View source for Timeline of UK LGBT Sport

[[File:LGBT-UK-Sports-Timeline.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Timeline of UK LGBT Sport]]
In many ways 2011 was a watershed for LGBT sports in the UK. LGBT History Month 2012 is once again focused on sports and with the London Olympics just around the corner it now seems a very appropriate time to look back at the progress of gay sport in this country. LGBT History Month is running right through the month of February and there are many exciting events happening around the country to celebrate the history of LGBT sports in the UK.

You can learn more about LGBT sports history from LGBT History Month online: http://www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk and http://www.LGBThistoryUK.org

If your UK LGBT sports club is not featured on the graphic, enter the information below.


== Manchester Sports Timeline launch ==
'''Location:''' Taurus Bar, Canal St, Manchester<br>
'''Time:''' 6:30pm prompt<br>
'''Guest Speaker:''' Councillor Bev Craig<br>
 
In celebration of this year’s LGBT History Month, which in this Olympic year has a focus on sports, a 12 month project to capture the detailed histories of our local LGBT sports groups and clubs to create a comprehensive history timeline is being launched at Taurus Friday February 17th 6.30pm.
 
All Northern LGBT sports groups and clubs are invited come along and support this launch. Supported by the North West LGBT group of UNISON the Public Service Trade Union, Northern Wave, the UK LGBT Sports Network, Pride Sports and Canal-St.co.uk., the completed project will be presented during next year’s LGBT History Month.
 
As [[Trevor Burchick]] MBE, Chair of Northern Wave, explains:<br>
''“This valuable project offers the North’s LGBT sports groups a unique opportunity to make sure each Club’s history is recorded completely and accurately, so as to inspire future generations of LGB and T sporting people to build an exciting future sporting future for generations to come”.'' 
 
For more information contact Trevor Burchick MBE on 07941 384 988 or on e-mail at trevorburchick@btinternet.com


== 1910s ==
'''1919''' 14-year-old [[Lily Parr]] is “talent-spotted” by the manager of a women’s football team at the Dick, Kerr and Co. munitions factory in Preston, Lancashire. Parr quickly becomes a star player and stays with the team until 1950, scoring over 900 goals. Parr was the only woman in the inaugural list of the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame in 1992. The annual [[Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy]] was established during [[LGBT History Month]] 2007.

== 1920s ==
'''1926''' [[Betty ‘Joe’ Carstairs]] becomes the fastest woman on water when she wins the Duke of York’s trophy. Known for her eccentric lifestyle (having tattoos and keeping penguins) as much as for her love of speed, Betty had a string of affairs with, among others, Marlene Deitrich and Oscar Wilde’s niece, Dolly.

== 1930s ==
'''1936''' British javelin and shot put record holder, Mark Weston, completes gender reassignment surgery. As [[Mary Weston]] it is claimed she was an Olympian, though no record of her competing is found. It arises from a misunderstanding - Mary competed in the Women’s World Games which were originally called the Women’s Olympics.

== 1940s ==

== 1950s ==
'''1956''' Gay yacht designer [[Christopher ‘Kim’ Holman]] wins the Pattinson Cup at the Burnham Week Regatta with his 20-foot sloop. He goes on to design dozens of other winning yachts, and cofounds the Suffolk Yacht Harbour marina, and is member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

'''1958''' [[John Menlove Edwards]], the leading British rock-climber of the inter-war years, commits suicide at the age of 57. A psychiatrist by profession, he struggled with depression, the limitations imposed on his research ideas, and the isolation he felt of being gay when it was still illegal.

== 1960s ==

== 1970s ==

'''1976''' [[Gay Outdoor Club]] GOC formed.

'''1976''' [[Angela Eagle]] joint winner of the British Girls' Under-18 chess championship.

'''1976''' [[Goslings Swimming Club]] formed. Now the club includes badminton.

'''1976''' [[John Curry]] wins gold and comes first – twice! Winter Olympics – Innsbruck, Austria. UK’s ice skater John Curry wins gold. At a press conference he confirms rumours of his sexuality becoming the first Olympian to come out while
the games are in progress. He is awarded the OBE in the Birthday Honours. Beside Curry on the medal podium is bronze winner Toller Cranston, who is inspired by Curry to come out later.

'''1977''' [[CAGS Tennis Group]] formed in Croydon.

== 1980s ==

'''1982''' British athletes attend the first ever [[Gay Games]] in San Francisco. UK athletes and sports groups have attended every Gay Games, [[World OutGames]] and [[Euro Games]] since. Multi-sport events have been the catalyst for the growth of the gay sports movement worldwide throughout the last 30 years.

