The sports event Cologne, Germany has prepared five years for kicks off this weekend when the Gay Games, the quadrennial LGBT sports and cultural festival that began in San Francisco in 1982 holds its eighth iteration on the banks of the Rhine River.

Information about the games has been painfully difficult to obtain. Which means that either organizers are incredibly adept at secrecy, or less adept at organizing. What is known is that nearly 10,100 athletes and artists are descending on one of Europe's gayest cities ready for action.

As of press time, a breakdown of participants by region and sport was not available despite several requests. Federation of Gay Games spokesman Kelly Stevens said registrations were at 9,475, which would be the smallest Gay Games since the 1990 Vancouver Gay Games and well short of the 12,000 Games Cologne had originally marketed but about what many insiders were forecasting for a down economy. The 35 sports disciplines are supposed to be covered by 40 journalists, and announcements are expected about live television and web coverage.

Stevens said 70 countries are represented, with the largest contingents coming from the host Germany (2,955), the United States (2,219), United Kingdom (841), the Netherlands (658), France (524), and Australia (363). There are about 375 athletes from the Bay Area.

"The last count shows around 2,500 from the USA," Stevens said. "This is a bit low, but not unexpected in the current economic conditions."

Hotels and food are not expensive in Cologne, but airfare to Europe is around $1,500 this summer, even with advance booking. This is a tough price point for many people.

"Some speculated only 6,500 or 8,000 maximum [participants] after Copenhagen was only able to have 4,300 athletes and cultural participants," Stevens said, referring to the host of last year's World Outgames. "Fortunately, Cologne is a well-loved gay city in Europe and is very affordable for Europeans. The Gay Games focused on marketing to established sports clubs around the world. It helps to have 27 years of history."

Darl Schaaff, FGG ceremonies officer and a former site selection officer, has been in Cologne for months helping oversee preparations. "Busy," he said this week when asked how things were progressing. "Everything that hasn't gotten done has to."

Rob Smithermann, a sports coordinator with the Chicago 2006 Gay Games, also has been in Cologne for months working with sports planners.

Among the highlights of the opening ceremonies Saturday, July 31, when the athletes march into RheinEnergieStadion will be an anthem sung by vocalist Taylor Dayne; a speech by Guido Westerwelle, the openly gay German vice chancellor and foreign minister; and the Athletes Oath delivered by Olympic diving gold medalist Matthew Mitcham. For the first time an LGBT orchestra will perform, in addition to the traditional band and choral groups.

"There will be some speeches, but not too many," Schaaff said. "It's scheduled to start about 7:30 p.m., and they're shooting to have it done by 10 o'clock. That might be encouraging to those who were unhappy with how long the ceremonies went on in Chicago."

The closing cer

Carla McKay, left, and Martha Ehrenfeld will take to the tennis courts during the upcoming Gay Games. Photo: Courtesy Martha Ehrenfeld

emony Saturday, August 7, will be at Tanzbrunnen Köln, an outdoor stage with an artificial beach on the Rhine.

Beyond the medals awarded in sports competitions, several Bay Area residents will be among the recipients of awards at this year's event. Gay Games pioneer Sara Waddell Lewinstein, the widow of Gay Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell, is one of three female finalists for the FGG's highest honor, the Waddell Award. Gene Dermody, president of Golden Gate Wrestling, is one of the three male finalists for the award. Cheer SF, winner of the 2010 FGG Legacy Award for fundraising, will be represented by Anthony Alston as one of 10 flag bearers to bring the Gay Games flag into the ceremonies. Also bearing the flag will be San Francisco trumpet player Loren McGlade, who has played in every Gay Games except Gay Games I and is a winner of the Legacy Award for outstanding cultural participant.

The two winners of the Waddell Award will be announced during the opening ceremonies as will a new Out Olympic Athlete Solidarity in Support program. Specifics about the program have not been publicized, but according to the FGG's website the program "will offer support, financial and non-financial, to openly gay and lesbian athletes who are preparing to compete at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The FGG is hoping that this OOASIS program will help pave the way for a much larger number of 'out' athletes at future Olympic Games." Funds from the program will also support the FGG scholarship fund.

