Posted Tue, 18 Mar 2014, 12:23pm by Shawn Sheridan
I'm pleased to announce that the 2013 Annual Report of OUTSPORT TORONTO is now available (click here) in PDF form. We are finalising the information circular, which contains details of the Annual General Meeting to be held Wednesday, 7 May 2014, 6:30pm, the location for which is being finalised. We anticipate publishing the informatio Read more...
Posted Fri, 2 Aug 2013, 11:30pm by Shawn Sheridan
When I was in grade two, life was not good. I was small. I wore coke-bottle-bottom glasses. My mother insisted in dressing me in clothes that were completely different from the rest of the kids, and I had a brush-cut when every other kid had long hair. I was painfully different. And some other kids knew that. And they preyed on that.
I was beat up, tormented, called names. I was called a "fag" even before I knew what that was. It was hell. There was one boy in particular that was my chief tormentor. His name was Tom. He made my life hell for a long time, following me home, beating me up, and making me feel horrible. He had his gang. A bunch of other boys who reckoned it was OK to beat on a weaker kid because that kid was what they thought was inferior. And then there were the silent onlookers... those kinds who "didn't want to get involved", because they were afraid of being Tom's next target. Tom had his problems, sure, but he used fear and intimidation, and leveraged his size and the clout that came with it to create a toxic environment that allowed him to perpetrate his acts. And no one was willing to really challenge him.
Finally, after hoping that it would just go away, which it never did, I got fed up. Perhaps there was some courage in there, but what I remember most is the feeling that, "that's it! No more!" And so one afternoon on the way home, when Tom came at me again with his buddies, I let go and wailed on him!
I was smaller. If you took a look at the two of us, you'd have ten-to-one odds on Tom. And I beat the carp out of him. Enough was enough. I had to take a stand. What he was doing was so wrong, threatening my existence, for no reason other than he didn't like the way I looked, and it had to stop.
Tom never came after me again. He and his friends avoided me like the plague! One small moment of chutzpah, and I had changed my world, and, I realised, the worlds of some other kids as well. And it wasn't that I was a hero or anything... I had just had enough.
There's a new bully in town. This one's a lot bigger than Tom. Ironically, I recognise the behaviour. And it's not just the bully's behaviour I recognise, but everyone around the bully too. What's interesting about this bully is that its behaviour may have gone relatively unnoticed if it hadn't been for the 2014 Winter Olympic / Paralympic Games.
It's kind of like Tom was hosting a party, to which everyone was invited except the kids he beat up. It's not Tom's party this time, of course. It's another very popular kid's party. And that other kid kind of already said they'd have the party at Tom's place, and then found out Tom was a worse bully than they had thought Tom was. The other kid has said, "well, Tom has assured me that he won't beat up anyone." And then Tom said, "like hell I won't!" And the other kid is looking at the floor. And all the other kids know there's something terribly wrong about it.
Now, if you were one of the kids invited to the party, what would you do? Read more...
Posted Thu, 18 Apr 2013, 7:10pm by Shawn Sheridan
I'm pleased to announce that the 2012 Annual Report of OUTSPORT TORONTO is now available (click here) in PDF form. We are finalising the information circular, which contains details of the Annual General Meeting to be held Thursday, 6 June 2013, 6:30pm at The 519 Church Street Community Centre. Read more...
Posted Wed, 6 Mar 2013, 1:19pm by Shawn Sheridan
Came across a really great video today that I want to share with our OUTSPORT TORONTO family. We've put it up under our resources section, so take a look! Dealing with "That's So Gay".
Posted Sun, 23 Dec 2012, 1:53pm by Shawn Sheridan
We've had an amazing year here at OUTSPORT TORONTO. From being able to present at the TDSB's Futures 2012 conference, to a successful second year of the SportZone and Pride involving even more of our member organisations, to our fall conference and being able to partner with The 519 to create the LGBT Sport Leadership Programme (now half-way through its first year of being delivered) designed to build capacity and sustainability through leadership skills development, we have a lot to be celebrating! We've made new friends through our work on the PrideHouseTO project, and strengthened older friendships, such as our relationship with the University of Toronto through delivering diversity workshops to Camp UofT counsellors and first-year varsity athletes, and through UofT's incredible and invaluable contributions to our fall conference. Throughout these undertakings, we've been able to bring different members organisations together to help break down silos, and provide opportunities for meaningful connection. We've truly been blessed this year!
