America’s forefathers originated Independence Day under the premise of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.  For many athletic queers in Portland such happiness is the game of softball.  “I rejoice in seeing a beautiful double play, a solid hit, a great defensive stop, or someone getting into the dirt.  It makes the game come alive,” shares Swingers infielder Bridget Lahm.

Rose City Softball (RCS) proudly host the annual Cascade Cup this July 3^rd-5^th weekend with most events occurring at the Hillsboro Gordon Faber Recreation Complex.  The tournament which was once shared on a rotating basis with Seattle since 2000 now has its permanent home in Portland.  Seattle has recreated the Emerald Cup for the same weekend.  Having two tournaments in the same Northwest region has decreased the number of teams coming to the Cascade Cup—from 41 in 2008 to 30 this year.  Over the years and average of thirty teams play the tournament.   Despite the registration decrease, RCS organizers believe Portland has more allure for visiting teams.  With Softball World Series hosted in Seattle last summer, many teams have a “been there done that” attitude opting for our city.  “We here in Portland offer different attractions, and as a result hear back from visiting teams that they have much more fun,” explains Norm McDuffee to id Magazine.  Plus, the fields at Hillsboro are considered by many players as state of the art compared to other cities.  Visiting teams competing against local favorites will be from Phoenix, L.A., San Francisco, Vancouver and Twin Cities.

RCS would like to encourage the local queer community to check out Cascade Cup as part of their holiday weekend.  Admission is free.  “Admittingly there has not been a big push to increase fan presence at our events, but we hope to change that,” says Commissioner Jake Packer.  Benefits for fan attendance are many according to Packer.  “If you have never seen queer sports it can be a revelation to see fully athletic capable gays and lesbians .  We no longer live in an isolated world and softball provides the opportunities for us to connect.”  As the 4^th of July celebrations remind us to unite as a nation under sparkles of fireworks let the Cascade Cup unite players, fans and our community with each homerun.

Also occurring this weekend is Netrippers 2^nd Annual  Soccer Tournament from Noon to 5pm at Fernhill Park (NE37th & Ainsworth).  Id Magazine will be there and have full online coverage on July 7^th!

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Gift giving is one of the tenants of expressing passion in relationships.  There are the roses, chocolates, and HIV.  Wait—HIV?!  According to recent statistics, there is a trend among gay men of becoming infected from their main sexual partners.  One moment of infidelity or lack of communication can have a lasting impact.

Jason Mitchell, PhD candidate at OSU, has recently opened up “The Boyfriend Study” in hopes to learn more about the underlying characteristics in relationships which could correlate with this trend.

“It is a given that most couples stop using condoms in a relationship,” Jason shares about his understanding of the field with id Magazine, “As is the ideal ingrained in our society of not using them to signify trust as a symbol of love and for strengthening the bond of commitment. ”  Even with these ideals the study hopes to understand how and why infection rates are increasing among gay couples. 

Mitchell is looking to recruit 140 couples in the Pacific Northwest cities of Portland and Seattle for this research.  Portland and Seattle are thought to be “gold mines” for gay couples research as both rank in the top four cities for same-sex partner households in the nation.  More importantly, there have been very few other gay male surveys performed in the Pacific Northwest, much less outside of San Francisco.  The structure of The Boyfriend Study is also unique by asking both partners to complete a survey independently of each other in order to group many of the factors—commitment, trust, and sexual behavior—present in the relationship.  Previous surveys in the field investigated the input from only one of the participants with at a time.  “Hopefully the results gained will present the fuller and more realistic conditions that exist,”  Jason states.

The Boyfriend Study does present some challenges with many rewards.  “There is still a lot in the HIV prevention field that needs to be discovered and understood, “Jason Mitchell explains.  “What I am excited for with this research is that all the information collected actually has the potential to be used rather than sitting on a bookshelf collecting dust.”  With his report complete, Jason intends to present findings to local AIDS Service Organizations, the CDC and at professional conferences.

If you and your boyfriend have been a relationship for 3 months, have had anal intercourse, and both have negative or unknown HIV serostatus -  Mr. Mitchell would like to encourage your participation in the study.  Survey sites in Portland are at the Q Center or Men’s Wellness Center by appointment only. Call (310) 663-3965 for more information and schedule your appointment!

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Success philosophies are mind centered.  Focused application of the mind produces tremendous power.  To the right hand of the mind is spirit, to the left body.  Thus, sprit and body are connected together thru the mind.  Linking mind to spirit is faith.  Recent re-emergence of ‘The Secret’ into our popular culture demonstrates this mind-spirit connection.  In all of this attention, the link between body and mind is overlooked.  The link known as PRIDE.

In the absence of a strong foundation in Pride, thoughts present negativity towards the body with associated unhappiness.  Maybe part of instinctual Darwin nature, physical differences between us causes our mind to scrutinize the body.  Marketing in Western culture surely manipulates this fact by providing images and pressure on both women and men of all sexualities to look a certain way.   “The GLBTQ community is as guilt as the heterocentric community at large in promoting and selling the body ideal when it comes to mass media and bars,” explains Dr. Daniel Munoz a clinical psychologist at Pacific University to id Magazine.   Dr. Munoz also sees “specialty nights” targeting different body types perpetuating the idea of such individuals being anomalies in society.  As a result, our differences become flaws.

Fears of such “flaws” spiral into the concept of being un-loveable.  Personal attempts to create resolution in such concepts sometimes manifest in extreme forms of mind-body disassociation:  eating disorders; physical mutilation; excessive exercise routines; drug abuse; and seeking HIV infection for the body wasting/weight loss affects associated with the disease.  Scenarios like these are not only scary but medically dangerous. 

