Federation of Gay Games

Gay Games
	File:FederationOfGayGamesLogo.png Logo of The Federation of Gay Games
Abbreviation	FGG
Motto	Participation; Inclusion; Personal Best
First event	San Francisco (1982)
Occur every	4 years
Last event	Cleveland and Akron (2014)
Purpose	"To foster and augment self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world and to engender respect and understanding from the nongay world."
Co-Presidents	Kurt Dahl, Emy Ritt
Website	gaygames.org

The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is the sanctioning body of the Gay Games which was founded in 1982 by Tom Waddell, after he dealt first-hand with the prejudice towards gay athletes and their inability to openly participate in sporting events. The Federation of Gay Games hosts the world's biggest cultural and sporting event for the LGBT community every four years. The Federation of Gay Games is founded on the principles of "participation, inclusion, and personal best" and continues to support the LGBT community not only through the Gay Games but through scholarships for underprivileged members. The Federation of Gay Games continues to expand throughout the world and accepts members of any sexual orientation and nationality to participate in the games or contribute. The FGG is proudly hosting the next Gay Games in 2018 in Paris, France.

Concept and official purpose

According to the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) web site:

The purpose of the Federation of Gay Games is to foster and augment the self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world and to engender respect and understanding from the nongay world, primarily through an organized international participatory athletic and cultural event held every four years, and commonly known as the Gay Games.

While particular emphasis is placed on these specific goals, it is a fundamental principle of the Federation of Gay Games that all activities conducted under its auspices shall be inclusive in nature and that no individual shall be excluded from participating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political belief(s), athletic/artistic ability, physical challenge, age, or health status.