofit, social organization dedicated to promoting scuba diving among the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, Lambda Divers grew from a desire to meet other LGBT divers whom enjoy diving in a supportive “family” environment.

What began as a small gathering has grown to over 125 members from L.A. to Toronto to London. Lambda Divers provides a unique forum through which LGBT divers can meet, learn more about diving, make friends and dive buddies, and enjoy great camaraderie on some of the best-priced dive trips available.

Members of the club gather several times a year in the Washington/Baltimore area and on dive trips. In addition to the trips, the organization may sponsor “discover scuba” classes, photo classes, or local interest visits such as the hyperbaric chambers in Baltimore, and more. With picnics, holiday parties and Pride Day, there is also ample time for social interaction.

The main mission of Lambda Divers is to provide a fun and inexpensive diving venue for LGBT divers. With the power to arrange group travel with no intermediaries, Lambda Divers provides its members with a LGBT family environment and attractive pricing. Organizing two to three dive trips a year from a “cheap and easy” long weekend to live-aboards, Lambda Divers works to bring its members the best in LGBT diving.

Since its inception, Lambda Divers has been to such locations as: Cozumel, The Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize, Florida Keys, Dominica, Papua, New Guinea, Turks & Caicos, Saba, and Kona.

Participation on the trips ranges from a few to thirty divers. All trips are organized by club members who receive a modest stipend for their work. The bulk of the rebates and commissions are shared among the participants and the club treasury. No diver goes on a Lambda Divers trip for free.

Most members are certified divers with certification levels ranging from basic to instructor. As well, Lambda Divers can help arrange introduction to scuba events and scuba classes for uncertified divers who are curious about the sport or who are ready to dive right in.

Lambda Divers has also shown a tremendous presence at Diving for Life, the International Gay and Lesbian Scuba Jamboree. Proceeds from this annual event go to gay and lesbian charities. As a result of its participation, to date, Lambda Divers has donated over $120,000 to DC and Baltimore charities, including Food & Friends, Lesbian Services at Whitman-Walker, The Mautner Project, and Maryland Community Kitchen.

Upcoming trips include the Key Largo Dive Trip during Veterans Day weekend, the Cozumel Dive Trip from May 2-9, 2009, and the Great Barrier Reef Trip from November 4 - 11, 2010.

For more information about Lambda Divers visit http://www.lambdadivers.org.

Utah Gay & Lesbian Ski Week 2009

The Utah Gay & Lesbian Ski Week 2009 is scheduled to take place from January 7th through January 11th in beautiful Park City, Utah.

Sponsored by Community Visions, co-sponsors of Colorado’s increasingly popular Vail Gay & Lesbian Ski Week, the Utah festivities have become a top event among LGBT ski enthusiasts from all over the country.

Park City is a resort town just a half-hour’s drive from Salt Lake City and is best known in January for its prestigious and star-studded Sundance Festival, which dominates the entire region during the second half of January (January 15-25 in 2009). Gays and lesbians, however, start heading to Park City just a bit earlier for the town’s fun-filled gay ski week.

The week has become a favorite among the community for its wonderful location that offers great shopping and dining as well as the opportunity to enjoy Utah’s Wasatch Mountains - which offer some of the best skiing conditions in the world: spectacular powder, sunny weather, and beautifully kept facilities.

The event kicks off on Wednesday with welcome lunch events at Mid-Mountain Lodge, at Park City’s own Park City Mountain Resort. That first evening there’s also a Friendship Dinner at 7:30 pm at the gay-friendly Wasatch Brewery Pub. Park City’s The Canyons resort is set to host the skiing and midday lunch on Thursday.

The resorts remain the focus of skiing and snowboarding throughout the five-day event, with one notable exception - Deer Valley is one of the only facilities in the country that does not allow snowboarding, so boarders choose between The Canyons and Park City Mountain.

A number of bars and restaurants in Park City will be hosting parties and events during the week including the popular Wasatch Brewery Pub and Kristauf’s martini bar.

The aforementioned Canyons Resort is one of the region’s best options for upscale accommodations. The organizers of Utah Gay & Lesbian Ski Week also have information on condo rentals on their website at http://www.communityvisions.org/SKIING/sku6con.htm.

“Out of the Bars and Under the Stars”

Great Outdoors of Southern California began in 1977 when its founders, Greg and Paul, wondered if it would be possible to offer an alternative place where gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people could meet and socialize outside of the bars. Paul, a catholic priest, suggested that it would be interesting to introduce the gay world to the phenomena of camping, hiking, and getting dirty. Paul took Greg for a drive up the Big Sur coast. Greg fell in love with Big Sur and Great Outdoors was born.

