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Diva Magazine, The Gay Games, Paris, 4th – 11th August, 2018.

“Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best”

by Katrina Allen

The Gay Games, a huge sporting event, is held, like the Olympics, every four years.

It first took place in San Francisco in 1982, featuring 17 sports, 12 nations and 1,350 participants. It was a huge success and it was clear that this LGBT+ sporting celebration would continue.

Since then, the event has been held in cities such as Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney and Cologne. Each time the numbers have increased. By 2006 there were 30 sports and cultural events, 70 nations and 11,700 participants.

This year, the sporting extravaganza is to be held in Paris from 4th -11th August.

The Gay Games was initially known as the Gay Olympics but objections were raised by the Olympic Committee and the name was changed. It was a reasonable request since the whole ethos of the Gay Games is about inclusion, not just within the community but also across various standards, which go from beginner to expert. The Olympics, of course, is all about excellence, world-class athletes within their sport.

From synchronised swimming to pétanque to wrestling – you name it … The full list of sports can be found at https://www.paris2018.com/sports-list/ Read More

Wimbledon 2018

This article appeared in Languedoc Living

Novak Djokovic (photo: Katrina Allen)

 

 

 

 

 

Much of Wimbledon was rather flat this year due to World Cup frenzy coinciding with the Championships.

Even some of the players appeared to want to cheer on their teams rather than play their own matches.

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England Fans Troll Australia for Ball-Tampering Saga

This article appeared in Givemesport.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the scandal that shocked the cricket world and two months on, it is still a hot topic of debate.

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Real Tennis – Day 3: Rob Fahey – a World Champion at 50!

The Queen’s Club, London

April 2018

Rob Fahey vs Camden Riviere

DAY THREE

 

Happy Birthday Rob Fahey!

 

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The Queen’s Club

 

For previous days’ reports go to Day One and Day Two

Fahey now needed to win two sets against an injured Camden to reach the magic number seven and the title.

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Watch some incredible real tennis rallies…

 

and a mere club game in Bordeaux! Jacques Pouyot finishes with a winning gallery…

Billie-Jean King – the Trailblazer

 This article appeared in Stuff.co.nz and The Dominion Post

 

“We know that homosexuality is a lust of the flesh … they too know this, this is why they want marriage, because it’s self-satisfying…my belief is marriage the bible way.”

“Transgender children are the work of the devil.”

“Tennis is full of lesbians.”

These are just a few quotes from Margaret Court, senior pastor and former Australian world No1 tennis player, in response to the country’s vote in November, on same-sex marriage.

VINCE CALIGIURI/GETTY IMAGES

Former tennis great Margaret Court whose comments on homosexuality have prompted calls for a name change for Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena.

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NextGen Opening Ceremony

My friend Scott Barclay’s article on that disgraceful opening ceremony. The organisers have apologised but what were they thinking?

http://bit.ly/2hRBT9W

Choking. Is this what happened to Cilic?

“Traveleyes”

 

‘Traveleyes’ is an intriguing travel concept geared towards both blind and sighted travellers. Swopping on a daily basis, blind and sighted people are paired up, the sighted ones guiding and explaining what they see.  It’s a brilliant way to wake up all our senses: smell the game in Africa, sniff perfumes in a perfume house in France, feel snow crunching underfoot, smell spices in Morocco, taste Italian cuisine and experience the world through a blind person’s perceptions. These tours tend to attract solo travellers, a lot of whom are single or who simply decide to leave their partners at home! The sighted people also  get a considerable discount on the trips.

Can’t wait to go on one!

Halle Tennis Tournament (GWO) 2016 Tournament Magazine

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The Gerry Weber Open – Der Besondere Profi

THE SPECIAL PRO.

Real Tennis player, Katrina Allen, is at the GWO (The Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany) for the first time.

She was the World no. 1. She took part in the British, Australian, US and French Open tournaments in both singles and doubles and she won them all.

She isn’t a big name in tennis history but that’s because we aren’t talking about our game but a different form of tennis “the original game, invented in the 12th century by the French” explains Katrina Allen, who is working at GWO at a journalist.  “It’s a complicated game with complicated rules”.  But this is what inspired her. “The sport is very challenging. The court is massive, the balls hard and the wooden rackets heavy.  “I loved all that” says the Londoner.  Today Real Tennis is not particularly well-known and is played in only a few countries.

Katrina has come to Halle just to be at the GWO. “This tournament is like a festival.  I have been at many major tennis tournaments, but none as impressive as this one.  The atmosphere is great, very relaxed and informal.  My main reason for coming was to see Roger Federer. He is just wonderful, an exceptional player.”  Roger was the only top ten player she hadn’t seen so she has finally ticked him off her list.

Languedoc Living, Calais Jungle

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Diva Magazine, National Coming Out Day

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Real Tennis – the rules

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Real Tennis/Jeu de Paume – History

 

 

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DIVA – LGBT Mental Health – May 2015 Issue

The LGBT community has a far higher incidence of mental health issues than the heterosexual one.  Why?

TroubleInMind

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Restos. du Coeur

It seems ludicrous to penalise people who fish perfectly edible food out of the likes of Iceland’s bins.  Surely the main problem is that the supermarkets have so much waste in the first place.   Read More

London Cycling

There’s been so much press recently about the dangers of London cycling. Many years ago,  in my twenties, I cycled everywhere in London. I covered about a hundred miles a week.  I must have been very fit but I’m just amazed I never had an accident.

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