Team D.C. athletes (from left: Jerrod Swodeck, Chris Coates and Bill Thompson) bare their sporty assets for a gay scholarship fund benefiting high school athletes. (Blade photo by Henry Linser)
advertisement
advertisement
|
ZACK ROSEN
Friday, March 28, 2008
It’s not every day that you can ogle athletes and feel philanthropic about it.
Team D.C., the umbrella organization for Washington’s gay sports clubs, will provide such an opportunity at Town on Saturday, March 29, during its fourth fashion show fundraiser. While serving up scantily clad athletes, the group raises money for a college scholarship that Team D.C. bestows upon an out, gay high school athlete.
“The intent is to recognize a high school student-athlete who self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered and reward them for the contributions they’ve made as an LGBT individual,” says Brian Watkins, chair of the Team D.C. Student-Athlete Scholarship Committee. “We know that more and more young people feel comfortable and are coming out at an earlier age. To be gay and also be an athlete has some very unique challenges, and this was a good opportunity for us to recognize the contributions that a high school student has made to his sport and the LGBT community.”
The scholarship, which Watkins says also lists “academic and athletic excellence” and “promise in serving as a prominent role model” as criteria, will be for $1,500 and is only available to students in the D.C. metro area.
That sum will be raised in part by the fashion show, with the models sporting clothes donated from Universal Gear and the Leather Rack, and the accompanying auction where the same clothes will be sold off the models to lucky bidders. The night also includes a talent search, where one out of the 15 models will win a $500 Universal Gear gift card, a chance to appear in photographer Robert Mercer’s 2009 “Ripped Genes” calendar and his own spread in Genre magazine.
Although many of the models were attracted to the exposure offered by the fashion show, others had more altruistic motives.
“This is a great opportunity for people to get noticed, but I know a couple guys in the show are doing it because they believe in the scholarship or they’re involved in their teams,” says Team D.C. president Brent Minor. “I’d say a third of the guys are involved in one of the sports clubs locally, which is nice. It’s also a chance to help out these teams when there will be a big crowd. There will be a table there to sign up people to play softball and we’ll be pushing for people to volunteer at a big swimming tournament.”
ONE MODEL, CHRIS COATES, competed in the 2006 Montreal Outgames as a tennis player and plans to compete in the next Outgames or Gay Games as a hurdler, where he wants to be “the fastest fag on the planet by 2010.” Though he did some runway work in college, Coates says he’s looking forward to helping a gay athlete who deserves it.
“I feel great,” he says. “With the economy, I don’t have the money to do the donation myself. So to be able to help to wear some clothes and make people donate money of their own feels fantastic. I feel like all the hard work I’m doing at the gym is actually paying off.”
Team D.C. was founded in 2003 and encompasses more than 15 teams, including the D.C. Front Runners and soccer team the Federal Triangles. The fashion show actually predates the existence of Team D.C., as the first one was held to raise money for the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney and last year’s show was held to begin raising money for the scholarship.
“I look at the growth of Team D.C. and it’s very gratifying, I think we have been able to get people involved in sports and clubs they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Minor says. “For some people, this is how they come out, through sports teams. I know people have grown because of their experiences with these clubs. Some people march in the parades, some come out at work, but this is where they’re most comfortable. I always said that when people feel better about themselves they will make better members of the community — it’s a way for people to be part of our community in a healthy, productive, fun way.”
|
 |