'''1983''' [[Long Yang Club]] forms, a tennis and badminton club for Asian and Western members in London

'''1986''' [[Ted Tingling]] inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

'''1989''' [[Gay Football Supporters Network]] (GFSN) forms

== 1990s ==

'''1990''' [[London Raiders]] Softball Club starts in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoons (originally called Rainbow Raiders)

'''1990''' [[Out to Swim]] is the first gay swimming club formed by athletes returning from Gay Games

'''1991''' [[Stonewall FC]] is the first gay football club to form

'''1992''' [[Carl Hester]] represents the Team GB Equestrian and attends the Barcelona Olympics.

'''1992''' [[Dynamo Dykes Volleyball Club]] forms

'''1994''' [[British Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation]] forms to unite gay sports clubs

'''1994''' [[John Curry]], 1974 Olympic ice Skating Gold medallist passes away

'''1995''' [[London Frontrunners]] formed

'''1995''' [[Kings Cross Steelers]] first Gay Rugby Club formed

'''1995''' [[Streatham Storm]] womens ice hockey is formed

'''1995''' [[London Spikers Volleyball Club]] formed

'''1996''' [[Village Manchester FC]] is formed – Manchester's first LGBT sports club

'''1996''' [[Ishigaki]] jujitsu club is formed

'''1996''' [[Leicester Wildecats FC]] is formed

'''1996''' [[Grace's Cricket Club]] is formed

'''1996''' [[CycleOut]] formed

'''1996''' The Team Manchester NHS project began researching LGBT Sports as a means to tackle heart disease

'''1997''' [[Brighton Lesbian & Gay Sports Society]] forms to unite Brighton Sports groups

'''1997''' [[Irons Golf]] formed

'''1998''' Nine new LGBT sports groups, including [[Northern Wave Swim Club]] are launched under the [[Team Manchester]] banner

'''1998''' [[Village Spartans RUFC]] formed

'''1998''' [[Bowling Bears]] formed

'''1998''' [[Justin Fashanu]], Britain's first out gay footballer, commits suicide after nearly a decade of hounding by the UK press. His story a effected a whole generation of gay athletes and there has still not been another leading footballer to come out in this country since.

'''1999''' [[Out for Sport]] London is formed and they hold first multi-sports day at Crystal Palace

'''1999''' [[Sue Emerson]] becomes first European Female Copresident of the Federation of Gay Games

'''1999''' [[Leftfooters FC]] founded

'''1999''' [[Northern Ace Tennis Club]] founded

== 2000s ==

'''2000''' The first [[UK Gay Sports Festival]] was held in Waltham Forest. The opening ceremony was graced by the Beverley Sisters and the cultural festival was headlined by Bucks Fizz. The festival was organised by Waltham Forest Local Authority and a consortium of gay sports groups, who were led by FGG Copresident Sue Emerson. The highlight of the weekend was the dance sport competition, which was completely sold out with a capacity of 250 people.

'''2000''' [[Lee Pearson]], Team GB Equestrian Paralympian wins 1st Paralympic Gold

'''2000''' [[Northern Flight Badminton Club]] forms

'''2000''' [[Orion Rowing Club]] forms

'''2001''' [[Trina Gulliver]] wins the first of a total of nine World Darts Championship titles

'''2001''' [[London LGB Gymnastics & Diving]] forms

'''2002''' [[London Orca]] established

'''2002''' [[Michael Hill]], motorcyclist launches Taboo Motor Racing

'''2003''' Northern Wave organises the north's first international multi-sport festival at EuroPride Manchester

'''2004''' [[Robert Newton]] Britain's number one sprint hurdler, competed for Team GB at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Newton failed to qualify for the second round of the 110 m hurdles competition. He was the only gay British Olympian that year.

'''2004''' [[Chris Morgan]], Great Britain and England Powerlifter qualifies for first world final and is appointed Gay Games Ambassador

'''2005''' Out for Sport London hosts 'The [[Building Bridges Conference]]' that was intended to heal rifts between the Federation of Gay Games and Gay & Lesbian International Sports Association. The event was hosted by [[Ivan Bussens]] who helped the two major gay sports governing bodies come together to overcome their differences and discuss the future of gay sports.

'''2005''' Northern Wave and Team Manchester launch the first ever '[[Pride Games]]', which took place in Manchester and was attended by 750 participants. There has since been Pride Sports events held every year, hosting thousands of athletes from all over the world. Founder of Pride Games Trevor Burchick was awarded an MBE in the new year's honours list the same year for services to the community of Greater Manchester.

'''2005''' [[London Titans FC]] formed

'''2005''' Sir [[Elton John]] appointed Gay Games Ambassador

'''2005''' [[Bristol Bisons]] form

'''2006''' [[Nottingham Ball Bois FC]] is formed

'''2006''' [[Bristol Cycle Out]] form

'''2006''' BBC Sports presenter [[Clare Balding]] comes out by marrying partner in civil partnership ceremony

'''2006''' [[Trevor Burchick]] and [[Lou Engelfield]] form Pride Sports, to deliver future Pride Games and develop LGBT sports in Manchester

'''2007''' [[Sion O'Conner]] becomes male copresident of Federation of Gay Games

'''2007''' [[John Amaechi]], British NBA Basketball Star Comes Out, appointed Gay Games Ambassador, awarded OBE in 2011

'''2007''' Ivan Bussens, founder of Out for Sport London passes away

'''2007''' [[Nigel Owens]], International Rugby Referee Comes Out

'''2007''' The World's first [[LGBT Youth Games]] is held at Pride Games Manchester

'''2007''' The English Football Association for the first time forms a Working Group to tackle Homophobia in Soccer. They decided to launch new ground regulations, which ban homophobic abuse on the terraces and give powers to stewards to remove offenders. The following year the Gay community are invited to watch England v Czech Republic football match by The FA.

