August 13-18, 2013

VIVA5 – Vienna Valentine 2013

Team Kraulquappen
Vienna, Austria
February 15-17, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage
Click here for Facebook Page
Registration Deadline:
January 28, 2013

QUAC's Ski-n-Swim 2013

QUAC
Salt Lake City, UT
February 15-17, 2013
www.ski-n-swim.org Registration Deadline:
February 13, 2013
On Deck Registration Available - But it will be EARLY!

EBSC 2013 Swim Classic ‘Love to Swim!’

English Bay Swim Club
Vancouver, BC
February 24, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage
Registration Deadline:
February 17, 2013

GLLAM Swimming Competition

Out to Swim
London, United Kingdom
March 16, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage
Registration Deadline:
March 1, 2013

TNYA Swim and Dive Camp

Team New York Aquatics
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
March 31 to April 6, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage

All Out Swim 2013

Downtown Swim Club 
Toronto, ON
April 20, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage 
Registration Deadline:
April 10, 2013
Early Registration discounts until March 4th
Discounts for teams of 8 or more until April 10th

Tsunami de Mayo

Tsunami Water Polo
Moraga, CA, USA
May 4-5, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage

Montreal OUTdoor Water Polo Tournament

A Contre-Courant
Montreal, QC, Canada
June 22, 23, 2013
Click here for Event Webpage
Facebook Event
Registration Deadline:
April 1st, 2013

Call for Bids for the 2015 IGLA Championships

The IGLA Board is now soliciting interested teams to submit bids for the 2015 IGLA Championships. The Bidding process is outlined in the IGLA Championship Rules.

Any team intending to bid on the IGLA Championships, needs to file an “Intent to Bid” with the IGLA Board at least six weeks prior to the IGLA General Meeting. For this bid cycle that deadline is July 2, 2013.

The formal bid to the IGLA membership shall consist of two parts. The “bid packet” and the “bid presentation”. The bid packet will be in writing and should include:

• Team experience and background;
• Facilities;
  
• Dates of competitions;
  
• Proposed schedule of events;
  
• Proposed social activities;
  
• Local/ tourist attractions;
  
• Gay and lesbian community history and support;
  
• Letters from local authorities offering support;
  
• Transportation information; and
  
• Hosted housing information.

At the IGLA Annual Meeting in Seattle, each bidding city will have an opportunity to make a bid Presentation with a question and answer period. An open discussion among IGLA Team delegates follows and members of the bidding delegations remain in the room during the discussion.
They will not make comments unless there needs to be clarification of an issue.

At the completion of the discussion, a vote shall be taken by the IGLA membership to choose the site of the IGLA Championships. A majority vote must be established. If more than two cities are bidding and a majority is not established on the first vote, the city receiving the lowest number of votes will be eliminated and another vote will take place. This process shall continue until a
majority vote is established.

IGLA encourages all teams to consider putting in a Bid for the 2015 IGLA Championships. If you have any questions please contact the IGLA Board or the IGLA Championships Rules Committee.

Baby, It Gets Wetter! - IGLA 2013

By Miss Juanita DeFuca, IGLA 2013 Bad-ass-adoress

Is that a sailor between my legs or are you just happy to see me?

Hey there Gals, Guys and Gays!

I am so excited to have you come to Seattle this August! I'm certain that you will enjoy getting wet here!

We are very excited to host you whichever we can. IGLA 2013 is offering hosted housing, hosted dinners, and a number of other delights to make your stay in Seattle wet and wonderful.

Hosted Housing

Come On-A My House! We are excited to offer IGLA participants the opportunity for hosted housing with the Orca Swim Team, Seattle Otters and/or friends in the community during IGLA 2013. Please submit all hosted housing requests by May 31st.

We will do our best to accommodate all requests received but preference will be given to those indicating a strong financial need. Because debutantes in Seattle must be properly intrudoced, we will introduce you to your host by the end of June either by email or with cocktails in my drawing room.

Hosted Dinners

We are very excited about Hosted Dinners. My dear friend Mermosa and I have already been practicing. Hosted Dinners will be the evening of Wednesday August 14, 2013. IGLA 2013 Hosted Dinners are open to everyone and there is no charge for IGLA participants. You can sign up on www.igla2013.com/hosted-dinners.