I also personally feel blessed to have had the privilege to work with so many talented and dedicated people this past year. OUTSPORT TORONTO's board is a fantastic group of smart and dedicated people, who all believe in our mission to serve and support our member organisations in creating safe and welcoming spaces for people to get out and play. And I'm humbled to have seen the energy and passion of our volunteers in the creation of the TDSB workshop, the SportZone at Pride and marching in the Pride Parade, and in the creation of our third annual conference this past fall. I thank you all for your amazing support, and belief in what we're trying to accomplish together.
"Together" is critically important to OUTSPORT TORONTO, as that is why we are here. We'll continue to ensure through the use of town hall meetings, nominee meetings, surveys, board / executive / collective / steering committee outreach, and personal conversations that OUTSPORT TORONTO stays in-tune with its members needs, and plots its direction accordingly. We ask too that you make sure you tell us what you need of us, and help us maintain the two-way conversation. You can do so by contacting any member of the board – we're all here to listen and be engaged with you!
I end this post with my warmest and sincerest wishes of this holiday season to you, your families, friends, and of course, to every member of our LGBT sport and recreation family! I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!
Warmest regards, Shawn
_______________________________
Shawn Sheridan
Chair, OUTSPORT TORONTO Read more...
Posted Mon, 3 Dec 2012, 10:24pm by Shawn Sheridan
On Friday, 23 November 2012, I was honoured to be asked to participate in a day-long workshop on PrideHouseTO, and to speak during an afternoon panel session. Our friends at the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Hart
House, the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office, the Anti-Racism and Cultural
Diversity Office, the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, and Egale Canada hosted a large group of people at Hart House, as part of the work being done around the Advocacy and Policy pillar of the whole PrideHouseT Read more...
Posted Thu, 29 Nov 2012, 11:34am by Shawn Sheridan
Great little piece in Xtra quoting our very own James Scott, Commissioner of the TGFL, and Director of Membership and Member services, OUTSPORT TORONTO: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Did_gays_win_the_Grey_Cup-12858.aspx .
Posted Sat, 5 May 2012, 8:01am by Shawn Sheridan
Yesterday was OUTSPORT TORONTO's workshop at the Toronto District School Board's FUTURES 2012 conference. It was a 75-minute session with 28 participants from not just the TDSB, but Peel, Ottawa-Carlton, and even as far away as Alberta! The feedback from the participants at the end was very good! It went very well, and put OUTSPORT TORONTO and our member organisations 'out there' once again in a very positive way. Read more...
Posted Wed, 25 Apr 2012, 12:23am by Shawn Sheridan
I'm delighted to announce a revision to the information circular for our 2012 AGM. The reason is that we are updating the information circular to include one additional candidate for the board of directors of OUTSPORT TORONTO – Stephanie Bell. Stephanie is a team captain with Pink Turf Soccer League, hold a second degree black belt in Taekwon-do, is pursuing a Master of Public Health degree with a specialization in Health Promotion, and works at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network where she supports c Read more...
Posted Sun, 11 Mar 2012, 9:30pm by Shawn Sheridan
I'm delighted to welcome the Rainbow Ballroom Toronto to OUTSPORT TORONTO as our 23rd member organisation! Rainbow Ballroom Toronto was unanimously voted in as a member organisation at our 21 February 2012 board meeting.
We continue to receive a good stream of renewal registrations for 2012, but not all yet. Please make sure that if your organisation hasn't sent its in yet, you do so as soon as possible. Organisations must renew their membership annually by completing the membership form found here, signing it, and sending it in per the instructions on the form. Please make sure you do so well in advance of the AGM, which we're scheduling for late April 2012 this year, so you organisation's nominee can vote at the AGM.
So, on behalf of the board of OUTSPORT TORONTO, I extend a warm welcome to Rainbow Ballroom Toronto! Read more...