Gay Games III: The Games go on the road

The Gay Games gained true international stature in 1990 in Vancouver, the first time they were held outside the United States under the newly re-formed Federation of Gay Games.

Vancouver Games logo
The Vancouver Games in 1990 triggered changes in wrestling that led to the formation of WWB and a more pro-active involvement in the organization of Gay Games wrestling.
The turnout from California's decimated and demoralized wrestling clubs was its lowest participation ever in terms of percentage of entrants. But New York and Philadelphia emerged as the new powerhouses, with substantial increases in Canadian, Australian and European wrestlers.

Even with AIDS taking its toll, the event saw a strong renewal of interest in banding the various wrestling clubs together in order to exert influence on the running of the Gay Games wrestling tournament. Wrestlers who had been to previous Gay Games were so disappointed by the organization of the wrestling event at Gay Games III that an informal meeting of club leaders immediately after the tournament resulted in the formation of the International Wrestlers Alliance (IWA). It had support from seven clubs (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia and Houston) plus 7 individual representatives from Sydney, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

In 1992 IWA was incorporated as a 501c4 California non-profit organization, but its application to join the FGG did not meet Federation requirements. Instead, Golden Gate was granted a position as a temporary stand-in until IWA could meet the rigorous standards. In 1995, IWA changed its name to Wrestlers WithOut Borders (WWB) because of a brand name conflict with a professional wrestling group. In 1997 GGWC officially transferred its organizational directorship in the FGG to WWB.

From 1992 to 1996 a resurgence of gay clubs occurred in several cities. New York actually had three thriving co-existing clubs for many years: the Knights, Metro and Twin Towers. Several factors were responsible, including a better understanding and management of the AIDS crisis, the emergence of the internet and email as a primary mode of communication, and a change in the GLBT community culture that was moving away from a preoccupation with bars and baths towards other more mainstream activities such as sports.

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