The world is welcome at my table. Please come. *wink*

Parties & Events

We have a full slate of parties and events scheduled with more to come. You'd better pack your dancing flip-flop flippers! Put these dates on your dance cards:

• August 12: IGLA Pre-Party
• August 13: IGLA Opening Social and Party
• August 14: IGLA Hosted Dinners
• August 15: Women's Event
• August 17: Pink Flamingo, Awards Banquet, and IGLA Closing Party

There will also be IGLA Happy Hours every day. Pick out which ever hipster you want! He's yours!

Pink Flamingo

The IGLA 2013 Pink Flamingo Follies will take place at approximately 4 pm on Saturday, August 17th. Everyone is encouraged to participate and attend.

To encourage smaller teams with big... hearts to participate, the 2013 IGLA Pink Flamingo will have three categories: large (5 minutes), medium (4 minutes) and small (3 minutes).

We are excited for the Pink Flamingo to come home to Seattle! We want you to have fun and enjoy the sort of creative freedom that Seattle is known for.

In 1950 Seattle hosted its first Seafair. As part of that, the Aqua Follies were hosted in the Aqua Theater on Greenlake.

The Aqua Follies combined water ballet, comedy, live music, dancing and dramatic high diving performances.

Transportation

Transportation is included in your IGLA 2013 Registration. The shuttles will be leaving from the Washington Convention Center. They will run every 30 minutes with more buses leaving from downtown and the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center during peak hours. They will begin running early so the first shuttle will arrive at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center just before warm ups begin at 7:30 am but if you find a good seat mate… you can start warming up earlier. One last thing! We are looking forward to a great event and hope that everyone will come - It Gets Wetter!

IGLA Diving

By IGLA.org

More IGLA teams than ever have diving teams.  It looks like there will be an excellent diving competition at the 2013 IGLA championships in Seattle.  TNYA, West Hollywood are diving mainstays, and we've got some new teams on the block:  London Out to Swim and the Seattle Orcas.

Ever wonder how to tell a really good dive from an average one? Ever try to figure out that crazy code the announcer speaks before each dive? Scott Smith of Minnesota Diving explains it all below.

Spectators Guide for Diving

By Scott Smith of Minnesota Diving

More Difficult than it Looks

Tuck = Legs bent at the knees and pulled into the body like a ball.

Pike = The body is bent at the waist, and the legs extended without bending at the knees.

Straight (can we say that?) = No bend in the body, legs extended.

Free position = This is a special designation for twisting dives only.

• The starting position, and approach to the end of the board.
• The take-off, leaving the board, the height and distance from the springboard or platform.
• The position of the dive in mid-flight, and the speed and rotation of the dive executed.
• The mechanical technique required to accomplish the required rotations.
• Entry into the water (The less splash created the better).

 Cracking the Code

Each dive is assigned a number. Before each dive, it is announced by its number in order to tell judges, spectators and competitors which dive is to be performed. You don't need to memorize every dive in the book; all you need is the code, and you can understand what will be happening. The first part of the code refers to the direction the diver will move through the air.

The forward rotation group is designated by 100, backward rotation is designated by 200, reverse by 300, inward by 400 and twisting by 5000. On platform there is also an arm-stand group which is designated by 600. For all purposes the second number in a non-twisting dive will always be zero (more on twisting dives below). The third number in the sequence will indicate how many half rotations will be performed.

• 1 = half a rotation (or a regular head first dive)
• 2 = one full rotation or one somersault (entering feet first)
• 3 = one and a half somersaults
• 4 = two somersaults
• 5 = two and a half somersaults
• etc….

For example a Forward dive is 101, Back dive 201, Reverse dive 301. A Forward 1 somersault is 102, forward one and a half is 103 and so on. Last is the letter designation. As in "Dive 105(b)." This will tell you what body position the dive will be performed in. An "a" means it will be in "Straight Position,"a "b" indicates a Pike dive, and "c" means it will be in Tuck.

