Cologne uniforms back on track

Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Business Association (SGLBA) has come to the rescue of Team Sydney members as they prepare for the Cologne Gay Games, putting up $3000 for team uniforms after a major sponsor backed out.

“We had a sponsor who was going to pay for everything. They pulled out at the end of April, which was basically our deadline,” Team Sydney president Geoffrey Radford said.

“Thankfully we had good relationships with our uniform suppliers, and with a bit of our own funds, we were able to keep the process moving. Then we had the brainwave of making a special plea to the SGLBA, who’ve come to our aid to the tune of $3000.

“It’s not just uniforms, we have a big reception planned with the ambassador [in Cologne] too. This means we can avoid going into debt — the SGLBA has been fantastic.”

SGLBA president Paul Lee-Maynard told Sydney Star Observer the decision to fund Team Sydney was a unanimous one, with the money coming from SGLBA’s Good Works fund.

“Any decision about allocating funds from our Good Works fund goes through a voting process, and no one had any concerns about supporting Team Sydney,” Lee-Maynard said.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve supported Team Sydney — it was a recipient of our Good Works fund last year. I’m really pleased we’ve continued the relationship, and I’m glad we’ve been in a position to help them out of a difficult situation.
“Plus, we’re in effect being recognised for this donation as a formal sponsor of Team Sydney, which is great.”

The money is to be formally presented to Team Sydney at two events this month: $1500 was presented at Lemons With A Twist last Friday, while the remainder will be handed over at Fruits In Suits at the Beresford Hotel on June 17.

Team Sydney’s uniforms are due to arrive this week, and Radford said leftover money would be earmarked for October’s Sports Day Out, continuing Team Sydney and SGLBA’s partnership once the Gay Games are over.