With the slogan: “OUT OF THE BARS AND UNDER THE STARS,” Great Outdoors holds to its values of offering outdoor activities with a range of ability requirements, from day trips to weekend camping – while also making them affordable, so that everyone can participate. They keep annual dues low and make trips reasonably priced. To encourage non-member participation in trips while encouraging them to join, they added low additional fees and they try to offer opportunities for including people restricted by age or disability.

Their first outing was a July 4th weekend in the Los Padres National Forest. They had a fee for each person, which included provision of food and some supplies. They arrived at the campsite for the weekend, refrigerated the food in a nearby mountain stream, established a latrine, organized tent sites, and opened a fire pit. On Sunday morning, Paul conducted a worship service. Standing on top of a boulder, the tops of pine trees below and the Pacific ocean behind, he was surrounded by the sounds of nature. The campers were men and women ranging in age from the early 20s to people in their 50s. The two men received a marvelous response from all participants.

Greg and Paul returned to Riverside and spent the next two years developing the organization. Greg established the original design for the Great Outdoors logo: the words Great Outdoors, a mountain in the back ground, a cloud on the right, and the rays of the sun radiating from the G of Great. New chapters added new elements to the logo. Los Angeles added the palm tree, Orange County/Long Beach the rainbow and an extra cloud. Riverside added a Hot Air Balloon and Santa Barbara added dolphins. New chapters have continued this tradition: Palm Springs added a Joshua Tree and San Diego California Poppies.

In 1981, Organizational By-Laws were adopted allowing a new group of people to assume the leadership of Great Outdoors. Greg and Paul could step back. There have been chapters as far away as San Francisco and Phoenix. Today five chapters continue the work started thirty years ago by two men trying to make a difference in their community. Greg and Paul still have great affection for Great Outdoors and are happy that it continues to promote the fundamental values, which they instilled into it. Here’s to many more years of outdoor fun.

For more information visit http://www.greatoutdoors.org.

Tabber photo by Pete Coleman. Featured photo by Ninja Kem.

Women - Only - at Sea

In most parts of the country, options for sporting and recreational activities during the winter season either involve snow, or are inside. Floridians, however, can always count on warmth, sunshine, and - for those living in the Key West area – exciting and fun-filled ocean adventures.

Venus Charters is a Key West, Florida company that specializes in gay-friendly women and lesbian only snorkeling and dolphin watching cruises and private charters that are open to all. They offer personalized, eco-friendly charters; women only snorkel trips to the reef or back country; wild dolphin watching; light tackle fishing; secluded island exploring; and days filled with beach combing.

Accommodating two to six passengers per trip, they also offer beautiful sunset cruises, romantic commitment ceremonies, and private charters available for mixed groups and/or families.

Venus Charters was established in 1997 by Captain Karen Luknis. Venus is a 25’ Proline open fisherman with 225 HP outboard Mercury motor. There is plenty of room to for light tackle fishing, watching dolphins, or relaxing in the sun on the cushioned forward deck. Their marina is located right in Key West and most sites can be reached in less than 20 minutes, leaving more time for the activities.

See Wild Dolphins at Play
Travel to their habitat where you can observe these magnificent mammals close up. Enjoy the pale blue-green waters of the dolphin playground, where every trip is magical.

Snorkel the Reef
Snorkel one of a dozen spots that Capt. Karen has discovered over her many years in these Key West waters. She always goes to the calmest and clearest water available. If you are a beginner or this is your hundredth trip it is sure to be the one snorkel experience you will always remember.

Unions at Sea or Beach
You can have your commitment ceremony aboard Venus. Private, romantic, and customized just for the two of you and/or as many as four guests.

Light Tackle Fishing
Captain Karen has been fishing and diving these waters since 1990, so she knows where the fish are. They’ll do it all for you. You just reel them in! Enjoy light tackle fishing on the 4 or 7-hour trip. All bait, licenses, and tackle is included.

The Captains
Captain Karen has been exploring and spearfishing in the waters surrounding Key West since 1990. Originally a steel worker from Ohio, she moved to Key West after her 2nd visit, saw the beautiful waters and never went back.

Captain Debra has been working with Captain Karen since 2001. She moved to Key West via Boston, but is originally from New York. She was a successful hair colorist and salon owner in New York and Boston before giving it all up to be on the water.

Both Captain Karen Luknis & Captain Debra are USCG Licensed and Insured.