So a 105(b) would be decoded as a Forward dive, no twists, with two and a half somersaults in the pike position. In the Twisting Group, the dive designation is 5000. The second number in that designation represents the group from which the dive will rotate (Forward, Back, Reverse, or Inward). The third number is the number of rotations by half rotations, and the last number represents the number of twists by half rotations.

An example: Forward one and a half somersaults with one twist is 5132. another example is Back one somersault with one and a half twists is 5223. To break that down for you: 5 is a twister, 2 is the Back group, 2 is the number of half rotations, and 3 is the number of twists by half rotation = 5223.

Safety Please

Flash photography is VERY distracting to divers, as it could BLIND the diver in mid-flight and the diver will lose control. Divers use visual cues to orient ourselves in the air and know when to "come out" of the dives for the entry into the water.

So we ask that, if you use a camera, PLEASE TURN OFF THE FLASH.

We hope that this will help you enjoy and understand diving a bit better. Enjoy the artistry of our sport, and appreciate the difficulty and variety of dives performed. You will see many dives, some not so difficult, but extremely beautiful, and many that are of Olympic level. Be sure to let the divers know how much you appreciate them.

IGLA Water Polo

By Mike Crosby, West Hollywood Aquatics

All over the world gay and lesbian athletes dive in and play water polo. IGLA water polo teams offer competition, skill-development, opportunities to play other teams, and friendship. Water polo is an anchor sport of IGLA. IGLA actively seeks to reach out to help build teams and create a network for the exchange of ideas.

Although not contested at the first two Gay Games in 1982 and 1986, water polo was included at the first IGLA Championships in 1987 in San Diego, CA. The players were primarily swimmers who found the time and energy for a polo match. For the next nine years, polo games were played around the IGLA swim meet -- usually after the day's swimming events were over.

IGLA '96, in Washington, D.C., marked a turning point for IGLA polo. For the first time, polo was held at a separate venue from the swimming competition, allowing organizers to hold matches all day long, without waiting for swimming to end. The practice continued during IGLA '99, at the superb Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, site of the 1996 Summer Olympics, where polo, swimming and diving were held in one facility.

Attendees at IGLA '97, in San Diego, CA, witnessed one of the most exciting final polo matches in IGLA history. The gold medal game between West Hollywood and the Seattle Otters went into double overtime -- and Seattle won, ending West Hollywood's five-year reign as IGLA water polo champions. But West Hollywood came roaring back in 2001 for another four championship streak.

Today, there are teams in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London, New York, Montreal, San Diego, Seattle, Utah, Vancouver, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Toronto, Copenhagen, and West Hollywood. Now, there are normally two divisions at IGLA championships: The Trophy and Cup.  If there are at least three women’s teams, we hold a separate women’s division. The level of play throughout IGLA has been elevated by the expansion of IGLA water polo competition.

IGLA encourages other cities to start new teams. The IGLA Water Polo Committee assists new and existing teams develop their programs and welcomes new teams to the IGLA competitive family.

How to find a team

No team in your city? Start one!

So you want to start a polo team? GREAT!!!! Setting up a team is easier than you think. But before you go at it alone and get frustrated, send us an email so we can help. We can put you in touch with people who have great ideas and can make your job easier.

Let's start with equipment. First, find a pool with goals. Goals are very expensive so you won't want to buy them. Call your local public pools and see which ones have access to them. Balls and caps are usually bought by the team. Balls run anywhere from $15-35 apiece in the US. Try to set up a team discount with a local swim shop and the price will go down. A second step is (usually) licensing from your national aquatics body that is recognized by FINA. This is very important in the US and Canada but not always so in Europe.

In the US:

Start with US Water Polo team registration and a USWP registered coach. The team registration cost is $60. Each player must be also register with USWP (about $70.00 per year). USWP membership provides insurance coverage -- a must-have in a physical sport like polo.

Your team needs to have a registered coach so your USWP insurance is valid. For the swimmers in the group, this is very similar to the USMS rules. Minor detail but critical in case someone gets hurt.

There is no individual registration with Water Polo Canada (unlike in the US). Provincial water polo associations (e.g. British Columbia Water Polo Association, or Quebec Water Polo Association) are members of Water Polo Canada and pay a yearly registration fee to Water Polo Canada. Provincial water polo associations in turn charge each player, officials, and coaches a registration fee.

