At a media briefing on July 16, several recipients of Gay Games VII scholarships spoke. In addition, Lydia la Riviére-Zijdel of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Derek Liecty of Oakland, Calif.—who were presented the Tom Waddell Award during the previous night’s opening ceremony—also talked about what the honor meant to them.

The 202 individuals (who were from 22 countries) who applied for scholarships could request coverage of basic event registration fees, travel costs, accommodations and/or a per diem for the Games period. More than 100 of the applicants attended the Games. (Scholarship task force chairman Jeffry Pike told Windy City Times that, unfortunately, not everyone could receive enough funds to make the journey here—although every applicant received something.)

For Kebarileng Sebetoane and Phumla Masuku of South Africa, the scholarships almost meant more than words could express. Sebetoane talked of the pressure in her country to conform to heterosexuality and mentioned how women could be raped because they ‘behave like men’ or play soccer. ‘In a nutshell, being in Chicago means that I can be myself,’ she said. Masuku, in a speech that visibly moved some in the audience (including Kelly Gillespie, partner of South African volleyball player Leigh-Ann Naidoo), echoed Sebetoane’s statement about conformity and called the scholarship ‘a great honor’ and a chance to change her life. ‘ [The lesbians and gays in South Africa] have goals and dreams,’ she said. ‘Nine of the people on the [lesbian soccer] team do not go to school because they’re discriminated against, so being [in Chicago] feels like home because everyone is smiling and the love and warmth are so beautiful.’

Two other recipients who spoke were Chilean Carlos Garcia, who’s competing in swimming, and Dee, a transgender participant from the Philippines who will take part in the billiards competition. Garcia also called getting funds an honor and said that he plans on taking the lessons he learns here back to his country in the hopes of advancing social justice there. Dee said that she is proud to represent the transgender population and spoke of her pride in the Gay Games motto of inclusion.

Liecty and la Riviére-Zijdel spoke of how proud they were to receive the Tom Waddell Awards, named after the founder of the Gay Games. Liecty, who worked as facilities director of Gay Games II and who has been involved with the Federation of Gay Games since its inception, called the award ‘a culmination of half a lifetime of working for the Games’ and added that outreach around the globe has been his passion. la Riviére-Zijdel, who has focused on making the Games accessible for those with special needs, said that if Waddell were still alive that ‘he probably would’ve done the same thing, bringing physically disabled people into the Gay Games.’ She showed a range of emotions during her short speech, becoming overwhelmed when thinking about the spectacle of this year’s opening ceremony but also being defiant when she declared, ‘Let me assure you … the last thing I want is to be cared for.’