Holiday Special!
Make your reservations now and receive 10% off any charter. Visit http://www.venuscharters.com for more information.

*Cannot be combined with any other offer; offer good December 22nd through January 5th 2009; reservations must be made directly through Venus Charters, does not apply if booked through agent, hotel or concierge.

Photos from www.venuscharters.com.

OUTdoor Adventuring in DC

Lesbians living in and around the Washington, DC area who enjoy being outside, exercising, meeting new friends who have similar interests, and relaxing – all at the same time – should definitely consider participating in Adventuring.

Adventuring is a not-for-profit, non-membership, all-volunteer organization serving the gay and lesbian community in the Washington, DC area since 1980. Their purpose is to encourage and publicize group outdoor activities. They exist to serve participants as a member of the gay community and as a lover of the outdoors.

There are no rules to read or applications to fill out in advance. All one has to do to participate is to identify a trip they like, call the trip leader for details (and to reserve a spot, if necessary), then go. That’s all. There is a small per-trip fee, plus the sharing of expenses with the other participants.

Since there is no membership, all who are interested may attend one or many events without paying any annual dues. And although they are a gay and lesbian group, they put no restrictions on who may participate, apart from requesting that all be fit or experienced enough to complete the activity. In other words, all straight friends and family are welcome to join, provided they realize most participants will be gay.

The trips
You name it: day hikes; short, weekend and week-long cycling tours; camping; cabin trips; skydiving; rafting, sailing and canoeing; skiing and ice skating are all offered by Adventuring. The list is limited only by the imagination of their trip leaders – who consist of anyone who proposes a trip and organizes it. They encourage participants to lead trips whenever they have the urge to try something new and adventurous, or when they aren’t satisfied with the current offering.

At Adventuring they define an outing as a non-competitive outdoor activity requiring some sort of physical exertion. The idea is to have fun and get some exercise in the open air.

A monthly newsletter is published by the group that informs those interested of all upcoming trips, events, and activities with other groups. The subscription fee is $18 a year and they never sell or distribute the addresses of their subscribers to anyone, so privacy is respected.

Upcoming trips
Dec 14 (Sun): Prince William Forest Park Hike
Dec 21 (Sun): Sugarloaf Solstice/Poetry Hike
Jan 01 (Thu): Great Falls (VA)-Scotts Run Hike
Jan 11 (Sun): Gettysburg Campaign’s Finale Hike
Jan 24 (Sat): Brookland-Fort Totten Hike

Adventuring is an affiliate of IGLOO, the International Gay and Lesbian Outdoor Organization. IGLOO has member clubs in many US and international cities, and sponsors an annual Jamboree, a ski weekend and a century bicycle ride.

For more information visit http://www.adventuring.org.

Tabber photo, top photo, by Katie Tegtmeyer. Featured photo by Rob Pongsajapan.

Score One for the Gays

The year of the return of professional women’s soccer is almost here and the teams that will make up the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league are making their final touches in preparation for play in 2009. In the Bay Area though, one detail of the development of the local franchise seems to have included the gay and lesbian community - with the selection of the team name, FC Gold Pride.

At a recent kickoff press conference, WPS Bay Area Commissioner Tonya Antonucci, Bay Area soccer icon Brandi Chastain, FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya, Assistant Coach “Sissi” and Pride players Nicole Barnhart (Stanford), Rachel Buehler (Stanford) and Tracy Hamm (California) all announced the name, the Pride home field (Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University) the team’s colors (black and gold) and the new logo.

The team name, Pride, was selected by owners Brian and Nancy NeSmith who explained that it was derived from the reference to a group of lions. A lioness, prominently featured in the team’s black and gold logo, serves as an icon for the team’s qualities of teamwork, strength, and skill. However, Antonucci told The San Jose Mercury News that the name Gold Pride symbolizes the Bay Area, “including the connections to the gay and lesbian community.”

Members of the lesbian community have been longtime supporters of professional women’s sports and will no doubt continue to be when WPS begins play in April of 2009. With the strong gay and lesbian community that exists in the Bay Area it is safe to assume that the name chosen for their team is a direct relation to LGBT soccer fans throughout the area.

For more information about the FC Gold Pride and WPS visit http://www.womensprosoccer.com.

OutRyders Takes New England Lesbians to the Slopes

For many, the winter weather means it’s time to once again bundle up, get the skis and snowboards out of storage, and venture out to take on the mountains. For gays and lesbians in the New England area it also means checking in with their friends and fellow snow sport enthusiasts at OutRyders, New England’s premier LGBT ski and snowboard club. The club was formed in 2001 as the area’s first and only gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and gay-friendly not-for-profit snowboarding club. Their 2002-2003 season saw the addition of skiing to the organization’s mission.