'''2008''' The [[Justin Campaign]] against homophobia in sport is launched in his memory 10 years after his death.

'''2008''' The first annual [[LGBT Sports Summit]] is held in Manchester, launching the UK LGBT Sports Network

'''2009''' Pride sports host the European Lesbian and Gay Sports Federation (EGLSF) annual assembly and Lou Engelfield becomes female copresident of European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation

'''2009''' [[Gay Games]] and [[GLISA]] announce their commitment to working towards 1 Quadrennial Event (1QE) for 2018 at the Manchester EGLSF general assembly

'''2009''' Professional rugby player [[Gareth Thomas]] comes out whilst still playing at international level for Wales. He became Wales's most capped player in 2007 and captained the British Lions during their 2005 tour of South Africa. Gareth's coming out once again raised the issue of team sports and in particular, raised the questions when would the first UK footballer come out of the closet?

== 2010s ==

'''2010''' [[Sheffield Eagles]] become first semi professional rugby league team to wear an anti-homophobia message in a televised match

'''2010''' London announces bid for Gay Games/OutGames 2018

'''2010''' Stonewall FC wins gold at Cologne Gay Games, Raider women win bronze in Softball. Over 850 UK athletes attend and come home with a hoard of medals.

'''2011''' [[Graham Obree]], Team Great Britain and Commonwealth Games cyclist comes out

'''2011''' [[Aisle Pitter]], The founder of Stonewall Football Club is awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List

'''2011''' [[Ben Cohen]], Rugby World Cup Winner with England back in 2003 'comes out' as a straight ally to the gay community and launches the Stand up Foundation against homophobic bullying . Ben was recently honoured with a major humanitarian award in the US by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.

'''2011''' [[Claire Harvey]], patron of London 2018, is selected for Great Britain Sitting Volleyball Team

'''2011''' Stonewall FC wins gold at Cologne Gay Games, Raiders Women win bronze.

'''2011''' [[Steven Davies]], England Cricketer comes out whilst still playing international cricket. Steven made his debut for England in March 2009 in twenty /twenty cricket and then went on to make his full test debut in October of the same year. He is the first international cricketer to come out as gay.

'''2011''' LGBT athletes are invited to Downing Street to launch the government charter against homophobia and transphobia in sport. Billy Jean King, Gareth Thomas and Ben Cohen attended the event, with the Rugby Football League, Rugby Football Union, Lawn Tennis Association, English Cricket Board and the English Football Association all sign up to the charter.

'''2011''' The [[Midlands Unity League]] created, an 11-a-side football league for gay community football clubs in the Midlands founded by [[Birmingham Blaze FC]], [[Leicester Wildecats FC]], [[Nottingham Ball Bois FC]] and [[Wolverhampton Harts GFC]].

'''2012''' [[LGBT History Month]] for both 2011 and 2012 are for the first time focused on Gay Sports. The launch event for 2011 takes place at Twickenham and is attended by Gareth Thomas and John Amaechi. The launch event for 2012 then takes place at the oval Cricket ground and is attended by equalities minister Lynne Featherstone.

'''2012''' Premier league football teams sign government's Charter Against Homophobia and Transphobia in sport.

== Author of the LGBT Sports Timeline infographic ==

[[Chris Morgan]] is the author of the UK LGBT History Month Sports Timeline (1982-2012). He is a four time world champion, six time British champion and six time Gay Games gold medallist in Powerlifting and one of the Global Ambassador's to the Federation of Gay Games. http://www.chunkymuscle.com and http://www.gaygames.com

Thanks to both [[Trevor Burchick]] and [[Lou Engelfield]] of [[Pride Sports]] for their help and input to this project. You can learn more about Pride Sports online at http://www.pridesports.org.
Infographic and further research by [[Jonathan Harbourne]], co-chair of London 2018 and founder of the [[London Raiders]] – http://www.london2018.info.

You can download a high resolution PDF (15MB) of the infographic to use to promote LGBT sport at: http://www.london2018.info/history/LGBTsport.html (click on the graphic to download). It has been designed to fit the size of a pull-up banner stand – celebrate LGBT History Month with a Sports Timeline banner in the reception of your office! You may freely use and publish this infographic as a whole, without editing, so long as you keep the authors’ full credit.

[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Timelines]]