Gay community turning its back on bars
By Emanuela Campanella and Beatrice Britneff
More and more gay Ottawans are ditching the bar scene and looking to gay sports as a venue to seek same-sex friendships, club organizers say.
Guy Delorme has been the coordinator of Gay Ottawa Volleyball since 2007 and has been playing since 2001 (Beatrice Britneff, The Impact)
Sport provides a friendly and active environment for the gay community to socialize says Guy Delorme, the coordinator of Gay Ottawa Volleyball.
“It’s easier to meet people because you have a common type of activity,” Delorme says. “At bars … it becomes a market where you may meet someone, but in terms of long-term relationships, the odds of finding someone serious in that context is less than other settings.”
Volleyball isn’t the only option out there for the gay community.
Karen Harris, chair of the Lesbian Outdoor Group, organizes hiking events for the lesbian community around Ottawa and Gatineau. She says this provides a new outlet for people who find socializing at bars intimidating.
“It is extremely difficult to meet people in bars,” Harris says. “They are noisy and you feel very shy approaching people.”
Harris says women are often guarded at bars, but walks can provide a more casual setting to meet people.
“I think women like the chance to feel each other out, because a lot of the women in our community are not looking for a one night stand, they are looking for a relationship,” she says.
In addition to Gay Ottawa Volleyball and the Lesbian Outdoor Group, there are about 12 sports associations and clubs available to the gay community. Currently there are more gay sports associations in Ottawa than there are bars.
Gay Ottawa Volleyball has been running for more than 20 years and has recently grown tremendously in popularity, Delorme says. He says volleyball gives people the opportunity to be themselves and describes the court as a safe place where people can have a good time, make friends and feel comfortable.
“There are a lot of gay people in Ottawa but a lot … are in the closet because they work in government,” Delorme says.
Delorme ties his bright blue shoelaces as he gets ready for Monday night volleyball at the Centre de Formation CECCE in Vanier.
Men ranging from their mid-twenties to early seventies slowly make their way onto the gymnasium floor around 8 p.m. Dressed in bright sports attire, the players begin to stretch and chat amongst themselves.
On Delorme’s orders, they gather in a circle to listen to announcements about upcoming community events. After splitting into four teams to play, Delorme serves, hollering, “Let’s go!”
Over the years, Delorme says he has seen people form both friendships and romantic relationships after meeting and socializing at Monday night practices.
Douglas Copp says he comes to volleyball every Monday night to do exactly that. He says playing volleyball lets him meet people for whom drinking is not a big priority.
“I come here because particularly in the gay world there is not a lot of options to meet people,” Copp says. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s the highlight of my week.”
One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, met her girlfriend last September during a hike organized by the Lesbian Outdoor Group (LOG).
She says they quickly started emailing each other and planned to meet at the next lesbian community dance event. After dating for a few months, they made their relationship official and have now been dating for a year.
The woman says it has been great meeting other women through sports, citing LOG as a welcoming environment.
Back in the gymnasium, volleyball practice comes to an end and the teams form two lines in order to shake hands.
“Good game, good game,” they say to each other.