The purpose of OutRyders is to create a friendly and open atmosphere where everyone can learn about and participate in the sports of skiing and snowboarding. Another goal of the group is to provide an accessible social environment to foster friendships and interaction amongst its members while they enjoy these sports.

The active planning board of OutRyders plans most of the events and takes care of all the behind-the-scenes logistics. However, they are always open to suggestion from their larger pool of members.

Membership. Joining OutRyders is easy and all done online. Those who are interested can visit their Membership page at http://www.outryders.org for further instruction. As a member, you’ll be eligible to participate in all OutRyders events. You’ll also receive access to a members-only mailing list in which members email each other about various topics including impromptu ski and snowboard trips and social events.

The group feels that anyone who wants to have fun on the slopes during the winter season should join OutRyders. They encourage skiers and snowboarders of all abilities and you don’t even have to know how to ski or snowboard to be part of the fun—they welcome newbies and also schedule off-mountain events and socials throughout the year.

The biggest benefit of the membership is the ability to participate in their activities and mailing list. Through the mailing list, members will find out about all their upcoming events, whether they’re planned months ahead of time or the night before a big storm. Members also learn out about their occasional off-the-slope social events and any other club news. Through the mailing list, members can suggest their own trips, or find someone to ski or ride with when they have a day off in the middle of the week. Plus, this 08/09 Season, you will be entitled to an official OutRyders ID tag and T shirt to identify you as an OutRyders member on the slopes.

On-mountain events. A morning meeting time and location is posted ahead of time so that members can meet and get organized once everyone arrives at the mountain. Members then generally split up into smaller groups of similar abilities (green novice, intermediate blues, expert blacks, or members going to the terrain park or through the glades and trees). Often members familiar with the mountain and the trails volunteer to lead a group. This is a great opportunity to meet other OutRyders that match each skill level.

The lunch meeting time and location is posted beforehand as well. This way, should a group further divide up, or if members become separated during the morning runs, they can meet up with their fellow OutRyders for a hearty lunch. After lunch, members return to the slopes for more skiing and riding.

Once the lifts close, they return to the lodge for après ski and catch up with each other before heading home.

Ski trips take place throughout New England. They try to hit as many different mountains and resorts as possible each season. Their out West week-long trip rotates around the various gay ski weeks. Socials usually take place in and around the Boston area.

For more information visit http://www.outryders.org.

Featured photo by Andrew McFarlane.

Lesbian Ice Hockey, Ey?

One sport that always comes to mind when the winter season takes over is definitely ice hockey. One country that always comes to mind when you think about ice hockey is Canada. So it seems like a natural fit then that one of the largest lesbian/lesbian-positive leagues in North America is in Toronto, Canada. The Women’s Hockey Club of Toronto (WHCT) is an adult recreational non-body-checking ice hockey league that has been open to women who are gay and/or gay-positive for the past 16 years.

The WHCT season normally runs from September until the end of April and they play out of an arena in downtown Toronto every Saturday evening. Their current season began on September 6, 2008 with 14 teams and 210 members.

The mission of the league is to create an environment where all lesbian and gay-positive women are encouraged to participate, regardless of their experience or skill level. They also work to allow equal access to all lesbian and gay-positive women by providing financial options and solutions that work towards breaking cost-prohibitive barriers.

An additional goal of the WHCT is to develop an organization that provides its members with the opportunity to meet other women with similar interests.

The WHCT is very happy to be associated with their sponsors – whose generous support of the league enables its members the opportunity to play hockey at a reasonable cost every year.

Registration for 2008/2009 season is already full but those who are interested can be added to the wait list by emailing mailbox@whct.ca. For more information on the league visit http://www.whct.ca.

Bay Area Lesbians Hit the Slopes

With Winter quickly approaching, one highlight of the season for many is the opening of resorts and parks throughout the country that offer up months of skiing and snowboarding for all who visit. For those cold weather athletes in the San Francisco Bay area, SAGA North is the gay and lesbian ski, snowboard, and recreation club working to provide its members with the most opportunities to take part in the fun. They organize outdoor activities for skiers and snowboarders and strive to promote friendship and participation among those with similar interests.

SAGA North – where SAGA apparently stands for nothing other than the word “saga” – welcomes gay and lesbian skiers and riders from the San Francisco Bay Area to become members and participate in the activities. During the winter, SAGA North organizes ski and snowboard trips and during the summer it has several outdoors activities and social functions.