In order to play each player must be registered with his or her provincial sports organization. Provincial Organizations set their own fee structure. For example, in BC to play in BC only each player pays CA$25.00. As soon as you play outside the province then you pay $30.00. For more information, go the Water Polo Canada webpage.

Europe, Oceania, Asia, and South America: Requirements vary widely depending on the country. Contact your local governing body. FINA has a directory if you do not know a contact point. Last, players.

Build it and they will come.

Advertise a beginners' clinic, post notices at the local swim practices (gay and straight), get it out in the local rags. Most communities have free bulletin boards for non-profit organizations. Realize you may have a few players with experience and a lot of players with no experience. It may take you months to find (or train) a goalie. It may be frustrating.

My advice is, try and find a real coach (there a number of gay and gay-friendly ones out there) if you can. That way you can be a player and not worry about planning fun practices that will challenge advanced players yet not leave the new players in the gutter.

Many polo teams share pool time with their local gay swim team. This can work if your facility is big enough. For example, you can hold practices in a diving well if needed. In addition to saving money, holding simultaneous practices keeps the swimmers thinking about us polo players. Occasionally, one will wander over and give us a try. That may be a good way to start until you get enough players for separate practices.

Monthly fee structures vary depending on teams, costs and fundraising. They vary from US$15 to US$35. Like swim teams, U.S. IGLA water polo teams should consider applying to the Internal Revenue Service for non-profit 501(c)(3) status. In addition to making your team eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, the organization will not be liable to pay federal or state income taxes. Canadian, European and Oceania teams face different non-profit and tax laws. We recommend you become familiar with your national rules.

Fundraising and Finances

The Washington D.C. Wetskins, like two or three other polo teams, are financially independent of their sister swim teams. The Wetskins have about a $12,000 annual budget. Monthly dues ($25) do not pay the teams expenses; instead, the team raises much of the funds though activities like a silent auction, raffle of a trip to a circuit party on Fire Island, and yard sales.

Other teams have different fee structures and budgets. Ask around to other IGLA members to see what different options there are. New polo teams may want to maintain close financial ties to the swim teams in their cities; some teams are heavily subsidized by these teams.

IGLA water polo teams must meet two requirements -- pay IGLA dues and be in good standing with their national governing body. Generally this means that your team (and athletes) is registered with US Water Polo, Canada Water Polo or a similarly FINA-recognized body.

E-Mail Lists

IGLA also has a water polo e-mail list to make it easier to keep in contact with other players. Here, we post information about tournaments, rule changes, and any other information that might be useful. Subscribe by going to E-Mail Lists and following the directions there. You want to subscribe to the list called "water polo."

Subscribe to IGLA WetNotes

If your team has an event coming up that isn't on the IGLA calendar, submit it by clicking here.

IGLA TEAMS

IGLA Team Registration Renewal

By joining or renewing its IGLA membership, your team will receive voting privileges at the 2013 IGLA general meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA, up-to-date IGLA membership directories, and IGLA information via the Internet or e-mail.

If your team has a website, we will also include a link to it from the IGLA website.  Also included this year – we want to connect with your team via Facebook and Twitter.

Clubs may join according to their actual team size as specified in the table below or may opt to register as a smaller team with fewer organizational votes. However, the IGLA Board strongly encourages your team to register for a team size that corresponds with your actual team size.

We also encourage teams to register each discipline: swimming, water polo, diving and synchronized swimming. You will get extra votes and more recognition for each team.

Teams may join IGLA at any time during the year. IGLA’s fiscal year coincides with the calendar year, but dues are not prorated through the year.

Any interested individual, team member, or club representative is invited to the 2013 Annual IGLA meeting. However, only those clubs that have paid their dues for 2013 may vote at IGLA meetings.

This summer, Site Selection for IGLA 2015 will be held at the Annual Meeting in Seattle, tentatively planned for August 13, 2013 at 10:00 am. Registered IGLA Teams will vote on where the 2015 IGLA Championships will be held.

Click here to renew your team's IGLA membership.

Don't Forget to Sign Up for Hosted Dinners