Celebration of Pride is integral part of our culture.  This mind-body link needs to be nurtured on a daily basis, not one time a year as summer approaches.  Excuses for not having the availability of time to foster positive self-image stems from creating other priorities to fill each day.  In an instant assess world, desiring the cliché of stepping right off a magazine cover seems ideal instead of spending the copious amounts of time and effort thought to achieve such results.  Actually, two and half hours of moderate exercise each week with a sensible diet is needed for good health and a prolonged life.  “It really is the small changes that count,” suggests Daniel Munoz, “Think of what you can do now to improve your health.”    More important, results from even the smallest of efforts do make one feel better. 

Building a stronger self image through physical fitness need not be an individual effort.  Team sports are founded on the basis of fostering comradeship for the improvement of our skills in the game.  Many of these ideas are applicable to the game of life.  As teammates applaud the progress of abilities of others, feel free to compliment what your find beautiful and wonderful about your fellow man/woman in your life, and even person on the street.  Sure, such unexpected compliments towards one another are astonishing to hear.  Recipients might be reluctant to receive such praise, but as the antidote “practice makes perfect” goes repeat if necessary.  When you see the hint of a smile, you know you have tapped into and helped build that Pride link in them.  Building Pride is what our community is all about.

“There’s an undervaluing of physical fitness and an overvaluing of absolute appearance…in our culture,” states Dr. Molly Poag of New York’s Lennox Hill Hospital in a recent AP-iVillage news report.  Queer culture has created historical moments when paradigms of absolute appearance have been shattered.   June 28, 1969 men stereotyped as weak for being homosexual stood up against New York City police harassment in the event we commemorate as the Stonewall Riots.  It took strength of mind and body of all shapes and sizes to stand up against a dominating presence.  May today’s generation learn similarly  confidence in ourselves–mind, body, and spirit–will still generate monumental success.  Learn to love your body incorporating what health and fitness techniques work best for you.  As you love yourself notice how the world loves you in return.  For none of us are un-loveable. 

Next Posting (June 25th):  Partnership Health

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Positioned a distance behind the black stripped line he bounces the leather ball once then twice on the wooden gym floor.  Taking a deep breath to regain concentration over the intense surge of adrenaline on his nerves.  Expectations for a solid serve are high.  Glancing mid court, the whistle of the referee blows signaling for ball movement to begin.  The toss.  The leap.  An arm stretched back then quickly up and forward resulting in connection to the ball—Smack!—sending it across the net.  An untimely blink of his opponent causes a delay in their reaction from keeping the ball in play.  ACE!

Thanks to Portland Gay Volleyball Association, an expected 1,500 plus athletes from around the nation will be having thrilling moments like these in the Rose City next Memorial Day Weekend.  Portland has won the North American Gay Volleyball Association (NAGVA) bid for Championships in 2010.  Next year’s tournament is NAGVA’s 28^th Championships.  Teams will come to play and have fun.  Competition will be strong as many will try to stop the kings of the court, L.A.’s Hermosa Beaches, from winning a 7^th consecutive title at these games.

Membership of Portland Gay Volleyball Association are “extremely stoked” to host Championships as Sean Walker summarizes to id Magazine.  To win the bid, Mr. Walker recently gave a presentation for the twelve member board of NAGVA. “During the presentation I sensed from the board that Portland was a strong contender,” Sean stated.   Biggest selling points where the location of the venue (Convention Center), the host hotel (Downtown Hilton) ,and the ability to go fare-less door to door between them on MAX.  Also, highlighted were Portland’s surrounding beauty, commitment to green industry, and the prominence of our queer culture with an interest in sports.  A lot of homework was completed to win this bid as Portland’s athletes “were like chefs visiting the other events taking notes on how things were done and how to improve,” as Walker explains.  Not only was attendance to other tournaments around the nation part of the learning process, but also hosting years of the Fall Ball tournament.

“It will take a village to do this,” Sean relates, and many members of Portland Gay Volleyball are stepping up to make this event a success.  Championships are expected to cost $300,000 to conduct.  Sixty percent of this budget will be covered by team registrations leaving the remaining portion to be raised by sponsorships.  One such sponsorship is Hobos.  By modeling the approach from recent Championships, Portland aims to be finically successful donating profits to a local charity.  If economic impact projections from Chicago ’09 Championships are repeated, one million dollars will be coming into the city next year.  Sean Walker believes this could happen as Portland offers accommodations that are more affordable, and it is a location many athletes from around the nation have yet come to visit. Another draw for attendance is the space available for play and spectators at the Convention Center.  Designed to have thirty percent more space than previous Championships, next year’s event is also expected to be the largest volleyball tournament in the entire United States.

“It gives us a chance to showcase why Portland is a great place to live,” explains Mark Earles. Mark, who has been playing in gay volleyball leagues since 1990, has competed in ten national Championships under NAGVA describing the events as, “some of the most excruciating volleyball someone will play.”  Still Mr. Earles has loved the experiences.  “What I remember most are the people I played with, the cities I was in, and the fun I had.”  He believes many athletes will experience the same here next year.

Portland Gay Volleyball encourages the community to come out as to experience NAGVA Championships.  “Volleyball is more active sport,” explains Mark Earles.  “It forces size disparate people to come together and work as on to compete and win.”  Before next Memorial Day Weekend check out Portland Gay Volleyball at Brentwood Park in SE Portland on June 13^th, 2009 for one of their open grass tournaments.  Play starts at 9am and entry fee is $15 per athlete.  Teams from Phoenix, Denver, and British Columbia will be present.

Stay in touch with id Magazine for more coverage of Portland Gay Volleyball’s road to Championships 2010.

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