Prior to each trip, interested individuals can check with the trip leaders on each trip to see who is going on a particular trip. Straight people are welcome but children are not. The trip leader sends out a list of the other people going on each trip - with their email, phone number, and city - and other members may send an email to the other people in order to arrange for transportation.

On all of their trips, there is a wide and diverse range of skiers/snowboarders from beginners to the more advanced. Almost all resorts offer lessons, which they recommend for those just starting out.

The locations of the trips planned are decided on by the members who volunteer to lead trips. It is up to each member to help out. Members of the club are added to the member’s-only email list, which is used to communicate with other members on things such as ski trips, the latest news or even items members want to buy/sell. Members also receive the club’s newsletter and are able to attend special events during the year.

In addition, SAGA North relies upon the active participation of all of their members to make the club work. They have an elected board to head various committees, which is in turn responsible for Winter Trips, Summer Activities, Social Activities, Newsletter, Web, etc. They have trip leaders who help organize all of their summer and winter trips.

The membership fee for SAGA North is $35. The term of membership is from October to September, but non-members get the summer free if they sign up after April 1. The membership fee helps pay for the newsletter, advertising for new members (e.g. the Pride booth, BAR ads), room rentals for free social events, and operational overheads (e.g. web hosting, fax service, storage, accounting).

For more information visit http://www.saganorth.com.

Featured photo by Alex Indigo. Tabber photo by Lali Masriera.

LGBT Athletes Play Hard in the Windy City

Chicago is a city known for many great things. Their pizza is unique and delicious, their downtown is architecturally impressive and immaculately clean, and their politicians are… well, historically magnificent! It comes as no surprise then that President Barack Obama’s city is also home to the largest not-for-profit gay and lesbian sports organization in the Midwest. The Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) started as a 16-inch softball league back in 1978 and has grown to now include recreational and competitive level play in a variety of athletic leagues throughout the year that are offered to all persons who wish to play, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.

Sports offered by the CMSA include badminton (both doubles and singles), bowling, dodge ball, kickball, flag football, volleyball (indoor and outdoor), softball, soccer (indoor and outdoor), and tennis. Three team sports are women only: women’s softball, women’s flag football, and women’s volleyball. All other sports allow any person to join - male, female, bisexual, or transgender - along with any straight person.

The selection of which sports to include began with the basic sports – softball, bowling, and volleyball - and then as the need came up, they have added the others. “Badminton was started as a sport in 2005 since Chicago was hosting the Gay Games in 2006 and was one of the sports being offered,” explains CMSA President, Marcia Hill. “In the past two years, we have added dodge ball and kickball. The organizer of the sport came to the main board with a plan, outline, and then it was voted in. We need someone who wants to be the commissioner, finds the courts/fields necessary, secures a date and time and we proceed.”

Skill level among participants in CMSA leagues varies from beginners to college athletes to someone who has played in the Olympic Games in Beijing. As for the most popular sport offered by the CMSA, Hill feels that Volleyball wins - between indoor men’s, indoor women’s, and outdoor beach.

The association also features the CMSA Hall of Fame with the mission of fostering an appreciation of the historical development of Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) and its subsidiaries by honoring those individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to its success and development. “We have always been an all-volunteer organization,” says Hill. “From setting up the fields, to preparing flyers and newsletters, to preparing the schedules, tallying the final scores, planning the parties.”

The organization of the CMSA is made up of a corporate board that has five elected people who serve two-year terms. They have a nomination meeting and an election meeting and all members who are a current member in good standing can attend and nominate or vote. The board then appoints up to six more members for a total of 11. Each sport is run by commissioners who are usually elected by the captains of that sport and some sports have boards that help split the duties.

To become a member of the association, individuals can sign up online at www.Chicagomsa.com, register for the yearly membership fee of $20.00 and pay by Visa, Mastercard or by echeck. Each sport has a separate player’s fee.

The Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association offers valuable opportunities to LGBT athletes and continues to grow. When asked about the future of the CMSA Hill explained: “We want to maintain our fields and courts and try to secure additional space. But our growth could stop due to Chicago winning the 2016 Olympics. They want to turn the softball diamonds at Waveland into the proposed tennis complex among other things, and then we would need to find four softball fields close together to move our league to. We could still add other sports such as gay ice hockey, gay lacrosse and expand kickball to the outdoors.”

For more information about the CMSA visit www.Chicagomsa.com.

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