1981 |
Golden Gate Wrestling Club is formed by the late Don Jung to help host and compete in the inaugural Gay Games, to be held in San Francisco the following year. It consisted of a few members of the San Francisco Wrestling Club that was founded in 1980. |
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1982 |
The club competes in Gay Games I in San Francisco. |
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1986 |
GGWC becomes a California USAW chartered wrestling club and formally reorganizes as a 510c4 non-profit. Club holds first Memorial Day Weekend Tournament. The club competes in Gay Games II in San Francisco. Gene Dermody becomes Head Coach after death of Don Jung. With end of San Francisco Arts & Athletics and creation of Federation of Gay Games, Team SF forms to organize athletes for Gay Games III and GGWC becomes a charter member, suppling officers and board members throughout the following years. |
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1987 |
Following numerous meetings with the city, GGWC begins practicing at Eureka Valley Rec Center, which becomes home for several LGBT sports clubs. |
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1990 |
GGWC competes in Gay Games III in Vancouver, Canada. With the Games wrestling plagued by organizational issues, GGWC and fellow clubs organize to form Wrestlers WithOut Borders to assist the running of Gay Games tournaments. |
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1991 |
GGWC becomes a San Francisco Park & Recreation Department sponsored activity. |
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GGWC competes with its first co-ed squad in Gay Games IV in New York City as Gay Games offer women's wrestling for the first time — 10 years before the Summer Olympics do. |
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1998 |
GGWC competes in Gay Games V in Amsterdam. |
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2001 |
Abram "Alex" Ostrovskiy, highest-rated FILA official in the world and a former Soviet champion, begins coaching GGWC. |
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2002 |
GGWC competes in Gay Games VI in Sydney. |
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2003 |
GGWC temporarily moves from Eureka Valley Rec Center to Glen Park Rec Center while EVRC is renovated. GGWC was an active participant in the Park & Rec Department discussions on the EVRC facelift. |
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2006 |
Team practices return to Eureka Valley. GGWC competes in Gay Games VII in Chicago, which introduces a 50-and-over age group. Golden Gate's Donna Rose becomes first transgender woman to wrestle in Gay Games. |
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2007 |
GGWC's annual tournament is renamed Don Jung Memorial Tournament. Gene Dermody presented with Atlas Lifetime Appreciation Award and becomes a member of the Foundation Class of the WWB Don Jung Hall of Merit, along with GGWC's Steve Swanson and Don Jung. Hoping to rebuild the strength of wrestling in San Francisco and illustrate the value to the community of its athletes and coaches, GGWC creates SF Alliance Wrestling Club, a program for San Francisco high school wrestlers. |
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2008 |
Don Jung Memorial Tournament is moved for one year to Chicago to host the inaugural WWB Cup , an international LGBT wrestling championship held in non-Gay Games years. Les Morgan, Abram "Alex" Ostrovskiy, Johnny Almony, Roger Brigham, and Kathy McAdam are named to WWB Hall of Merit. |
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2009 |
GGWC's 24th annual Don Jung Memorial Tournament hosts WWB Cup II. San Francisco Alliance Wrestling receives Legacy Award for Coaching and Youth Outreach from the Federation of Gay Games. Erich Richter and Erika Hom are named to WWB Hall of Merit. GGWC becomes a 501(c)3 non-profit. |
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2010 |
Donna Rose competes in USAW nationals in Cleveland, becoming the first transgender woman to wrestle in a USAW women's tournament. Decades older than the other wrestlers, she pins her first oponent to win a spot in the national World Team trials. Twenty-fifth annual Don Jung Memorial Tournament, the longest running LGBT wrestling tournament in the world, is held at Eureka Valley Rec Center. GGWC competes in Gay Games VIII in Cologne. |
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2011 |
GGWC and the City of San Francisco begin talks to create GGWC-run youth wrestling camps. |
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