The news we have shared below was prepared for Seks.org on September 21, 2023:
“Queer Olmypix 2023 was held on September 8, 9, 10. Lubunyas who engage in sports activism in many different cities of Turkey came together at the event.
Queer Olympix, which has been held in Istanbul since 2017 and is Turkey’s first queer Olympics, took place on 8-9-10 September, despite all the pressure and prohibitions. Lubunyas who engage in sports activism in many different cities of Turkey came together at the event.
This year, more than 100 people from various cities of Turkey attended Queer Olympix, organized by Atletik Dildoa, the LGBTI+ football team founded in Istanbul in 2015.
Queer Olympix, which was held with great enthusiasm in 2017 and 2018, was banned by the Kadıköy District Governorate in 2019 on the grounds that it was “contrary to general morality and general health”. The lawsuit filed against this ban, with the legal support of the Society for Studies on Social Policy, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation (SPoD), was concluded in favor of Queer Olympix in 2020. However, in the same year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Queer Olympix was held online. Despite the lack of support from the municipality and institutions as of 2021, the lubunyas who returned to Kalamış continue to meet in sports fields.
We pass, we cross the line!
Queer Olympix event, distributed in different venues in Istanbul, took place on 8-9-10 September. In Lubunya sports activism, in addition to the teams active today, activists from different LGBTI+ communities and people independently interested in sports came together. Athletic Dildoa, Muamma, Sportif Lezbon, Küründen United and Aykılı sports teams from different cities, as well as Young LGBTI+, UniQueer Association, Ege University Gender Research Society (Lavender LGBTIQ+), Cultural Research Association for Peace (bakad) and Queer Cyprus Association attended the event. . Mixed teams formed by individual participants also took part in the matches, as every year.
In addition to workshops focused on body awareness and self-care, discussions were held on the difficulties queer people face in sports fields, solution suggestions and strengthening the queer sports field. Lubunyas also met on the fields with football, beach volleyball, tennis, sticky vest dodgeball and roundnet/spikeball games. In the event, where the main motivation was not to win but to be together, everyone enjoyed taking part in sports fields as they wanted and as they wished. Queer Olympix 2023 ended with the award ceremony and closing party, where awards determined by non-normative scoring criteria were given to teams and individuals.
Sendika.Org”