"I think people will be pleased," Schaaff said. "Some things will go wrong because something always goes wrong, but I think for the most part people will be happy."

Schaaff said the economy has proved challenging for organizers, but he thinks people will be surprised and inspired by the manner in which the citizens of Cologne have taken to their event.

"I think there's a remarkable story here, and it's a tribute to bad times and generous people," he said. "The money is very tight, and the [financial] contributions have not been great. The way this has been dealt with is that the volunteer effort has rallied. It's remarkable to go into the Gay Games office and see the enthusiasm of the volunteers.

"This is like back to 1982," Schaaff added. "That's my impression. They might have about four people on staff who are getting paid. It's a tribute to the Germans. You go in and there's lots of faces and they're very excited."

The Gay Games will be nine time zones ahead of San Francisco: evening events in Cologne will wrap up around lunchtime in California. But this being the electronic information age, fans on the home front won't have to juggle sleeping schedules and long distance phone calls to keep track of their loved ones' results in Germany. Bay Area athletes can post pictures and stories through the Team SF website, http://www.teamsf.ning.com; on sites provided by their individuals clubs; or on the FGG's Facebook page or blog, http://www.gaygamesblog.blogspot.com. Visitors to the Gay Games can also access information on parties and other events through a Gay Games Cologne iPhone application.

On Sunday, August 8, the day after the games end, the FGG will hold its annual General Assembly meeting. Normally the annual meeting is spread over several days, occurs later in the year, and has several hours of committee meetings and social networking events. This year the entire meeting is scheduled to finish in four hours. The agenda is likely to be heavily loaded with Games Cologne follow-up questions, outstanding issues with Gay Games IX in Cleveland, and board elections. Discussions about work with the Outgames, the subject of numerous reports and rumors during the past year, will probably be broached but are likely to be limited because of time constraints.

The next FGG membership meeting will be in Toronto 2010, although dates have not been announced. It will be preceded by a mid-year board meeting in Santiago, Chile.

Tennis player found her love match

The 2006 Gay Games in Chicago provided tennis player Martha Ehrenfeld her perfect love match. She's hoping this year's event in Cologne, Germany proves to be the perfect honeymoon.

"I grew up in New York," she told the Bay Area Reporter recently. "I was always a volleyball and basketball player in high school. Then I started playing ice hockey right after college. I love the Winter Olympics and I've gone to several of them. But when I moved to San Francisco, I switched to tennis. All of my friends play tennis in San Francisco. It's a sport I plan to play all of my life."

In 2006 Ehrenfeld competed in both the Gay Games in Chicago, then a week later in the World Outgames in Montreal and enjoyed them both.

"The really fun thing about Montreal was they had shut down the village to cars, so it was a big walking area," she said. "They did a really good job of it. It was a nice big sports complex from the Olympics. I could walk over to other sports from the courts."

Playing doubles in Chicago with Carla McKay deepened a friendship they already had off the court.

"We were friends, but in Chicago we took it to another level," Ehrenfeld said. "We got married in Massachusetts but we've never really had a honeymoon. We're hoping this is it."

Ehrenfeld, 44, will compete in the B Division women's doubles and mixed doubles.

"They will be my second Gay Games," she said. "Last time, tennis was a little bit disorganized. I run tournaments in San Francisco, and Cologne has already contacted me to help them run it, so that's a good sign."

She said she is excited by the size and scope of the event.

"It's the closest I'll ever get to any event like the Olympics," she said. "Everyone is coming in and taking over the city."

And she already has plans for Cleveland in 2014.

"In Cleveland, the facilities are amazing," she said. "It's going to be the biggest event for Ohio. So I'll be excited to come back."

Information about the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Federation is available at www.gltf.org. Information on Gay Games 2010, July 31-August 7 in Cologne, Germany, is available at www.games-cologne.de.