PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — LGBTQ festivities won’t end with Pride Month. Philadelphia will be hosting the Stonewall Sports 9th Annual National Tournament & Summit in mid-July.
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This year, the organization is meeting a pretty significant milestone: It is the largest tournament the organization has hosted since Stonewall Sports was founded in 2010.
“We have over 2,100 folks registered to play sports [this year],” said tournament chair Gabriel Meranco-Garcia with Stonewall Philadelphia.
Meranco-Garcia says it just makes sense for the chapter to host the tournament: “Philadelphia was selected to host the tournament because of its rich LGBTQIA history, and we know queer history is American history.”
Stonewall Sports, Inc., is an inclusive, community-based, nonprofit sports organization for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. The Philadelphia chapter of Stonewall Sports got started in 2014. Now the organization comprises 26 chapters in cities across the country, and includes kickball, dodgeball, bowling, billiards, volleyball and other sports and activities.
“I think it’s incredible,” said William Brazdzionis. “My roommates play for the Stonewall teams — dodgeball and kickball.”
He says he is more of a dancer than an athlete, but the LGBTQ athletic event is important to him because it helps promote Pride while also dispelling some long-held misconceptions about LGBTQ communities.
“It’s this perfect dichotomy that shows that we are athletic and strong,” Brazdzionis said.
Tournament events kick off with a reception and pageant on Friday, July 14, with round-robin competitions to follow on Saturday. The bulk of the competition will play out on Sunday, with championship rounds to determine the first-place winners of each sport represented. Then, finally, the weekend comes to a close with a block party in the Gayborhood on Sunday night.
An event pass is available for fans and allies who are not playing in the tournament but want to show support, granting them access to the social events through the weekend.
